RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
Richard II: incidental music (1944)
1. Prelude (Lento – Allegro moderato – Andante sostenuto)
2. i Act I scene 1 (Moderato – Harsh)
ii Transition to Act I scene 2 (Allegro – Lento (Foreboding))
iii Transition to Act I scene 3 (Lento – Allegro eroico)
3. i Act I scene 3, flourish for entrance of Richard and attendants (Allegro)
ii Act I scene 3, flourish for entrance of Bolingbroke (Allegro)
iii Act I scene 3, flourish for start of trial (Maestoso)
iv Act I scene 3, flourish for combatants’ charge (Maestoso)
v Act I scene 3, flourish to end trial (Maestoso)
vi Act I scene 3, exit of Richard and attendants (Allegro moderato)
4. i Transition to Act I scene 4 (Lento – Allegro)
ii Transition to Act II scene 1 (Allegro moderato – Lento)
iii Act II scene 1, exit and death of John O’Gaunt (Allegro moderato – Lento)
iv Transition to Act II scene 2 (Allegro – Lento)
v Transition to Act II scene 2 (Moderato)
vi Transition to Act II scene 2 (Moderato)
5. Transition to Act II scene 3 (Lento)
“To beat Bolingbroke back ...” – Bushy
6. Transition to Act II scene 4/Act III scene 1 (Moderato – Lento – Largo)
“Things past redress are now with me past care” – York
7. i Transition to Act III scene 2 (Alla marcia)
ii Transition to Act III scene 3 (Andante sostenuto – Despairing)
8. i Act III scene 3, flourish and entrance of Richard and attendants on the walls
(Moderato – Largo – Solemn)
ii Act III scene 3, exit of Richard and attendants (Largo)
9. i Transition to Act III scene 4 (Largo – Andante con moto)
ii Transition to Act IV scene 1 (Agitato – Più lento – Maestoso)
iii Act IV scene 1, entrance of York and Richard (Allegro)
iv Act IV scene 1, exit of Richard (Lento – Poco meno lento)
v Transition to Act IV scene 2 (Moderato – Andante con moto)
“A plot shall sow us a merry day” – Abbot
10. Underscoring and transition to Act V scene 2 (Andante sostenuto – Sorrowful)
“In wooing sorrow let’s be brief” – Richard
11. i Transition to Act V scene 3 (Allegro)
ii Transition from Act V scene 4 to Act V scene 5 (Lento)
12. i Act V scene 5 (Lento) TOM DUNN solo viola
“Music do I hear?” – Richard
ii Act V scene 5, entrance chord of groom
13. Act V scene 5, death of Richard (Andante moderato – Death)
14. Act V scene 6, entrance of Exton and finale (Maestoso)
“High sparks of honour in thee have I seen” – Bolingbroke
Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes for cello and orchestra (1929)NR
15. Lento (Salisbury Plain) –
16. Allegro scherzando ma non troppo (The Long Whip) –
17. Andante sostenuto (Low down in the Broom) –
18. Allegro (Bristol Town) –
19. Pesante (I’ve been to France) – Cadenza
Suite de Ballet (ca. 1913)AN
Arranged for flute and string orchestra by Roger Steptoe (1989)
20. i Improvisation (Andante)
21. ii Humoresque (Presto)
22. iii Gavotte (Quasi lento)
23. iv Passepied (Allegro vivacissimo)
Songs of Travel (1901-04)RW
Words: Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94)
Orchestrated by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1905), except *orchestrated by Roy Douglas (1961-62)
24. The Vagabond (Allegro moderato)
25. Let Beauty Awake (Moderato)*
26. The Roadside Fire (Allegretto)
27. Youth and Love (Andante sostenuto)*
28. In Dreams (Andantino)*
29. The Infinite Shining Heavens (Andante sostenuto)*
30. Whither Must I Wander (Andante)*
31. Bright is the Ring of Words (Moderato risoluto)
32. I Have trod the Upward and the Downward Slope (Andante sostenuto)*
NR NADÈGE ROCHAT cello
AN ANNA NOAKES flute
RW RODERICK WILLIAMS baritone
ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA conducted by MARTIN YATES
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING [Richard II: incidental music]
WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING IN ORCHESTRAL VERSION [Suite de Ballet]
Multi-ch Stereo
All tracks available
in stereo and multi-channel
SA-CD
This hybrid CD can be played on
any standard CD players
Dutton Epoch is thrilled to present celebrated baritone Roderick Williams in the complete orchestral version of Vaughan Williams’s Songs of Travel. Recorded at the Caird Hall, Dundee, in one remarkable session, everyone present was gripped by the music’s eloquence and impact. Written between the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Vaughan Williams’s incidental music for a BBC wartime production of Shakespeare’s Richard II was delivered by the composer in 1944, but went unheard when the production was aborted. This world premiere recording of RVW’s score reveals the composer at the peak of his powers. The Fantasia on Sussex Folk Tunes for cello and orchestra was written for Pablo Casals, and here, in cellist Nadège Rochat’s singing performance, the tunes appear as a succession of musical jewels. The short Suite de Ballet for flute and piano can now be heard in composer Roger Steptoe’s idiomatic 1989 orchestration for flute and strings. Flautist Anna Noakes projects the flute line with fine tone and the strings of the RSNO provide a sumptuous context.
“... on this fascinating compendium, Nadège Rochet makes the best possible case for the Fantasia on Sussex Folk Times ... Yates's support is as
bright as a button both here and for flautist Anna Noakes in miniature Suite de Ballet” “baritone Roderick Williams is on exceptionally eloquant form
in the Songs of Travel.” "Again, Yates and the RSNO are at the topof their game throughout, making this an absolute delight from start to finish."
"...SACD recording is outstandingly vivid and realistic ... testament to the skills of the experienced team of producer Michael Ponder and engineer
Dexter Newman" "Strongly recommened." Andrew Achenbach, Gramophone, August 2019