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Home , E minor, Homorhythm, Pandiatonicism, Ralph Vaughan Williams

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE COMPOSITIONAL STYLE OF

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: THE FIFTH SYMPHONY

AND THE

A Thesis

Presented to

The Graduate Faculty of the University of Akron

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of

Andrew Gresham

May 2019 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE COMPOSITIONAL STYLE OF

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: THE FIFTH SYMPHONY

AND THE

Andrew Gresham

Thesis

Approved: Accepted:

______Advisor Dean of College of Arts and Sciences Mr. Jack Harel Dr. Linda Subich, Ph.D.

______Co-Advisor Executive Dean, Graduate School Dr. Brooks Toliver Dr. Chand Midha, Ph.D.

______Co-Chair of Theory and Composition Date Dr. Robert Brownlow

ii ABSTRACT

In the span of his career, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote works for a wide array of genres, including songs, choral works, and large ensemble works. In addition to these works, Vaughan Williams also wrote a number of , including one for , piano, violin and a Romance for harmonica. Among his most prized concertos is the Concerto for Oboe & Strings. While completing this concerto, Vaughan

Williams was also in the process of composing his fifth symphony. The Fifth Symphony, in contrast, is an expansive and virtuous work. Throughout this study, I will focus on

Vaughan Williams’s particular compositional style as well as providing examples of these stylistic features. The goal is also to draw comparisons between the two works, and how they are related to each other in many interesting ways.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF FIGURES…...... iv

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………...1

II. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND……………………………………………………4

III. VAUGHAN WILLIAMS’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE…………………………...7

Sound and Origins…………………………………………………………………7

The Fifth Symphony………………………………………………………………9

The Concerto…………………………………………………………………….11

The Connection…………………………………………………………………..12

IV. ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS……………………………………………...13

Melody and Motives……………………………………………………………..17

Rhythmic Devices & ………………………………………...... …..20

Modality and Pandiatonicism…………………………………………………....20

Pentatonicism……………………………………………………………………22

Counterpoint……………………………………………………………………..25

Key Center and Form……………………………………………………………25

Orchestration and Other Special Features……………………………………….27

V. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………….32

VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………...33

iv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1.1 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 2 – 4 15

1.2 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 4 15

1.3 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 5 15

2.1 Symphony no. 5 in : I. Preludio, mm. 1 – 3 16

2.2 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 9 – 11 16

2.3 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 10 – 11 16

2.4 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, 3 – 5 16

2.5 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, 6 – 9 16

3.1 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 23 19

3.2 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 24 – 25 19

3.3 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 25 – 26 19

3.4 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 25 19

3.5 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale, mm. 27 19

4.1 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 178 – 186 22

5.1 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 40 – 41 24

5.2 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 40 – 42 24

5.3 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 40 – 42 24

5.4 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 43 – 45 24

v

5.5 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 43 – 44 24

5.6 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 40 – 41 24

5.7 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio, mm. 40 – 41 24

6 diagram for III. Finale of Concerto for Oboe and Strings 25

7 Key signature diagram for II. Scherzo of Symphony no. 5 in D Major 26

8.1 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 37 – 39 28

8.2 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 40 – 42 28

9.1 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 45 – 47 29

9.2 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 45 – 47 29

9.3 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 50 – 54 29

9.4 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 50 – 54 29

9.5 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale, mm. 50 – 54 29

10.1 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: II. Scherzo, mm. 92 – 98 30

10.2 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: II. Scherzo, mm. 92 – 98 30

10.3 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: II. Scherzo, mm. 93 – 98 30

10.4 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: II. Scherzo, mm. 93 – 97 30

10.5 Symphony no. 5 in D Major: II. Scherzo, mm. 89 – 92 30

vi

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In the span of his career, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote works for a wide array of genres, including songs, choral works, and large ensemble works. In addition to these works, Vaughan Williams also wrote a number of concertos, including one for tuba, piano, violin and a Romance for harmonica.1 Among his most prized concertos is the Concerto for Oboe & Strings. Completed and first performed in

September 1944, Hubert Foss comments in his book on Ralph Vaughan Williams that it is “terse and direct, with a good measure of humor”.2 In ’s book, The Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Howes describes the “pastoral” quality that it displays.

