Donald Macleod is joined by Eric Saylor to discuss a significant area of Vaughan Williams’ output that he cared about deeply but which is often overlooked - his music for the stage.

In the week of the 150th anniversary of Vaughan Williams' birth, Donald Macleod revisits a series of conversations he recorded earlier in the year with leading authorities on the composer. Each day he explores a new area of Vaughan Williams' life and music; shedding light on his central role in Britain's musical story, his posthumous impact and how we respond to him today. Part of Radio 3’s ongoing season, “Vaughan Williams’ Today”, marking the composer's 150th anniversary year.

Today, Donald invites Eric Saylor, author to guide us through some of Vaughan Williams many dramatic works which include masques, pageants, incidental music for stage plays, 6 operas, several ballets, and incidental music scores for both radio and film. Together, they also consider Vaughan Williams’ enduring fascination with John Bunyan’s story Pilgrim’s Progress. Eric discusses the idea of English Pastoralism and whether we should view it as backward looking and naïve, or as a more progressive cultural movement.

In Windsor Forest (Falstaff And The Fairies)
Catharine Rogers, soprano
Choir of Clare College, Cambridge
English Voices
Dmitri Ensemble
Sir David Willcocks, conductor

The Pilgrim's Progress: Act IV Scene 2 “The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains: Who so dwelleth…(excerpt)
Gerald Finley, bass-baritone (The Pilgrim)
Roderick Williams, baritone (First Shepherd)
Mark Padmore, tenor (Second Shepherd)
Jeremy White, bass (Third Shepherd)
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Richard Hickox, conductor

The Pilgrim's Progress: Act III Scene 1 “I buy the truth!” (excerpt)
Gerald Finley, bass-baritone (The Pilgrim)
Adrian Thompson, tenor (Lord Lechery)
Jonathan Fisher, bass (Demas)
John Kerr, baritone (Judas Iscariot)
Christopher Keyte, bass (Simon Magus)
Neil Gillespie, tenor (Worldly Glory)
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
Richard Hickox, conductor

Riders to the Sea (Where is she?)
Northern Sinfonia
Richard Hickox, conductor

Riders to the Sea (They are all gone now)
Linda Finnie, mezzo-soprano
Northern Sinfonia
Richard Hickox, conductor

Job – A Masque for Dancing (excerpt)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Davis, conductor

Valliant for Truth
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge
Timothy Brown, director

Produced by Rosie Boulton Show less