Symphony No. 8 (Vaughan Williams)

Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 8 in D minor was composed between 1953 and 1955. Sir John Barbirolli, its dedicatee, conducted the Hallé Orchestra in the premiere at the Kings Hall in Manchester, on 2 May 1956. It is the shortest of the composer's nine symphonies, and is mostly buoyant and optimistic in tone.

Background and first performances By the mid-1950s Vaughan Williams, in his eighties, was regarded as the Grand Old Man of English music, much though he disliked the term.Pople, p. 50; and Kennedy, pp. 284 and 299 Between 1903 and 1952 he had composed seven symphonies, and in 1953 he started sketching out another.Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 341 Progress was slowed by his busy schedule, including a long spell lecturing and conducting in the US in the second half of 1954,Vaughan Williams (1964) pp. 348–357 but by January 1955 the symphony was substantially complete.Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 358 While it was in the final stages of composition the composer and his wife went to a performance of Turandot at Covent Garden, at which Vaughan Williams became fascinated by the tuned gongs extensively used in Puccini's score, and he added them to the already large percussion section required for the symphony.Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 371

The work was not written to commission, but Sir John Barbirolli, conductor-in-chief of the Hallé Orchestra, asked Vaughan Williams for a new piece, and the composer offered him the symphony. Conductor and orchestra gave the composer a private run-through of the work in February 1956,Cobbe, p. 568 and the premiere was scheduled for Manchester in May. The composer inscribed the manuscript, "For Glorious John, with love and admiration from Ralph" and the published score is headed "Dedicated to Sir John Barbirolli".Vaughan Williams (1964), p, 372

The first performance was given by the Hallé, conducted by Barbirolli, at the Kings Hall in Manchester on 2 May 1956. It was recorded by the BBC and subsequently released on disc.Doctor, p. 265 and Notes to Barbirolli Society CD SJB 1055 The same orchestra and conductor gave the London premiere at the Royal Festival Hall on 14 May.

The Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy gave the work its US premiere on 5 October 1956.Schloss, Edwin H. "Orchestra Season Opens", The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 October 1956, p. 9 The following year, on 30 June, Leopold Stokowski conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in the work at the Festival Hall."Concerts", The Observer, 30 June 1957, p. 11 Charles Munch conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a series of performances of the work, beginning on 31 October 1957."Vaughan Williams' Eighth", The Boston Globe, 2 November 1957, p. 7 and "Serkin concert this Sunday", The Item, 7 November 1957, p. 9

Music Vaughan Williams's earlier symphonies either had titles (A Sea Symphony, A London Symphony, Pastoral Symphony, Sinfonia antartica) or were published as Symphony in F minor, in D major and in E minor. Those in the latter group were widely referred to as Symphonies No 4, 5, and 6, but Vaughan Williams disapproved: "I have never put numbers to my symphonies and don't want to start now".Cobbe, p. 569 In the end the new work was published, by the Oxford University Press, as "Symphony No 8 in D minor".Vaughan Williams (1956), p. 1

The Eighth is the shortest of Vaughan Williams's nine symphonies, a typical performance taking just under half an hour.Notes to Naxos 9.80006 (Barbirolli); Decca 0028947860488 (Boult); RCA 090266059027 (Previn); Parlophone 0077776479859 (Handley); and Onyx ONYX4155 (Manze)

The symphony is scored for an orchestra with conventional woodwind, brass, and string sections (enlarged by an extra harp) but an augmented percussion section. Woodwinds: two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets (in B), two bassoons Brass: two horns (in F), two trumpets (in B), three trombones Percussion: timpani, vibraphone, triangle, glockenspiel, side drum, cymbals, tubular bells, tuned gongs, bass drum, xylophone, celesta Strings: two harps, and strings

The work is in four movements.

I. Fantasia The opening movement, in D minor, has the subtitle Variazioni senza tema – variations without a theme. The critic and musicologist Michael Kennedy writes that the movement is "among the most highly and skilfully organised" that Vaughan Williams wrote, "with rich and diverse thematic material". As the composer noted, the movement can be analysed in terms of traditional sonata form, with the opening moderato freely recapitulated as the allegro vivace sixth section, and the chorale-like third section as the largamente seventh.Burton, Anthony (2015), Notes to LPO CD LPO 0082

There are three principal motifs, all closely related: two rising fourths for trumpet, answered by vibraphone; a phrase for flute in jig time; and a descending figure for strings. Kennedy writes that the variations illustrate various facets of the composer's style: "The second, presto, plays around with all three motifs; the third is a chorale-like tune in A minor for strings and harp with a subsidiary theme for oboe and cello".Kennedy, Michael (2012). Notes to Hallé CD CDHLL7533 The themes of both variations, and of the fourth (an allegretto in for oboe and clarinet) derive from the initial trumpet motif. In the fifth variation the trumpet figure is extended for cellos and harp; the sixth is quicker and elaborates the flute motif for bassoons, cellos and basses. In the seventh variation the tune of the third is given at a slower tempo. The movement ends with the opening motif returning on the trumpet, with, in Kennedy's phrase, "a final shimmer on vibraphone and strings".