Describing the final movement of the piece, he states that “here is once more the English landscape with the thoughts and visions which it always elicits from the composer”.3

While completing this concerto, Vaughan Williams was also in the process of composing his fifth symphony. The Fifth Symphony, in contrast, is an expansive and virtuous work. Howes posits it carries a “serene, almost religious character”.4

1 Howes, Frank. The Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1977), 117. 2 Foss, Hubert. Ralph Vaughan Williams. (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1974), 170-171. 3 Howes, 120. 4 Howes, 41. 1

Additionally, in Foss’s book on the works of Vaughan Williams, he explains that

Vaughan Williams’s music has a strong sense of “Englishry”, or English heritage.5 In this way, the Concerto for Oboe and Strings and the Fifth Symphony are a sound testament.

The Concerto for Oboe and Strings (which he began writing in 1943) was written for British oboist Léon Goossens, a musician and virtuoso from the Royal College of

Music, and it would become a hallmark concerto in the musical canon today largely because of the performance abilities of Goossens.6 Meanwhile, the Fifth Symphony is a profound work that exhibits a similar quality to the concerto of a sense of peace and reverence.

From a purely compositional standpoint, there are noticeable similarities among the two pieces. This is not by accident, and it has been noted by Howes that with its

“soaring melody and diatonic and cross-”, the concerto exhibits

“something of the feeling of the Fifth Symphony”.7 In fact, the second movement of the symphony was repurposed as the finale of the oboe concerto. It can even be said, according to Emily Kupitz, that the finale is intrinsically tied to portions of the Fifth

Symphony thematically and motivically.8

Among scholars, there is consensus that the concerto is a “satellite work”, since the original Scherzo movement from the Symphony was turned into the Finale third

5 Foss, 49 6 Howes, 117. 7 Howes, 120 8 Kupitz, Emily. English Folk Song Influences on the Vaughan Williams Concerto for Oboe and Strings . (Doctoral Dissertation, Arizona State University, 2013), pp. 9. 2

movement of the Concerto. Vaughan Williams then wrote a new second movement for the Fifth Symphony.9 Compositionally, these movements – and the concerto as a whole – are very similar to each other. In light of this, it is not surprising that resemblances can be drawn.

By virtue of this apparent compositional connection, I will show the similarities between Vaughan Williams’s Fifth Symphony and his Oboe Concerto. Through careful analysis, I will provide an in-depth review of a variety of the theoretical elements found in the Concerto, as well as an investigation of segments of the Fifth Symphony. The primary focus of this paper is to illustrate and comment on Vaughan Williams’s compositional techniques displayed in these two works, to show how the music is connected on several musical levels, and how the concerto is indeed a “satellite work”.

9 Kupitz, 11.

3

CHAPTER II

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

There are very few composers that can create the sound and mood that Ralph Vaughan

Williams’s music exhibits. Some of this is due to his studies with Bruch in Germany and

Ravel in France. In this way, Vaughan Williams’s music contains some elements of the current ideologies of the music of Germany and France.10 In addition, he also attempted to study with , a famous English composer of pieces like the Enigma

Variations. Vaughan Williams commented in his autobiography “…though Elgar would not teach me personally he could not help teaching me through his music”.11 Early on

Vaughan Williams was struggling to find his own path, but it was clear to him that his abilities in composition could be honed and perfected.12

Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in Down Ampney, on October 12,

1872. He lived in his mother’s home, Place., in . After some time learning piano, violin and , Vaughan Williams later attended several prestigious schools after completing his preparatory school studies at Rottindgdean, ,

10Vaughan Williams chose to forge his own style and take some elements of his teachings in Berlin and Paris and apply them to his compositions. His music follows more along the lines of the German style of large-scale Romanticism and “scene-painting”, rather than the typical sounds of compositions coming out of England at the time. Ottaway, Hugh. "Ralph Vaughan Williams." In Twentieth-century English Masters, by The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 97-142. (London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1986), 98. 11 Foss, 31 12 Ottaway, 98. 4 including at the in London and Trinity College in Cambridge.13

