Three Vocalises

This set of three brief vocalises for soprano and clarinet comprises a Prelude, Scherzo, and Quasi menuetto. The Prelude is otherworldly, with flowing phrases and chromatic melodic lines. The Scherzo contrasts in its playfulness, while the Quasi menuetto makes an attractive ending to the set. They were composed during the final year of the composer's life in 1958, not long after the composition of the Ten Blake Songs for voice and oboe.

Prelude; Scherzo; Quasi Menuetto

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.