Bucolic Suite

This is the first publication of this early work for orchestra, which was completed in November 1900 and first performed by the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra in March 1902. This attractive work is cast in four movements - Allegro, Andante, Intermezzo, Finale - and already shows evidence of the composer's emerging musical style and sure grasp of orchestral techniques. This new edition has been carefully prepared from the original manuscript by Julian Rushton and comes with full textual commentary. This publication will be welcomed by all aficionados of Vaughan Williams's music. Orchestral material is available on hire.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, born in Gloucestershire on 12 October 1872, read History at Cambridge and went to the Royal College of Music where his teachers were Parry, Wood, and Stanford. Vaughan Williams believed in the value of music education and wrote practical competition pieces, serviceable church music, and with the 49th Parallel (1940-41) he found a new outlet in writing for film. His profoundly disturbing Symphony No.6 (1948) received international acclaim with more than a hundred performances in a little over two years. His great sensitivity to the 20th-century human condition, his flexibility in writing for all levels of music making, and his unquestionably great imagination combine to make him one of the key figures in 20th century music. Ralph Vaughan Williams had a long association with Oxford University Press; over 200 publications are available in the Oxford catalogue.