# 20th Century Symphonic Masterpieces: Part Eight - Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 5



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

20th Century Symphonic Masterpieces: Part Eight - Vaughan Williams' _Symphony No. 5_



















During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Vaughan Williams was occupied with a wide variety of musical projects. His earliest film scores date from this time, such as those for The 49th Parallel (1940) and Coastal Command (1942). He also contributed to the war effort with works like the Five Wartime Hymns (1942) and the pageant England's Pleasant Land (1938); the latter work incorporates early sketches for the Symphony No. 5. There was also the ongoing labor on the opera/morality play The Pilgrim's Progress. Some incidental commissions also came his way, like the Serenade to Music written for Sir Henry Wood's golden jubilee as a conductor (1938).

And there was the Symphony No. 5, largely written over the years 1938 to 1943. Vaughan Williams himself conducted the London Philharmonic in the work's first performance at a Royal Albert Hall Promenade concert on June 24, 1943. A decade separates this symphony and its predecessor, and a work more unlike the violent and tumultuous Symphony No. 4 would be hard to imagine. Vaughan Williams scholar Michael Kennedy has called the Fifth the "symphony of the celestial city," which perhaps gives some indication of the work's radiance and lyricism.

The Symphony No. 5 was dedicated to Jean Sibelius, and the latter's own Symphony No. 5 is evoked in the serene and mysterious opening Preludio. French horns sound out in D major over a low C in the strings, an ambiguity that is partly resolved when a radiant E major emerges in the strings. There are some darker moments during the more animated development section, but the opening horn calls return, and the main melody is heroically sounded out with brass and tympani. The epilogue is more ambivalent, wandering sadly toward a haunting and uncertain ending. The second movement, Scherzo, is a sardonic little dance that emerges out of swirling strings. Blasts from the brass section occasionally interrupt the tune. As turbulent as the music gets, the scoring is light and nimble throughout. The music relaxes toward the end of the movement, perhaps in anticipation of what is to follow.

The Symphony No. 5 derives some of its thematic content from the opera The Pilgrim's Progress, but only in the third movement "Romanza" is the connection between opera and symphony dramatically apparent. In the manuscript score, Vaughan Williams included a brief quotation from Bunyan's work: "Upon this place 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.'" The movement begins mysteriously, as a stately chorale-like theme is presented. Woodwinds, particularly English horn and oboe, introduce a new theme (taken from Act One, Scene Two of the opera). The music becomes temporarily blustery, but the chorale theme returns and builds to a noble climax. A solo violin leads into the hushed and poignant coda. Like the Brahms Symphony No. 4, the Vaughan Williams Fifth ends with a Passacaglia; the stately theme is heard in the low strings at first, and is developed by the rest of the orchestra. Variations on the passacaglia theme range from the playful to the jubilant to the restive. A big, brass-laden climax leads to a return of the symphony's opening French horn call, this time in a more assertive guise. The strings reflect on motifs from the first movement, with the passacaglia theme lurking nearby, and fade into a very peaceful and beautiful ending to what some have called Vaughan Williams' greatest symphony.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

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What can I say? This is one of my most cherished works. I loved it on first-listen and even after all these years, I continue to be moved by it. RVW's 5th comes between two rather aggressive, violent works, so in a sense, it came 'out of nowhere' given what happened in the 4th symphony and then one listens to his 6th symphony and perhaps thinks "Wow, the 5th sounds almost like an anomaly." But this is just the composer doing what he always had done, pushing himself further into new directions. This is one of qualities I admire about RVW was his ability to make every work a "world unto it's own". Much like Mahler, but obviously in a completely different way. Anyway, RVW's 5th was one of the only times I have actually shed a tear to music --- the third movement _Romanza_ if it hits me just right, will bring an onslaught of tears. Anyway, what do you guys think of this symphony? Any favorite performances? I would say my favorite performance is Previn/LSO on RCA, but I also love Boult/LPO on EMI. Another favorite performance is kind of left-field is Rozhdestvensky/BBC SO on IMP Classics (I'm guessing this label's name --- I don't have the disc in front of me right now).


