A Sea Symphony

Despite this being Vaughan Williams’ first symphony, it is nonetheless on an epic scale, with soprano and baritone soloists and a full chorus.

Such was its success that Vaughan Williams, on the strength of this piece, became hailed as the leading figure in the post-Elgar generation.

London

Having made some sketches for a symphonic poem about London, Vaughan Williams was encouraged by George Butterworth to write a full symphony, and adapted these initial sketches into his London Symphony.

Pastoral

Vaughan Williams’ third symphony is not ‘pastoral’ in the same sense as Beethoven’s Sixth; it is instead an encapsulation of his experiences in the First World War, when he served in the ambulance unit.

Sinfonia Antartica

Vaughan Williams’ seventh symphony, Sinfonia Antartica, originated in his music for the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic, telling of Robert Scott’s tragic expedition to the South Pole in 1912.

The Lark Ascending

The Lark Ascending is the nation’s favourite piece of music, according to Classic FM’s Hall of Fame 2008.

Inspired by George Meredith’s poem of the same name, the violin’s soaring lines and fluttering trills represent the song of the lark, whilst the orchestral accompaniment provides the backdrop against which the lark flies.

The Pilgrim's Progress

The Pilgrim’s Progress was an opera which Vaughan Williams spent over forty years of his life perfecting: he composed some of the incidental music for an amateur production in 1906, including the hymn-tune, 'York', but the first performance was not given until April 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain, opening and closing with that same tune.

Dona Nobis Pacem

This is another of Vaughan Williams’ works based on the poems of Walt Whitman (as is A Sea Symphony), but also includes quotations from scripture to form a cantata with an underlying political message.