I grew up in England (Shropshire) and have many fond memories of the countryside,however it’s not the same now, but this music is a great reminder of the beautiful,peaceful place it once was. Fr John in Australia.
England’s finest composer, although classical radio stations think he only wrote 2 pieces ever. Should have been knighted, his music is sublime and lives forever
His "knighting" was by the Holy Spirit of God, whether the great composer sought or knew that, or not. Natural genius raised to the transcendent level...
He was offered a knighthood, but refused it, preferring, it seemed, his doctorate. He did, however, accept the Order of Merit, which is a personal gift of the sovereign.
@@johnglasspool6785 His work is vastly spiritual and much of it specifically designed for church. Yet He also believed something mysterious about the land, I think. Bizzarely perhaps, from our p.o.v., he went to fight in WW1 despite being beyond the age limit. He was with the stretchers (of course he would be), but then with the Guns that made him deaf! He aso led a military band (of course he would!) Perhaps that was a utopian-socialist side of him? But if we have faith, and if we see the way things are, we KNOW the Holy Spirit would not permit a great number of pieces we have in church through to this day develop in the hands of somebody who did not care (for) what he was doing. It's just inconceivable. Years later British atheist (and former choirboy) Simon Le Bon helped generate that beautiful, divine, healing masterpiece called "Ordinary World", with its very non-random religious-sounding lyrics. Don't even know if this a slightly "playful" side to the Holy Spirit, but the result is anyway something replete with love and beauty. Likewise Holst's "Planets", and of course was Her Late Majesty's funeral, when our so very non-spiritual country suddenly found itself a beacon of meaning and unity and gratitude and order in the evil craziness of 2022! Not random at all, all of this...
Every time I listen to Vaughan Williams' works , I am immersed in a sense of realism as I see the wonderful natural scenery of England unfolds before my eyes . We Japanese find comfort and nostalgia in England's natural scenery . Vaughan Williams'works touch the heartstrings of Japanese people From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
@@TheManOfSteel89 Thank-you so much to your wonderful and impressive comments Currently everywhere in Japan is covered with the faint scent and the color of light pink of cherry blossoms The cherry blossoms are in full bloom everywhere , where is on the banks of rivers , on the hills , in the private gardens , in the parks , on the mountains and in the streets . Someday please visit Japan Marvellous scenery , amazing landscape , wonderful cityscape , splendid old buildings , Japanese delicious foods and heartfelt hospitality wait for you . Be on the alert for Covid - １９ Good luck ！
Some of my happiest times were walking in the Japanese hills and also finding the same peace in the temple gardens. The people were so good to me. I was at home. Most nights I slept in the hills.
To me the music describes life on a human scale and the wonder of nature as understood by those that worked on the farms and in the villages. Sadly, mostly lost now.
The skill of David to blend beautiful art with stunning music is sublime.there is no one better at this skill than David Harris, he gets it spot on, this is truly food for the soul.
Well, I cannot echo the sentiment not being from England but I heartily acknowledge the sentiment. My friend, there will be a new Heaven and Earth, and May it be that the Lord God will indeed renew England.
Not at all. This score is uplifting and provides great comfort and strength. I don’t sense a ‘hippyish’ time in the slightest! A glass of vino is the course :)
I can't understand why his music and other post World War One English composers have not been used in movies; they were made for them. The ending of his 5th Symphony introduced me to classical music 40 years ago, when i was into heavy metal. Thank You!!
Glad you enjoyed it Douglas. I suspect some of Vaughan Williams' music probably has been used in films; certainly he wrote the score for "The 49th Parallel", a wartime propaganda film, which I've uploaded elsewhere at ua-cam.com/video/gpllpHMnwiM/v-deo.html&ab_channel=DavidHarris
His 49th Parallel was the theme for a great film of the same name. Short but oh so moving. Check out the film with Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, and Leslie Howard. Well worth watching.
Yes love these my heart was entertained by old English hims the teach would put me out the class for being Jewish as a child so most of my early life was listening to these in school corridor by old head who put these on around the school after the war .. thanks David love these and paintings shows life as simple as it was .. yes our English eur life is being swept away by this gov of today ❤️✝️
Glad you enjoyed the video. As one or two people have pointed out, life may have been simpler in the past, but it wasn't necessarily easier. Having said that I do feel we often lose as much as we gain through progress.
I've always felt that Ralph Vaughan William"s work was from a higher reality, and Cole's summer pastoral scenes glow with a soft, warm, gorgeous golden light that brings joy from a lost world.
I think that when God created the world, this is how he saw landscapes and people and listened to such music ... These landscapes and this music make the soul and heart bloom like a spring tree ...
I have not heard this piece before, David you are a treasure for bringing so much joy to all of us. The paintings evoke feelings of a Hardy novel. Thank you once again for your writings as well.
Glad you enjoyed the video Deborah and thank you for your kind comment. The Serenade in A Minor is one of Vaughan Williams' early pieces and, remarkably, one which he actually withdrew. It's hard to imagine why. Best wishes.
@@jamess7048 Hi James, as far as I know the Serenade, without the Romance, was first played in 1901, but then withdrawn by the composer in 1908, after a performance in London. The Romance was added later, but, again as far as I know, never played. It was his first orchestral work and it is possible he intended to come back to it. I believe this 2012 cd release is its premiere recording.
Dear old RVW what a wonderful legacy you have left us. How well the beautiful Pictures reflect the Mood of his Music. It does make modern Life seem so banal. Thank you.