By the time he was 25 years old, the young composer did his best to confound meager expectations of his abilities and studied with Bruch in Berlin in 1897 and Ravel in Paris in 1908.14 He struggled to find his own voice, but he eventually found it “not in imitating foreign models [such as the French or Germans], but in a regenerative use of native resources”.15 This was the beginning of Vaughan Williams’s curiosity with English folksong. His friendship with fellow composer and student at the RCM was the starting point of Vaughan Williams’s movement toward revival of English heritage.16

From that point on, his music only grew in maturity and complexity. His Tallis

Fantasia and On Wenlock Edge marked the beginning of a new style emerging within his music. It became a style of strength and independence and he had a strong sense of pride in his own voice.17

With time though, Vaughan Williams’s music began to alienate his listeners and audience. The year the Sixth Symphony was completed in 1947 and onward exhibited a sense of internal struggle as his music became “laboured and repetitive”.18 But the ultimate blows to his career were the death of his wife Adeline in 1951, and in the very same year, the clumsy debut of his morality () The Pilgrim’s Progress, at Covent

13 Ottaway, 97. 14 Ottaway, 98. 15Ottaway, 99. 16 Ottaway, 100. 17 Ottaway, 100 18 Ottaway, 106. 5

Garden. The botched performance was what he considered “the bitterest disappointment of his musical life”, as it was a work which he had been working on for nearly 40 years.19

As he aged, Vaughan Williams was in good health, but eventually at 85 years of age,

Ralph Vaughan Williams passed away on September 19, 1958 in London. Hugh Ottaway sums up: “he not only became an institution; he had also…reached the hearts of the people.”20

19 Ottaway, 105. 20 Ottaway, 106.

6

CHAPTER III

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE

Sound and Origins

Vaughan Williams composes music that exhibits an indescribable sound and it can be argued that his sound is derived from a variety of sources. First, I will discuss these musical influences in terms of the impact they had on his melodic style, by discussing his time studying at home and abroad, and by discussing the other composers in his lifetime who influenced his writing.

There are very few composers that can create the sound and mood that Ralph

Vaughan Williams’s music exhibits. Some of this is due to his studies with Bruch in

Germany and Ravel in France. In this way, Vaughan Williams’s music contains elements of the current ideologies of the music of Germany and France, like text-painting, and romantic large-scale forms of composers like Wagner and Brahms.21

Vaughan Williams was considered gifted at a young age, but with regard to composing he was told he was “hopelessly bad at it”.22 The constant pursuit that Ralph

Vaughan Williams endured to find his own voice and style in writing his pieces is a testament to his persistence toward an ideal style. He believed in music having beauty and a sense of natural fluidity. In an autobiography, Vaughan Williams wrote: “Why

21Foss, 24 22Ottaway, 98. 7 should music be ‘original’? The object of art is to stretch out to the ultimate realities through the medium of beauty”.23 In this way, he mirrored the ideals of Classical civilizations like the Greeks in the pursuit of natural order and beauty.24

His music also exhibits what Foss calls “Englishry”. Foss explains “…that his music is through and through saturated with the English people, with their native music, with their love of hymns, with all the fullness and all the limitations of their peculiar and complex character”.25 In her dissertation, Kupitz discussed at length that this type of music is a nationalist movement as the result of a cultural revival in England. Vaughan

Williams “was on a mission to form a national style of music that would distinguish

England musically for the first time since Purcell”.26

In addition, it is worth considerable mention that the music of Vaughan Williams can at times reflect what is happening in the world at the time, or in the case of the

Fourth Symphony, the war that was to come. His Fourth Symphony, composed in 1931-

32 and first performed in 1935, was according to Howes “startling” and “…maintained so sustainedly a conflict of such intensity as lasts right through the symphony…”. He went on to say it could easily be described as the sounds of chaos and war.27

23 Foss, 33. 24 Eitner, Lorenz. Neoclassicism and Romanticism: 1750-1850. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970), 6.