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I think this is the most misunderstood piece of well-known music there is because I do not believe it is pastoral. I think it has all the tension of the two symphonies either side of it just below the surface -- even some conflict -- and that it takes an insightful conductor to find it. I am surprised Boult and Barbirolli never did. I believe Bryden Thomson does in his recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. For a taste go to about 12:45 of the first movement to hear the first turn in that direction, then about 4 minutes into the second movement. This recording is full of tension that other conductors miss. For more I wrote at lenght about this in my Amazon review.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

larold said:


> I think this is the most misunderstood piece of well-known music there is because I do not believe this is pastoral. I think it has all the tension of the two symphonies either side of it just below the surface and that it takes an insightful conductor to find the tension. I am surprised Boult and Barbirolli never did. I believe Bryden Thomson does in his recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. I wrote at lenght about this in my Amazon review of that piece.


I agree completely about the symphony, and that is why I found the Handley/RLPO as a revelation after only being familiar with the Barbirolli. Surprisingly (*) I found the Rattle/LSO live Proms performance from 2020 to be outstanding, perhaps partly because of the circumstances, i.e. in an empty Royal Albert Hall during the height of the pandemic.

* - Mostly because RVW was rarely part of his repertoire


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

larold said:


> I think this is the most misunderstood piece of well-known music there is because I do not believe it is pastoral. I think it has all the tension of the two symphonies either side of it just below the surface -- even some conflict -- and that it takes an insightful conductor to find it. I am surprised Boult and Barbirolli never did. I believe Bryden Thomson does in his recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. For a taste go to about 12:45 of the first movement to hear the first turn in that direction, then about 4 minutes into the second movement. This recording is full of tension that other conductors miss. For more I wrote at length about this in my Amazon review.


Yes, there is quite a lot of tension beneath the surface of this music and Thomson was always a fantastic advocate of RVW. I like his whole symphony cycle quite a lot. Have you heard either of Rozhdestvensky's performances? They come as a great surprise to me as I never would've previously associated a Russian conductor with this kind of music, but he does a remarkable job with RVW.


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## REP (Dec 8, 2011)

A uniquely British symphony -- you would never mistake it for the work of a continental composer. It's also one of the first works to spring to mind when composing a list of great British symphonies (see also: Elgar's two masterpieces). Funny that it was considered by some to be Vaughan Williams's swan song at the time. I guess many people just assumed that a composer in his 70s didn't have much left to give, and of course the music of the 5th is so grand and elegiac that it does sound like a composer's final testament. It's almost a shame RVW went on to write four more symphonies; this would have been the perfect farewell to life and music.

I agree with Neo Romanza that the 5th sounds like an anomaly. Many of RVW's other symphonies are loud, dark, and violent; this one is soft, gauzy, and elegiac. In that regard, the 5th's nearest musical cousin might be Strauss's Four Last Songs. Both works elicit a sense of autumnal resignation and a nostalgia for times long past. In RVW's case, these sentiments probably derived as much from the war as they did from old age. In 1943, Britain was fighting for its life and there was no guarantee it would win. The Blitz made the threat of annihilation all too real. No wonder then if some people saw the 5th as an elegy for Britain and the British way of life.


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

Its a great Synphony. My favorite from VW. It would be the work I would recommend to people to see if they like VW. If you dont like this hes probably not for you


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Barbirolli is good but there are many others that make a good job of this great work: Previn, Haitink, Handley ...


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> Barbirolli is good but there are many others that make a good job of this great work: Previn, Haitink, Handley ...


I never cared for Barbirolli's 5th. There's just something that's missing in it. Another 5th performance I thought very little of is Alexander Gibson's on EMI (coupled with an outstanding 4th and 6th with Berglund/Bournemouth or, at least, in the 2-CD set I own these performances are all coupled together).


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

^ I probably should have been clear I was talking about the Dutton issue. The sound is a little old and the orchestra (Halle) is not top notch but it's still a great performance! Maybe you refer to the Philharmonia recording (which I haven't heard)?


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> ^ I probably should have been clear I was talking about the Dutton issue. The sound is a little old and the orchestra (Halle) is not top notch but it's still a great performance! Maybe you refer to the Philharmonia recording (which I haven't heard)?


