Discovering Unfamiliar Vaughan Williams

Cover of the album being discusses (courtesy of PIAS)

I have long been more than satisfied with my EMI Classics box set of recordings of Adrian Boult conducting the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. As a result, I recently overlooked Andrew Manze’s project to record the nine symphonies with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. However, his latest album provided me with an opportunity to listen to two Vaughan Williams compositions that I had not previously known to have been recorded. The longer of these is a score for a ballet in nine episodes entitled “Old King Cole.” The other is a setting of traditional dance tunes given the title “The Running Set.”

On the new album these are preceded by the more familiar “Job: A Masque for Dancing.” The CD version of this “Vaughan Williams program” is due for release this coming Friday. Currently, the best site for pre-ordering is provided by Presto Music; and that Web page is currently also available for MP3 and FLAC downloads, which include the accompanying booklet.

To be fair, “Old King Cole” is not, strictly speaking, a choreographed ballet as we know it. It was written for members of the English Folk Dance Society, who danced to the music on June 5, 1923. The narrative basically follows the familiar nursery rhyme. However, I was amused to observe that the “fiddlers three” of the text were presented as three solos, all performed by the same violinist, Thelma Handy. The music is structured in nine episodes, each with a brief text that establishes the narrative. There is more than a bit of wit, particularly in the sixth of these texts: “King is bored and goes to sleep. Queen betrays a lively interest in 2nd Fiddler.” “The Running Set” is a briefer offering (a little over six and one-half minutes). It consists of four episodes, each a setting of a different dance tune.

Both of these selections differ significantly from the “Job” ballet score. This was meant to be performed as a ballet, and Serge Diaghilev was approach to provide it with a suitable choreographer. However, he dismissed the work as “too English and old-fashioned;” and he died after passing that judgement in August of 1929. It was only in September of 1931 that the resident dance company at Sadler’s Wells (which would later become the Royal Ballet) performed choreography by Ninette de Valois. The choreography was revived in 1948, and the ballet’s Wikipedia page gives no further accounts of any other performances.

While Manze’s approach to Vaughan Williams’ “Job” score is definitely compelling, this music has never been near the top of my personal Vaughan Williams list. On the other hand I was decidedly amused by the narrative for “Old King Cole” and found the music for it more than merely appropriate. Since I seldom encounter something new for my “all things Vaughan Williams” list, I expect to revisit this album sooner rather than later!