25 Foss, 60 26 Kupitz, 1. 27 Howes, 30. 8

The Fifth Symphony

Vaughan Williams began work on the Fifth Symphony in 1938 and it was completed in 1943. At its first performance, the Fifth Symphony was held in high acclaim among the listening public, and it was instantly recognized for how it was “in every way different from the recent war in Europe”.28

In contrast to the explosive nature of the Fourth Symphony, the Fifth Symphony was completed and performed near the end of World War II in 1943. With the Second

World War still ravaging the country, the symphony conveyed a feeling of unity and peace that all English people could rally around. Vaughan Williams additionally wrote in the original manuscript score that the symphony was dedicated “without permission and with the sincerest flattery to , whose great example is worthy of imitation”.29

The Fifth Symphony is a four-movement work for , with few auxiliary instruments and sparse percussion. However, it remains his most well-received and considered his most powerful symphony.30 The symphony begins with a Prelude, in a complex ternary form but with a simple and innocuous opening. There is subtle conflict already built in to the music though, as this simple D major horn-call motive plays against a fundamental in the bass. Throughout this movement, there is a sense of rising to higher points, building and growing until there is an ultimate climax with all the brass and a harmonic resolution that allows the music to collapse back into silence to prepare for the next movement.

28 Schwartz, 89. 29 Foss, 145. 30 Foss, 144.

9

The second movement is a quick and volatile Scherzo, though not resembling the

Scherzo form of a Beethoven symphony, but certainly having the energy of one.31 The layers of counterpoint are built on fourths, while a haunting melody moves through the upper winds. The strings murmur in the texture, sometimes lashing out with flashes of punctuating interjections. New motives emerge growing more and more angry as triple moves against duple, and suddenly a new is superimposed on top of the texture. But before the piece develops any further, it drifts silently away with a puff of smoke ending the same way it began.

Romanza is the title of the third movement, and according to Foss, “Romanza hands us a bunch of keys to the door of his soul, but doesn’t give us a hint as to which is the one which will open it”.32 It starts very quietly as the strings form an arched, but unconventional based on . The music listens in on a question and answer conversation between the oboe and English Horn using modal figures and patterns. After that passes, the music takes on a somber and wistful feel, with rich chords of angst and musical “sighs”. From here, new melodies emerge, that only grow in intensity as the strings ride higher and the winds are more insistent with their pleas. As much of this music is inspired by the Biblical allegory of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John

Bunyan - which Vaughan Williams ultimately transforms into an opera - It is in this spirit the music seems to cry out “Save me”. In this movement, he quotes the text of Bunyan

31 Schwartz, 93. 32 Foss, 149.

10 saying, “Upon this place stood a cross, and a little below a sepulcher. Then he said: ‘He hath give me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death”.33

After the atmosphere settles down, the movement ends peacefully and with the same air as the opening.

Finally, the movement, which is not strictly a passacaglia form but has similarities to the form. As the piece reaches the height of intensity, the familiar horn call motive from the opening of the piece emerges triumphantly in full force in the orchestra, along with the introduction of some of the other motives from the Prelude. The last half of this movement is an epilogue to the whole symphony, and it concludes with such relief and resolution that Foss describes, “the noise of the clapping at the end of this

Symphony is a vulgar intrusion upon the soul”.34

The Concerto

The Oboe Concerto, in contrast, is according to Howes, “a deliberately small work, more interesting for its craftsmanship then for its meaning, message or inspiration”.35 It is three movements, a Rondo (Pastorale), a Minuet and Musette, and a

Finale. The concerto is considered a “satellite work”, or a composition that was worked on around the same time as a principal work such as a symphony.36 The first movement is the musical essence of pastoralism (hence the title Rondo Pastorale). The second

33 Schwartz, 89. 34 Foss, 150. 35 Howes, 117. 36 Kennedy, Micheal. "The Unknown Vaughan Williams." Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 99, 1972-1973: 31-41, 31.

