Symphony No. 5 (Vaughan Williams) Explained

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote his Symphony No. 5 in D major between 1938 and 1943. In style it represents a shift away from the violent dissonance of his Fourth Symphony, and a return to the gentler style of the earlier Pastoral Symphony.

Many of the musical themes in the Fifth Symphony stem from Vaughan Williams's then-unfinished operatic work, The Pilgrim's Progress. This opera, or "morality" as Vaughan Williams preferred to call it, had been in gestation for decades, and the composer had temporarily abandoned it at the time the symphony was conceived. Despite its origins, the symphony is without programmatic content.

The work was an immediate success at its premiere in 1943, and is frequently performed in concert and on record.

History

Background

In 1935 Vaughan Williams had caused surprise and even shock with his Fourth Symphony, a strident and dissonant piece in great contrast with its quiet and contemplative predecessor, A Pastoral Symphony (1922).[1] After this he experienced a temporary writer's block, before he began writing his Fifth Symphony in 1938. He had been working intermittently for more than thirty years on what became his opera (or "Morality") The Pilgrim's Progress. Believing that the opera might never be completed he decided to incorporate some of its ideas and themes into other works, most notably the Fifth Symphony.[2]

The symphony was complete enough by the end of 1942 for the composer to prepare a two-piano transcription, which two friends played for him in late January 1943. Any doubts he had about the piece were allayed when he heard the first orchestral run-through on 25 May. He found that the symphony said what he meant it to.[3]

Dedication

Vaughan Williams dedicated the symphony to Jean Sibelius. The musicologist J. P. E. Harper-Scott has called Sibelius "the influence of choice" among British symphonists in the years between the two World Wars, citing Walton's First Symphony, all seven of Bax's and the first five of Havergal Brian.[4] The wording of the dedication differs between the manuscript and the published score: the ascription on the manuscript reads "Dedicated without permission and with the sincerest flattery to Jean Sibelius, whose great example is worthy of all imitation"; this was abbreviated on the published score to "Dedicated without permission to Jean Sibelius".[5] Sir Adrian Boult subsequently secured permission, corresponding with Sibelius through an intermediary (Kurt Atterberg) in a neutral country (Sweden).[6] After listening to a broadcast of the work, Sibelius wrote to Atterberg, "I heard Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams' new Symphony from Stockholm under the excellent leadership of Malcolm Sargent ... This Symphony is a marvellous work ... the dedication made me feel proud and grateful ... I wonder if Dr. Williams has any idea of the pleasure he has given me?"[7]

The wording of the dedication led to speculation whether the work contains any direct quotations or imitations of Sibelius. Vaughan Williams made a study of Sibelius's music, notably his Symphony No. 4, before working on his own Symphony No. 5.[6] Similarities in orchestration are evident, such as the atmospheric string writing midway through the first movement of the Vaughan Williams work, noted in the following section. A case for an actual quotation has been made by Robert Matthew-Walker, who notes a subtle similarity in the opening bars of the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies of Sibelius and Vaughan Williams, respectively, concealed by the contrasting moods of the two pieces (in each case, the motif spanning a tritone C–D–F is followed by the repeated interval E–F over a pedal C).[6]

Composition

The symphony is scored for two flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboe, cor anglais, two clarinets, two bassoons, two French horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings. This is a smaller orchestra than Vaughan Williams used in his four earlier symphonies, with only two horns, no tuba, no harps and no percussion except timpani.[8] The symphony is in the customary four-movement form.[9] The composer provided metronome markings for all four movements, but they are widely regarded as dubious:[10] [11] the composer did not observe them when he conducted the work, and he expressed approval of Boult's tempi, which were similar to his own.[12] His musical assistant Roy Douglas has suggested that Vaughan Williams simply miscalculated because he did not possess a metronome.[13]

In addition to the Pilgrim's Progress allusions, the score has echoes of Vaughan Williams's hymn tune "Sine nomine", in the second subject of the first movement and at the end of the fourth movement.[14]