II. Scherzo alla marcia This movement, in C minor, is labelled "per stromenti a fiato" – for wind instruments – and is scored for woodwind and brass only.Vaughan Williams (1956), p. 42 Although it contains 181 bars as opposed to the 111 of the slow movement its fast pace makes it the shortest movement of the symphony in performance, usually playing for under four minutes.Schwartz, pp. 141 and 144 Like the first movement, it has three main themes: one for bassoons, one for trumpet and one for flutes and other high woodwind. A fugato section is followed by a trio in pastoral vein, and a brief return of the scherzo brings the movement to a close.Schwartz, pp. 143–144

III. Cavatina The third movement, a cavatina in E minor, is scored for strings only. This movement, in a five-part rondo form, has a meditative character; Kennedy calls it a "beautiful old-age reverie of farewell to Tallis and larks ascending". The main theme bears a resemblance to the traditional chorale that Vaughan Williams, as editor, included in the English Hymnal as "O sacred head sore wounded".Dearmer and Vaughan Williams, p. 102 The tune is used in Bach's St Matthew Passion, a work close to Vaughan Williams's heart, and he said that its appearance in the symphony was "a mix-up in my mind". The theme, in E minor, is given to the cellos accompanied by occasional pianissimo chords and pizzicato bass; the second subject, in A, is played by the violins. The central interlude of the movement is a rhapsodic episode with violin solo, and in the recapitulation and coda, dominated by a solo cello line, the first and second subjects are combined. The movement closes quietly in E major.Schwartz, pp. 145–146

IV. Finale The D major / D minor finale is headed Toccata to indicate its virtuoso and exuberant character. After a loud stroke of the gong and bell the full orchestra states the first theme, alternating with the same theme played by tuned percussion. A lyrical theme follows, played by violins against a repeated woodwind figure. As the movement progresses to its climax the large percussion section dominates – the composer said the piece employed "all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer".Foreman, Lewis (2016). Notes to Onyx CD ONYX 4155

The Eighth is the only of Vaughan Williams's symphonies other than the Fourth to end loudly. The others all have quiet conclusions, some fading to Vaughan Williams's much favoured marking niente – "nothing".Frogley, p. 99; Mark, p. 180; and Kennedy, p. 286

Critical reception The Manchester Guardian reported after the premiere, "It is not often that the entire audience in an English concert hall gets on its feet to cheer, particularly after a new work","Audience cheers Dr Vaughan Williams", The Manchester Guardian, 3 May 1956, p. 1 and the Eighth has remained one of the composer's most popular symphonies."Hallé Orchestra", The Times, 15 May 1956, p. 3 In 2008, the music critic of The Times wrote, "With its witty variations in search of a theme, its sparky scherzo and its toybox of a toccata, the symphony sounds like the work of a young man at the height of his powers".Finch, Hilary. "Hallé – Elder", The Times, 31 July 2008, p. 2/19

After the US premiere, the critic Edwin H. Schloss called the symphony "a work of stimulating originality – music of a freshness, exuberance and warmth", the scherzo "pert, garrulous and brimming with delightful humor" and the cavatina "music of great lyric loveliness". Schloss reported that the work was greeted "with a torrent of applause". When Ormandy and the orchestra took the work to New York Douglas Watt found it "sunny, lively, expertly tailored and winning".Watt, Douglas. "Phillies Open Season", Daily News, New York, 10 October 1956, p. 616 The New York Music Critics' Circle named the piece as the best new symphony of the year."Musical Notes", The San Bernardino County Sun, 5 Apr 1957, p. 40 Reviewing the first recording to be issued of the work the critic Harold C. Schonberg concluded that Vaughan Williams "could well be today's major symphonist".Schonberg, Harold C. "Records: Vaughan Williams' Eighth", The New York Times, 6 January 1956, p. D16

Among assessments in the 21st century, Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001) says of the piece:

Recordings YearOrchestraConductorLocationRef 1956 Hallé Sir John Barbirolli Free Trade Hall, Manchester Barbirolli Society SJB 1055 1956 Hallé Sir John Barbirolli Free Trade Hall Pye Nixa NCT 17000 1956 London Philharmonic Sir Adrian Boult Kingsway Hall, London Decca LXT 5314 1958 Boston Symphony Charles Munch Music Shed, Tanglewood Pristine Audio XR PASC 368 1959 New York Philharmonic Sir John Barbirolli Carnegie Hall, New York West Hill Radio Archives WHRA-6033 1961 Hallé Sir John Barbirolli Teatro Kursaal, Lugano Ermitage ERM 181-2 1964 BBC Symphony Leopold Stokowski Royal Albert Hall, London Carlton BBC Radio Classics 15656 91312) 1967 Hallé Sir John Barbirolli Royal Albert Hall BBC Legends BBCL 4100-2 1968 London Symphony André Previn Kingsway Hall RCA Victor SB 6769 1969 London Philharmonic Sir Adrian Boult Kingsway Hall HMV ASD 2469 1972 London Philharmonic Sir Adrian Boult Royal Festival Hall, London EMI Classics DVD 094638 845690 1989 USSR State Symphony Gennady Rozhdestvensky Philharmonia Building, Leningrad Melodiya CD 10-02170-6 1989 London Symphony Bryden Thomson St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead, London Chandos CHAN 8828 1991 Philharmonia Leonard Slatkin Abbey Road Studios, London RCA Victor Red Seal 09026-61196-2 1992 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Vernon Handley Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool EMI Eminence CD EMX 2209 1993 BBC Symphony Andrew Davis St Augustine's, Kilburn, London Teldec 4509-90858-2 1996 Bournemouth SO Kees Bakels Poole Arts Centre Naxos 8550737 2000 London Philharmonic Bernard Haitink Abbey Road EMI CD 5 57086 2003 London Symphony Richard Hickox All Saints Church, Tooting, London Chandos CHSA 5016 2008 London Philharmonic Vladimir Jurowski Royal Festival Hall LPO CD 0082 2012 Hallé Sir Mark Elder BBC Studios MediaCityUK, Salford Hallé CDHLL 7533 2015 Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Andrew Manze Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Onyx 4155

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