11 movement, in contrast, is a lilting waltz with two sectioned parts, one in C minor and the other in C major. Lastly, the Finale movement is the main event of the concerto. The moves at whirlwind speed, with key changes just as quick. However, and quite unusually, twice there is a slow-down and relaxation of energy and we are re-introduced to wide open musical space, complete with a nod to English folk song, referring back to

Howes’ comment on Vaughan Williams’s predilection toward pastoral landscapes.37

The Connection

Much has been said by critics about the reception of each of these works, but little is known or written about the correlation between them. However, I believe the fact remains that because the two works were written around the same time, and in the same environment, that it is worth considering that there are similarities. I believe these two works are compositionally tied to each other in ways that I will refer to as “compositional features”. Among the compositional features that I will explore are the treatment of melody and contour, key structure and form, use of motivic writing, use of rhythmic devices, counterpoint, and finally use of modality and pandiatonicism. These features are important to recognize as they are key to understanding the style of Vaughan Williams.

37 Howes, 120.

12

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND OBSERVATIONS

With all the contextual and historical items expended, the most pertinent course is to present evidence and account for all the intricacies of the symphony and the concerto, in order to accurately and effectively draw conclusions of musical technique at play. For this purpose, I have chosen to do a simultaneous analysis of the Concerto for Oboe and

Strings and the Fifth Symphony by focusing exclusively on excerpts of music to demonstrate my assertions.

This analysis will focus on several key features of the elements of music including sound and orchestration, rhythm, melody and motivic writing, contrapuntal techniques, and others. These foundational aspects will serve to give a full picture of what I believe are significant musical moments in the two pieces. This broad approach will also show the comparisons found among the two pieces, and it will be organized in what is most apparent and indicative of style. The oboe concerto will be fully analyzed for the purpose of investigating stylistic features. However, the Fifth Symphony is rather long in duration and very complex.

13

Taking into consideration the length and depth of this large work, this paper will be limited to the study of the first, second, and third movements, with omission of study of the Passacaglia fourth movement. The reasoning for this omission has to do with the independence of this movement from the rest of the symphony. Moreover, as beautiful and striking as it is, the second half of the passacaglia movement serves as an epilogue, a pillar of the composition, and deserves more elaborate study than this paper can adequately demonstrate in terms of its structure, its thematic development, and other factors.

From this thorough analysis of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s compositional style, it is clear that the two pieces are tied to each other in many interesting ways, with a plethora of examples not mentioned, but worth noting. I have included some additional musical excerpts in the appendix. To sum up, I have given a selective synopsis of Vaughan

Williams’s use of melodic constructs and motivic elements, study of contour and shape of melodies, the use and treatment of key center and how it relates to modality, pandiatonicism and pentatonicism, use of rhythmic devices, harmonic progressions, structure and form considerations, and finally overall texture and orchestration.

14

1.1

1.2

1.3

Figure 1: Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale

15

2. 3

2. 3

2. 2

2. 1

2.4 2.5

Figure 2: Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio

16

Melody and Motives

To begin, I would like to discuss Vaughan Williams’s melodic structure. A curious feature of Vaughan-Williams’ compositional technique can be found in the solo oboe part of the beginning of the concerto. In Figure 1.1, he introduces a rhythmic duration pictured here.

Figure 1.1

Some features to point out about this excerpt is the oboe melody’s returning to the same primary note of A with a small interval of a third between the dotted quarter and eighth note, returning to the same long duration note. What is also quite interesting is its striking resemblance to the opening of the Fifth Symphony, with the exact same motive being introduced in the very opening bars, and in much the same tempo between 80 and 88 bpm.

Figure 2.1

This opening motive in the horns is according to Schwartz, known as a “horn call”.38 The presence of this motive at the beginning of both pieces, in addition to its

38 Schwartz, 90

17 stationary melodic direction and harmonic stasis, suggest that this rhythmic duration and melodic direction is important to each movement as a whole, respectively. It is also worth noting that in figure 2.2 and 2.3 the flutes and clarinets now carry this horn opening motive, so it is clear that this is an important motive to the piece.

Figure 1.3

Figure 1.3 is an example of melodic structure built on the interval of a perfect fourth, with two consecutive fourth leaps. This interval will be seen multiple times in the ensuing excerpts, which I will identify as they occur. In figures 1.2 and 2.4, there appears to be a relationship regarding the melodic contour and rhythmic durations of each figure.

