| Abstract |
This book was one of the first estimates of Vaughan Williams to appear after his death in 1958 at the age of eighty-six, while still at the height of his musical powers. It has now been extensively revised by James Day, particularly in the light of the increasing interest shown in Vaughan Williams's music by the major gramophone companies, of the important studies of the composer which have been undertaken since the book was first published, and of the gratifying revival of English folk-music among the young. The deep roots of British musical tradition, stretching back in time through the work of Purcell, Byrd, Tallis, Gibbons and many others to the masters of the early polyphony, are very evident in the work of Vaughan Williams, who was also a progressive composer in the modern idiom. His qualities of integrity, power and vision continue to be relevant. The man and his music are 'all of a piece,' as James Day shows; and those who value such qualities in the composer as a person will find them in his compositions. |
