Exploring: Vaughan Williams 'The Lark Ascending'
We take a look into the much loved piece by Vaughan Williams and why it still resonates with so many.
PA ImagesLast updated 14th Mar 2021
As day-to-day life seemingly returns to normal, we are left reflecting over the past few months and the journey we have taken with our listeners.
Throughout this uncertain time, one thing that has kept us all going is the music. We have been able to share our favourite pieces with our listeners, and they have been able to share theirs with us via the Request Hour on Simon Mayo’s show, every weekday from 12-1pm.
One consistent audience favourite is Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, so we’ve looked into the history of the piece and why it is loved by so many.
Composed in the early days of World War One in 1914, The Lark Ascending is an instrumental piece written originally for violin and piano but later reworked for violin and orchestra. Stories document that Vaughan Williams wrote the first sketches for the work inspired by the poem of the same name by George Meredith, whilst walking on the cliffs of Dover, where a young boy spotted the composer scribbling in a notebook and assumed he was a spy.
The first performance, delayed by the outbreak of the war, premiered in 1921 with a performance by violinist Marie Hall, whom Vaughan Williams originally wrote the piece for.
The piece depicts the lark’s birdsong and its flight, often described as an escape from the noise of everyday life - something we’ve regularly returned to as listeners shared their recordings of birdsong during lockdown for Simon Mayo’s Joybringer, every weekday from 11.30am.
The Lark Ascending is one of Vaughan Williams' most recognisable works, music which Richard Knight argues in his book of the same name charts the development of the mythical concept of the English countryside.
Vaughan Williams worked all his life for equality and democratic ideals. He was widely known for believing that music is and should be for everyone and not just seen as though it’s intended for a wealthier elite.