Ah yes, I've seen that Dutton release before and, yes, I'm referring to the Philharmonia on EMI (Warner). Don't get me wrong, Barbriolli was a fine conductor, but I don't think his Vaughan Williams was particularly noteworthy with special exception of his performances of the _Tallis Fantasia_ and _Symphony No. 8_.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Neo Romanza said:


> Ah yes, I've seen that Dutton release before and, yes, I'm referring to the Philharmonia on EMI (Warner). Don't get me wrong, Barbriolli was a fine conductor, but I don't think his Vaughan Williams was particularly noteworthy with special exception of his performances of the _Tallis Fantasia_ and _Symphony No. 8_.


Check out his live VW 6th with the Bavarian Radio SO


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Becca said:


> Check out his live VW 6th with the Bavarian Radio SO


I'll try! Thanks! I know he's recorded a good bit of RVW, so there's no telling what else in the archives.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Neo Romanza said:


> I'll try! Thanks! I know he's recorded a good bit of RVW, so there's no telling what else in the archives.


The only one with which I am familiar is from a BBC broadcast of the premier of the 8th, typical 50's radio mono sound. I think the studio recording made a few months (?) later is a much better performance.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Becca said:


> The only one with which I am familiar is from a BBC broadcast of the premier of the 8th, typical 50's radio mono sound. I think the studio recording made a few months (?) later is a much better performance.


This is the recording I'm referring to:

Vaughan Williams - A London Symphony & Symphony No. 8


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

This is the 1944 Halle Barbirolli:


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I believe that the JB Society recording of the 2nd is from the Pye recording. It's not clear if the 8th is the premier or the studio recording which was made by the Mercury records team.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Neo Romanza said:


> Ah yes, I've seen that Dutton release before and, yes, I'm referring to the Philharmonia on EMI (Warner). Don't get me wrong, Barbriolli was a fine conductor, but I don't think his Vaughan Williams was particularly noteworthy with special exception of his performances of the _Tallis Fantasia_ and _Symphony No. 8_.


You couldn't be more wrong!! Barbirolli's London Symphony is wonderful and that Dutton record is also. I'm sure there are others, too.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> You couldn't be more wrong!! Barbirolli's London Symphony is wonderful and that Dutton record is also. I'm sure there are others, too.


Oh well. There isn't a right/wrong when it comes to one's own preferences.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

^ I know that (and agree) but I am not sure how deeply you have looked. You seemed to have formed an opinion (Barbirolli doesn't do VW so well) which may have blocked you from finding the good ones!? If that's wrong and you have tried a good few then OK, fine.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> ^ I know that (and agree) but I am not sure how deeply you have looked. You seemed to have formed an opinion (Barbirolli doesn't do VW so well) which may have blocked you from finding the good ones!? If that's wrong and you have tried a good few then OK, fine.


Well, I've heard enough of his Vaughan Williams to reach the conclusion that he's not one of my preferred RVW interpreters. Love his Mahler, Sibelius, Elgar and Delius, though.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

_Have you heard either of Rozhdestvensky's performances? They come as a great surprise to me as I never would've previously associated a Russian conductor with this kind of music, but he does a remarkable job with RVW._

Can't say I've heard any Vaughan Williams from him and I'm not surprised about your response. I think Rozhdestvensky was more cosmoplitan and less Russian per se than other name conductors of his generation.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

_ I've heard enough of his Vaughan Williams to reach the conclusion that he's not one of my preferred RVW interpreters. Love his Mahler, Sibelius, Elgar and Delius, though._

I was of similar mind then heard this terrific version of the Tallis Fantasia and Greensleeves on a mixed string album of Elgar and RVW


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

larold said:


> _ I've heard enough of his Vaughan Williams to reach the conclusion that he's not one of my preferred RVW interpreters. Love his Mahler, Sibelius, Elgar and Delius, though._
> 
> I was of similar mind then heard this terrific version of the Tallis Fantasia and Greensleeves on a mixed string album of Elgar and RVW
> View attachment 180583


I mentioned this performance of the _Tallis Fantasia_ a few posts ago --- I think it's fabulous.


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