I: Preludio

The first movement, in Frank Howes's analysis (1954), can be seen either as "an elaborate ternary form with coda" or "an exposition of two big groups of themes succeeded without development by a condensed recapitulation".[15] This movement owes something to sonata form, but does not display all its characteristics; the second subject has been derived from the first subject. The movement opens with a pedal C in the bass, answered by a horn call outlining a D major chord in a dotted rhythm, which implies mixolydian D. The violins use the notes of the pentatonic scale, making the key ambiguous. Wilfrid Mellers believes this is why Vaughan Williams billed the movement as a Preludio, "which suggests an emergent state".[16] The horn call motif fluctuates from major to minor, outlining the tonal ambiguity, moving between the mixolydian and dorian modes, which becomes a characteristic of the movement. The bass's C pedal becomes the tonic when the key changes to either the aeolian or dorian modes. The modality then moves to E, with a new melody in the violins, which, although it does not include a sharpened seventh, outlines E major. The bass, now played pizzicato, supports the melody both melodically and harmonically and the texture incorporates suspensions and passing notes, making the harmony richer. A sudden descent of a semitone, an idea previously used in Vaughan Williams's works Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and Job, marks a key change to three flats and also the development section.[17]

The tempo accelerates to allegro for the development.[18] The strings are used to imply the winds of nature, in a similar vein to that of Sibelius. This is punctuated by the brass and woodwind with the falling semitone motif, which gets larger intervallically to a major second and then a minor third. This section is a canon; the polyphony of which Mellers believes shows the randomness of nature. The key shifts down mediants, until it reaches D minor, when the strings imitate Sibelius again, this time using tremolo effects.[19]

For the recapitulation the tempo slows and the dynamics are reduced. The C pedal is reintroduced, but this time in a more melodic fashion. There is more development in the recapitulation. The movement ends in a similar way to the opening, with the horn call, but the key signature of two flats rather than one sharp is used. The bases descend to C via E, leaving the tonality of the movement still in question.[20]

Arnold Whittall argues that "With respect to D Major, the Preludio might be regarded as a clear case of Schoenbergian 'Schwebende Tonalität' ('fluctuating: suspended, not yet decided' tonality)",[21] although Vaughan Williams stated that Schoenberg's music meant nothing to him.[22]

II: Scherzo

Vaughan Williams uses rhythm in the Scherzo to convey different effects. The focus of the movement is centred on the rhythm rather than the ambiguous tonality of the Preludio. Lionel Pike comments that "at times it seems more like a counterpoint of rhythms than of pitches." The movement begins with three dotted minims in a fast time (= 120),[23] and then minims for four bars, which create hemiolas and then crotchets. This gives the illusion that the music is accelerating, and so the pulse does not settle. When the melodic line begins, the music is divided into five bar phrases. A sense of stability is established when the theme is repeated by the viola and double bass in stable two bar phrases. However the violins enter with phrasing that does not conform to either pattern, thus adding more confusion. Using this rhythmic phrasing, the dorian line played on the violins and the aeolian woodwind line are differentiated rhythmically, as well as tonally. The rhythmical confusion is halted when the wind and strings alternate downward runs antiphonally.[24]

III: Romanza

In the manuscript score Vaughan Williams headed this movement with words taken from Bunyan: Upon that place there stood a cross And a little below a sepulchre … Then he said "He hath given me rest by his sorrow and Life by his death"[25] [26] The third and fourth lines were later sung in the opera by Pilgrim.[26] The inscription was omitted from the published score in accordance with the composer's wish that the symphony should be regarded as absolute music.[27] The movement may be considered the spiritual core of the work: Frank Howes calls it "the heart of the symphony"[28] and David Cox calls it "a profound meditation on the three main musical elements presented at the outset". It is not clear why the composer called it "Romanza".[29] Howes comments that with its spiritual, meditative nature there is nothing "romantic" about this movement;[30] Michael Kennedy observes that with Vaughan Williams the term "is always a signal that the music was of special significance to him".[31]

The opening cor anglais solo is taken virtually without change. \relative c' Rising fourths again appear as connecting passages.

IV: Passacaglia

\relative c Although this movement begins with the repetitive bass line characteristic of the passacaglia form, Vaughan Williams eventually abandons it. The triumphant primary melody of the passacaglia is used as Pilgrim's dialogue with Interpreter in the second half of "The House Beautiful" scene, while the fanfare motif recalls of "The Arming of the Pilgrim" in Act II Scene 1. This ushers in a return of the themes from the first movement of the symphony, which are resolved into a quiet valediction played first by the woodwind and then by the upper strings.

Premieres and publication

The Fifth Symphony was premiered on 24 June 1943 at a Prom concert in the Royal Albert Hall, London, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. Sir Henry Wood, the founder and presiding figure of the Proms, was originally intended to conduct the performance but was not well enough and the composer was persuaded to take the baton.[32] The American premiere was given in Carnegie Hall on 30 November 1944 by the New York Philharmonic under Artur Rodziński.

