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The Lark Ascending
The Lark Ascending tells the story behind one of the nation's most popular pieces of classical music by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
It was composed by Vaughan Williams in 1914, as Europe approached its darkest moment on the eve of the First World War.
Classical music fan and presenter Dame Diana Rigg sets out to explore why The Lark Ascending continues to strike a chord with so many people today.
The programme culminates in a new performance of the work by 15-year-old violin prodigy Julia Hwang and pianist Charles Matthews using the original arrangement for violin and piano.
The performance was staged at Shirehampton Public Hall near Bristol where The Lark Ascending was performed for the very first time in December 1920. -
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Composer
Ralph Vaughan Williams was one of England's most distinguished composers.
BBC Four: Ralph Vaughan Williams
His music helped to form a distinctively English national style.
He was born in Gloucestershire and trained at the Royal College of Music and later studied in Berlin under the composer Max Bruch and in Paris under Maurice Ravel.
1910 witnessed the performance of his first symphony, The Sea, containing poems by Walt Whitman in a choral setting.
At the time of the outbreak of World War I, Vaughan Williams had completed his London Symphony.
During the war he enlisted in the Field Medical Corps and saw action in Greece and France.
After the war he was appointed Professor of Composition at the Royal College of Music.
Read the composer's full biography on the BBC website... -
Video: The Lark Ascending soars afresh
Classical music fan and presenter Dame Diana Rigg sets out to explore why The Lark Ascending continues to strike a chord with so many people today.
BBC News: Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending soars afresh
The programme culminates in a new performance of the work by 15-year-old violin prodigy Julia Hwang and pianist Charles Matthews using the original arrangement for violin and piano.
The performance was staged at Shirehampton Public Hall near Bristol where The Lark Ascending was performed for the first time in December 1920.
Watch a video feature from the BBC News website below... -
Video: Dame Diana Rigg tells the story of The Lark Ascending
Dame Diana Rigg talks to violinist Tasmin Little who describes the power of The Lark Ascending as a force to elevate people's spirits.
BBC News: Dame Diana Rigg tells the story of The Lark Ascending -
The Lark Ascending premiere recreated in Bristol hall
The 1920 premiere of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending has been recreated at its original Bristol venue.
BBC News: The Lark Ascending premiere recreated in Bristol hall
Shirehampton Public Hall was used for the classical piece's first performance and a BBC Four documentary has brought the occasion back to life, featuring a local violin prodigy.
Gloucestershire-born Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the piece in 1914 on the eve of World War I.
Read a feature about the performance on the BBC News website...
Credits
- Presenter
- Diana Rigg
- Producer
- Maggie Mathews
- Producer
- Jenny Walmsley
- Executive Producer
- Roger Farrant