Finally, in figures 2.4 and 2.5, there is evidence of a “branching” motive, that extends further every iteration. This is what Foss calls “arboreal writing”.

“The variations in Vaughan Williams’s style and manner are due to his capacity for allowing his characters, or themes, to develop themselves, arboreally, into grown objects of recognizable shape, like a shrub or a human being”.39

These are all substantial findings of Vaughan Williams’s melodic style, and I will show more connections between the two works in a variety of scenarios.

39 Foss, 54.

18

3.1 3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

Figure 3: Concerto for Oboe and Strings: I. Rondo Pastorale

19

Rhythmic Devices & Counterpoint

What is worth noting in this example is a rhythmic motive in the oboe that is at first glance off-kilter and unsteady. But with a deeper look, it is apparent that there is an embedded triple meter, or “”, at play in the melody of the oboe in figure 3.2, seen here.

Figure 3.2

The accompaniment maintains a constant duple meter and direction, while the oboe’s melody is in an implied 3/4 meter, beginning on beat 2 of the first measure pictured. This gives the music a sense of suspended animation, especially due to the hand-off to the strings, who maintain this motive for 2 more measures as part of the underpinning motor rhythm. This hemiola effect is another commonality found in

Vaughan Williams’s music that I will point out in future figures. In figures 3.3 and 3.4 there is obvious imitative writing, as well as the cello imitating the oboe line in figure

3.5. In this excerpt, there appears to be several instances of stratified counterpoint through the frequent use of imitation.

Modality and Pandiatonicism

Continuing discussion of the previous figure 3, it is clear that the key represented is major as indicated in the key signature. However, the music seems to suggest an alternative key, or in this case a mode, with the altered (or borrowed) pitch of Bb introduced. Curiously, the presence of the pitch Bb does not agree with either the key of

20

E minor or the relative major key of G. Looking further at this excerpt, the musical phrase in the oboe seems to suggest as a new 1̂ tonic in rather being the submediant 6̂ of . Furthermore, from an aural standpoint, there is also an unsettling quality to this music as the note D, which is the dominant of the note G, is repeated on long-duration notes and on strong beats throughout the accompaniment. This is effective at removing the sense of resolution and harmonic stability. One could fathom that there is an element of bitonal or even bimodal writing taking place in this passage, with the suggestion of G melodic minor in the strings, while the oboe circles around the

G major/E minor . As Kimmel illustrates in his journal article Vaughan

Williams’s Melodic Style,

“It is not difficult to find melodies, themes, and fragments based upon each of the modes common to folk-song (and, incidentally, to 16th-century music). Phrygian and Lydian modes are less frequently represented, while examples of the Aeolian, Mixolydian, and Dorian are more abundant. It is rare, however, to find a single mode used consistently for any length of time. There is frequent modulation from one mode to another.”40

This serves as a sound example of Vaughan Williams’s implementation of modalism and his use of pandiatonicism, through the ambiguity of key center and signature.

Pentatonicism

This next excerpt is a strong example of Vaughan Williams’s pandiatonic tendencies through the use of five-note pentatonic patterns. The oboe is accompanied by

40 Kimmel, William. "Vaughan Williams's Melodic Style." The Musical Quarterly, Vol 27, No. 4, October 1941: pp. 491-499, 494.

21 a warm and rich string accompaniment with an open and slow , the oboe rising and falling in a conjunct manner. However, we can see that Vaughan Williams has utilized a pentatonic scale in the solo oboe that exhibits. However, this figure is an example of Vaughan Williams’s version of pentatonicism.

4.1

Figure 4: Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale

As Kimmel again illustrates,

“If the term "pentatonic" is used in a free sense, numerous other melodies may be found that employ five tones but that do not con form to the pure pentatonic without half- steps. There are some in which both the sixth and seventh scale steps are lacking, and others composed of but four notes; while still other six-tone melodies, in which the sixth degree is subsidiary, suggest both pentatonic and modal backgrounds.”41

41 Kimmel, 494.

22

In this way, it is important to note that the presence of the note D# on the descending section of the melody does disrupt the true pentatonicism of this passage.