The score of the symphony was published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in 1946. Vaughan Williams lightly revised the score in 1951, but that revision was not published during his lifetime. It was published in 1961, re-engraved with corrections in 1969, and in 2008 OUP issued a new edition, edited by Peter Horton, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the composer's death.[33] [34]

Reception

In a survey of Vaughan Williams's nine symphonies, Elliott Schwartz writes:Hubert Foss comments that public appreciation of the symphony "was more immediate than that of perhaps any other single work by the composer".[35]

The response of music critics was generally enthusiastic. The anonymous reviewer in The Times wrote that the symphony "belongs to that small body of music that, outside of late Beethoven, can properly be described as transcendental … this is music not only of contemplation but of benediction". A grudging note was struck by William Glock, a proponent of avant-garde music, who commented in The Observer that the symphony was "like the work of a distinguished poet who has nothing very new to say, but says it in exquisitely flowing language".[36] Neville Cardus wrote, "The Fifth Symphony contains the most benedictory and consoling music of our time."[37] When the first recording came out in 1944 (see below) The Observer was more welcoming than Glock had been the year before, saying that the Fifth was to the Fourth Symphony as The Tempest is to King Lear … ideal beauty."[38]

After its premiere at a Prom concert in June 1943, the symphony was given in each of the following four seasons, conducted by Boult (1944 and 1947) and Basil Cameron (1945 and 1946). Seventeen further performances were given in subsequent Prom seasons between 1949 and 2012. In 1994 the composer Anthony Payne wrote of the symphony:

Recordings

The symphony was first recorded within a year of the premiere, under the auspices of the British Council.[38] More than thirty recordings have been issued subsequently.

ConductorOrchestraVenueDateLabel and no.
Ralph Vaughan WilliamsLondon PhilharmonicRoyal Albert Hall, London24 June 1943 SOMM Ariadne 5019-2
John BarbirolliHalléHouldsworth Hall, Manchester17 Feb 1944HMV 78s C 3388-3392
Serge KoussevitzkyBoston SymphonySanders Theater, Harvard University4 Mar 1947 Guild GHCD 2324
Ralph Vaughan WilliamsLondon PhilharmonicRoyal Albert Hall, London3 Sep 1952 SOMM CD 071
Sir Adrian BoultLondon PhilharmonicKingsway Hall, London2–4 Dec 1953Decca LXT 2910
Sir John BarbirolliPhilharmoniaKingsway Hall8–9 May 1962 HMV ASD 508
Sir Adrian BoultLondon PhilharmonicWembley Town Hall1–3 Apr 1969 HMV ASD 2538
André PrevinLondon SymphonyKingsway Hall25 & 28 May 1971RCA SB 6856
Gennady RozhdestvenskyBBC SymphonyRoyal Festival Hall, London22 Oct 1980 Carlton 15656 91252
Sir Alexander GibsonRoyal PhilharmonicEMI Abbey Road Studios, London25–26 May 1982 EMI ASD 143441 1
Vernon HandleyRoyal Liverpool PhilharmonicPhilharmonic Hall, LiverpoolSep 1986EMI CD EMX 9512
Bryden ThomsonLondon SymphonySt Jude's Church, Hampstead7–8 Apr 1987Chandos CHAN 8554
Yehudi MenuhinRoyal PhilharmonicAll Saints Church, Tooting30–31 Dec 1987 Virgin VC 7 90733-2
André PrevinRoyal PhilharmonicWalthamstow Assembly Hall6–7 Jul 1988Telarc CD 80158
Gennady RozhdestvenskyUSSR State SymphonyPhilharmonia Building, Leningrad30 Oct 1988Melodiya CD 10-02170-4
Leonard SlatkinPhilharmoniaWatford Town Hall6–8 Apr 1990 RCA RD 60556
Sir Neville MarrinerAcademy of Saint Martin in the FieldsHenry Wood Hall, LondonMay 1990Collins Classics 12022
Andrew DavisBBC SymphonySt Augustine's Church, KilburnDec 1992 Teldec 4509-90844-2
Bernard HaitinkLondon PhilharmonicRoyal Festival Hall15 Dec 1994 LPO-0072
Bernard HaitinkLondon PhilharmonicAbbey Road17–18 Dec 1994 EMI 7243 5 55487 2
André PrevinOrchestra of the Curtis Institute of MusicGiandomenico Studios, Collingswood, NJ8–9 Feb 1995EMI 55371
Kees BakelsBournemouth SymphonyPoole Arts Centre7–13 Sep 1996Naxos 8 550738
Roger NorringtonLondon PhilharmonicWatford Colosseum25–27 Nov 1996 Decca 458 357-2
Richard HickoxLondon SymphonyAll Saints, Tooting28 Oct 1997Chandos CHAN 9666
Walter HilgersBrandenburgischen Staatsorchester, Frankfurt (Oder)Konzerthalle Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Frankfurt (Oder)22 Jun & 26 Aug 2005Genuin GEN 86064
Robert SpanoAtlanta SymphonyWoodruff Arts Center, Atlanta25 Sep–3 Oct 2006Telarc CD 80676
Peter OundjianToronto SymphonyRoy Thomson Hall, TorontoNov 2008 TSO Live 0311
Martin YatesBournemouth SymphonyLighthouse, Poole1 Jul 2011 Dutton Epoch CDLX 7286
Leon BotsteinAmerican SymphonyFisher Center, Annandale-on-Hudson21 Aug 2011ASO download 203
Sir Mark ElderHalléBridgewater Hall, Manchester9 Nov 2011Hallé CD HLL 7533
Carlos KalmarOregon SymphonySchnitzer Hall, Portland, Oregon18–19 Feb 2012 PentaTone PTC 5186 471
Douglas BoydMusikkollegium WinterthurStadthaus, Winterthur21–25 Feb 2012 Sony 8 87254 23112 7
Douglas BostockArgovia PhilharmonicKultur & Kongresshaus, Aarau3–5 Nov 2013Coviello COV 91515
Andrew ManzeRoyal Liverpool PhilharmonicPhilharmonic Hall, Liverpool21–23 Apr 2017 Onyx 4184
Martyn BrabbinsBBC SymphonyWatford Colosseum4–5 November 2019Hyperion 00602458140088

