A London Symphony
Oboe Concerto
ALBION RECORDS has recorded Vaughan Williams' early Swinburne setting for soprano, chorus and orchestra, The Garden of Proserpine (1899). Michael Kennedy considers that this unpublished work is superior to Willow Wood, with "imaginative scoring" and "unmistakeble VW fingerprints". It is a substantial piece, at 489 bars, and is scored for full orchestra including four horns and three trombones. Big stuff for the twenty-seven year-old composer!
The coupling is Patrick Hadley's cantata Fen and Flood, arranged by Vaughan Williams in 1956, for soprano, baritone and mixed chorus. Many of you will, hopefully, know and love Hadley's gorgeous The trees so high. Vaughan Williams must have thought very highly of Fen and Flood to spend the time making this arrangement. The Albion recording is a world première.
NOW AVAILABLE AS DOWNLOAD OR CD.