Noting that this is commonly found among Vaughan Williams’s music, this example implies the overall key of with the presence of the 7̂ leading tone and the major scale submediant 6̂. The key of E major is reinforced by the accompaniment in mm. 180 as the strings are sustaining a first inversion E major triad.

After firmly establishing the key of E major, the music quickly returns to the frenetic energy and unstable flurry of notes in the strings in the very next bars, along with the disappearance of the four sharps of E major.

23

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

5.5

5.6

5.7

Figure 5: Symphony no. 5 in D Major: I. Preludio

24

Counterpoint

Counterpoint, or the note-against-note interaction between voices, is a technique that Vaughan Williams seems to excel at, with heavy use of imitation as well as stratification of melodic ideas, each of which can be found among all the examples so far.

Looking at a section of the Prelude from the Fifth Symphony, it is clear that he has several independent ideas overlapping each other, but still maintaining their melodic structural integrity. Notice that even among the winds there are stratified layers of isolated melodic figures that complement one another, but still maintain their independence.

In much the same way the strings mirror the melodic lines of the winds. These motives pictured happen to be some of the major motives for the entire movement, and

Vaughan Williams has placed them on top of each other and in conjunction with one another. Kimmel explains that there is an “ease with which the themes lend themselves to imitative treatment and to the development of a closely-knit polyphonic texture”.42 This following excerpt is an example of his firm grasp on melodic counterpoint to achieve this homogenous and polyphonic texture.

Key Center and Form

Figure 6: Finale, Concerto for Oboe and Strings

42 Kimmel, 492.

25

The preceding key signature table is the pitch center progression of the exposition of the Finale of the Oboe Concerto. It appears that the key structure is unstable and somewhat random, but there is in fact an underlying pattern within this key system.

Looking at the key signatures with sharps in terms of the number of accidentals per key signature, all numbers from 1-5 flats or sharps are present, as well as the number of accidentals never exceeding five per signature. Furthermore, looking at the Fifth

Symphony’s Scherzo key structure,

Figure 7: Scherzo, Symphony no. 5 in D Major43 some parallels can be drawn between the two key area progressions, not only in terms of their patterns or number of accidentals, but in terms of the relationship between the types of specific key signatures and keys used among the two pieces. This is not surprising, because as I have stated before, the Scherzo of the symphony replaced what would have been the second movement, but Vaughan Williams repurposed the second movement

Scherzo to be the Finale of the Oboe Concerto.

Following Vaughan Williams’s formal and structural traits, it can be stated that he does not follow traditional forms to the letter. In fact, he uses a variety of forms to structure his works. An example of this would be the Rondo Pastorale from the oboe

43 Howes, 46.

26 concerto. The overall form of this internally contrasting movement is a modified rondo form, specifically:

A (a + + c + d) B (e + f) A’ (a) B (e + f) A (a + c) 44

As we can see, the form follows the general five-part rondo in terms of the thematic area scheme, but within each iteration is an unusual pattern of motifs and themes.

One final note on key structure is the macro-structure of the Fifth Symphony, which is in D major, contains a harmonic sequence by way of the movements being

D-G-A-D respectively. An interesting observation is that each movement is the same stacked fourths of the oboe figure, figure 1.3, back in the first excerpt. Regardless of this, it is another example of the use of the fourth interval, but on a large scale.

Orchestration and Other Special Features

In these final excerpts, there are many noticeable relationships between the concerto excerpts (pp. 27-28) and the symphony excerpt (pp. 29), as well as many interesting features overall. Some of the features involved will have already been mentioned in previous examples – including use of hemiola, presence of the interval of the fourth, and imitation - but this final observational analysis serves to draw

44 Howes, 119.

27 comparisons between the two movements that are tied to each other, the Scherzo second movement of the Fifth Symphony and the Finale of the Concerto for Oboe and Strings.

8.1 8.2

Figure 8: Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale

28

9.1

9.2

9.3

9.4

9.5

Figure 9 Concerto for Oboe and Strings: III. Finale

29

10.2

10.1

10.5

10.3

10.4

Figure 10: Symphony no. 5 in D Major: II. Scherzo

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Figure 8.1

The first figure in addition shows the composite downward motion of a scale, displaced by 2 octaves. This is very similar to figure 10.1 in the symphony pictured here.