Notes, references and sources

Sources

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Cox, pp. 116–117; and 119–121
  2. Mellers, p. 124
  3. Ursula Vaughan Williams, p. 255
  4. Horton, p. 200
  5. Pike (2003), pp. 153–154
  6. Whittet . Douglas . Sibelius and Vaughan Williams: Symphonic Synergies . Ralph Vaughan Williams Society Journal . Issue no. 88 (October 2023), pp. 8–12 . Ralph Vaughan Williams Society . 16 October 2023.
  7. Moore, pp. 143–144
  8. Day, pp. 154–155; and Howes, p. 43
  9. Vaughan Williams: unnumbered introductory page
  10. Adams, Byron. "The stages of revision of Vaughan Williams's Sixth Symphony", The Musical Quarterly, Fall 1989
  11. Atlas, pp. 24–25
  12. Culshaw, p. 121; Boult, Sir Adrian "Vaughan Williams and his Interpreters", The Musical Times, October 1972, pp. 957–958 ; and Notes to Somm CD SOMMCD 071 (2007) and Decca CD 00028947860464 (2013)
  13. Douglas, p. 66
  14. [Geoffrey Cuming|Cuming, G. J.]
  15. Howes, p. 43
  16. Mellers, pp. 176–177
  17. Mellers, pp. 177–178
  18. Vaughan Williams, p. 11
  19. Mellers, p. 178
  20. Mellers, p. 179; and Howes, p. 43
  21. Whittall, p. 204
  22. Vaughan Williams, Ralph. "Arnold Schōnberg 1874–1951", Music & Letters, October 1951 p. 322
  23. Vaughan Williams, p. 30
  24. Pike (1996), p. 168
  25. Bunyan, p. 46
  26. Connock, Stephen (1998). Notes to Chandos CD set CHAN 9625
  27. Cox, p. 121
  28. Howes, p. 48
  29. Cox, p. 122
  30. Howes, p. x
  31. Kennedy, p. 289
  32. Richards, Denby. "Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 in D Major", Musical Opinion, March 2009, p. 50
  33. Atlas, p. 19
  34. Vaughan Williams, p. 1
  35. Foss, p. 150
  36. Glock, William. "Music", The Observer, 18 July 1943, p. 2
  37. Cardus, Neville, "The Measure of Vaughan Williams", The Saturday Review, 31 July 1954, p. 45
  38. "On the Record: The Hallé Orchestra", The Observer, 25 June 1944, p. 3

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