Vaughan Williams was inspired by the poem of the same name by George Meredith and he plucked certain lines from the poem to inscribe the score, as follows:
He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.
For singing till his heaven fills,
’T is love of earth that he instils,
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup,
And he the wine which overflows
To lift us with him as he goes.
Till lost on his aërial rings
In light, and then the fancy sings.
The work was composed in 1914 for piano and violin but remained unperformed til Vaughn Williams’ return from serving as an ambulance driver in the war. It was premiered in 1920 in its duo form by its dedicatee, Marie Hall, who had some hand in its final shape. An international star of the violin, she also gave the work’s first performance in its orchestral form the following year.
Performed by Amalia Hall and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Tobias Ringborg at their Great Classics series concert, Auckland Town Hall, 18 August 2022.
Recorded by RNZ Concert
Producer: Tim Dodd
Engineer: Rangi Powick