Figure 10.1

There is also frequent use of imitation between figure 10.1 and 10.5, sequencing throughout and a strong element of homorhythm. This creates an interesting texture of sharp and contrasting sounds.

With regards to orchestration, figure 10.1 and 10.2 are examples of doubling instruments either at the octave or in terms of their instrumental family (the oboe and

English horn, the clarinet and flute, etc. Another element worth mentioning is his use of the melodic interval of a perfect fourth throughout the concerto as well as in the symphony. This is demonstrated in 9.2 and 9.5 as well as every subfigure in figure 10, in some form. In figures 9.4 and 10.3, there is a relationship by way of a descending scale in a similar fashion. One last interesting compositional feature of the excerpt of the oboe concerto finale is the presence of hemiola and sequencing on the second page of the excerpt. This can be found in figures 9.1 and 9.3 between the oboe and accompaniment.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

From this thorough analysis of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s compositional style, it is clear that the two pieces are tied to each other in many interesting ways. In conclusion I have given a full synopsis of Vaughan Williams’s use of melodic constructs and motivic elements, study of contour and shape of melodies, the use and treatment of key center and how it relates to modality, pandiatonicism and pentatonicism, use of rhythmic devices, harmonic progressions, structure and form considerations, and finally overall texture and orchestration.

Throughout this paper, I have shown elements of compositional style and features unique to Vaughan Williams, but I have also shown a strong relationship between the two pieces in a variety of scenarios. Vaughan Williams’s interest in the English tradition and heritage has made his music forever synonymous with England’s national sound. There should be more study into his influence on composers that came after his death, English or otherwise.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books: Dineen, Murray. "Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony: Ideology and Aural Tradition." In Vaughan Williams Essays, by Byron Adams and Robin Wells, 17-27. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003. Eitner, Lorenz. Neoclassicism and Romanticism: 1750-1850. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1970. Foss, Hubert. Ralph Vaughan Williams. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1974. Howes, Frank. The Music of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1977. Ottaway, Hugh. "Ralph Vaughan Williams." In Twentieth-century English Masters, by The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 97-142. London: Macmillan Press Limited, 1986. Schwartz, Elliott S. The Symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Boston: The University of Massachusetts Press , 1964.

Journals: Atlas, Allan W. "On the proportions of the passacaglia (fourth movement) of Vaughan Williams's Fifth Symphony." The Musical Times, Vol. 152, No. 1916, Autumn 2011: pp. 19-32. Francmanis, John. "National Music to National Redeemer: The Consolidation of a 'Folk-Song' Construct in Edwardian England ." Popular Music, Vol. 21, No. 1, January 2002: pp. 1- 25. Kennedy, Micheal. "The Unknown Vaughan Williams." Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 99, 1972-1973: 31-41. Kimmel, William. "Vaughan Williams's Melodic Style." The Musical Quarterly, Vol 27, No. 4, October 1941: pp. 491-499. Ottaway, Hugh. "Vaughan Williams: Symphony in D and 'The Pilgrim's Progress'. A Comparative Note." The Musical Times, Vol. 94, No. 1328, October 1953: pp. 456-458. Palmer, Christopher. "Delius, Vaughan Williams and Debussy." Music & Letters, Vol. 50, No. 4, October 1969: pp. 475-480. Shannon, Caireann. "The Oboe Concerto: First movement themes and motifs." Journal of the RWV Society, October 2005: pp. 8-10.

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Theses and dissertations: Kupitz, Emily. English Folk Song Influences on the Vaughan Williams Concerto for Oboe and Strings . Doctoral Dissertation, Arizona State University, 2013.

Scores: Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Concerto for Oboe and Strings. Oxford: , 1947.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Symphony no. 5 in D Major. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Recordings:

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Masters of the Oboe. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/Celia Nicklin. Sir Neville Marriner. Deutsche Grammophon 000661002. 2006. CD.

Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Symphony No. 5 in D Major/Fantasia on a Theme of . Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Andre Previn. Telarc CD-80158. 1988. CD.

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