It's a pleasure Peter, I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thought the paintings complemented the music. As you imply, music like this can raise us from the quotidian, if only for a while.
I dream of being able to gather all of the troublesome gang members and rebellious youth together and asking them to give a few moments of their lives to ask themselves is it an England of hedonistic, riotious behaviour you want or this picture of perfection? Oh that the balm of this music would anoint the souls of so many who don't know it. Simply perfect. Love to all.
@@davidharris2844 Thank you for the reply, David. I’m listening again. Thank you for posting this fine piece. It’s so interesting that creatives have such doubt in their works. I’ve been a fine artist since 1971. I look back at an occasional photo that survived of a work of art some forty years ago that I’d decided to destroy. And, now four decades later wonder why I was so critical and wish I had it back.
@@shodanart Hi Rusty, nice to hear from you again. I think it's probably a good thing to have a certain amount of self doubt, without it complacency and arrogance would creep in. Having said that, I agree with you that people can be over critical of themselves, and I too regret having got rid of some of my youthful efforts, (in my case bits of writing). Perhaps we tend to be more concerned with how others see us and anything we might create when we are younger.
This is a masterpiece the more you repeat play it. It is deeply introspective. A Serenade in A minor - yes, romance, that warms the heart, but more. There’s that sadness that comes with romantic love and loss one hears. A definite tearful refrain. His use of the clarinet. Violins and flute, the traveling Oboe, is bittersweet, not so much romantic, to me, as love’s emotion; questioning, romantic memories, perhaps. I like that the crescendos are not to abrasive and are brief. An issue I have with bombastic classical music in general, particularly when the harmonic swells come amongst thoughtful melodic moments. RVW put that high violin in there followed by a dark bass undertone for a reason. There’s light and dark- chiaroscuro - romance but vagaries of life and love and loss of love. Ralph Vaughn Williams had such a deep understanding of the sweeping poignancy of referring nature and introspection in his sweet melodic passages and orchestral contrasts. The use of melancholy Oboes, majestic horns, that violin character making its own statement over the top and deep bass underlying the foundation. The oboe again as if the sun coming out. Kettle drums and a haunting English horn, so deep, so much life itself. Thank you for posting this!
Mr. Walker, For many years, I have felt the fender passages of this nostalgic piece mellow its way into the gyri of my brain. I listen to it often and, now that you have expressed its bearing "... sadness that comes with ... love and loss ..." I more fully grasp how and why its emotionally charged strains take me back into my son's delightful childhood, invoked all the more by his untimely, tragic death at age 50. thank you for your insight.
Thank you once again David for a beautifully exhilarating masterpiece of music and artwork. I love the peasant scenes of rural England. It makes me want to romp around the glorious countryside with those folks. Lovely uplifting pure heavenly strains. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it Deborah. Some of the paintings do have a rather idyllic feel about them, probably not terribly accurate depictions of the times. I suspect, in reality, there was a fair bit of poverty and hunger in the countryside. Best wishes.
@@davidharris2844 Oh, undoubtedly the peasant farmers were poor unlikely to have had educated opportunities, but hard working most likely simple people with daydreams too. One can romanticize the bucolic existence tho. The paintings are superb when a bit of color appears in their wardrobe against the natural colors of the landscape. I am smitten with the skies as I used to spend a lot of time on my skies. So real looking.
David Harris If it was a stark choice David between the workhouses and terrible working conditions of the Industrial revolution, or the beautiful paintings of the British countryside, I know where I would rather be, imagined or otherwise! That comment aside, I always very much like and appreciate your UA-cam classical music videos with perfect complementary artwork.Thankyou.
Visit West Wales. You will find a place lost in time. No trains, few buses and no pavements. We still plough and Harrow with horses on our farm and the only sounds we hear are the birds, the wind and the animals. Our farm built in 1537. Not much has changed apart from glass in the windows and intermittent electricity. We still rely on oil lamps. 😍
What a beautiful piece. Easily in my top 3 RVW pieces. For me this is evocative of the Sussex Downs on a late summer's evening, with that hint of sadness being the coming of autumn (and the loss of our warm-weather avian friends) or violent imagery of environmental destruction due to house building.
Evocative scenes and evocative sounds of wide warm summer days of ‘yesteryear’ are all here depicted with tree topped open skies above the rolling hills of rustic England, that is now lost forever. But captured here for all to enjoy, just let the music of RVW enter your soul to hear the birds singing and feel the heat of the sun as the clouds scurry by. Loved it.
Thank you so deeply. You are a true writer: you agile and heartfelt words give the glow of empathy and love to this music -- and indeed, sanctify it with the blessing and truth that live forever and justify our lives.
Arnold Ronning - we are all ‘passengers on a journey’, a few gifted and talented people do manage to achieve greatness and leave perpetual imprints of their existence for the benefit of mankind, Shakespeare and Bach spring to mind, but not forgetting RVW of course. Most of us, on the other hand unfortunately slide into obscurity.
je suis peintre et j'ai découvert Vaughan à un moment où le vide c'était installé dans ma vie et j'avoue que sa musique m'a redonné quelque chose de profond et d'une très grande émotion ! quand je l'écoute cela me donne de l'espoir et me laisse croire que l'être humain est bon et capable de merveilleuses choses ! sa musique et les peintures de cole sont un ensemble qui magnifient la vie ! merci M Harris !
Vaughan Williams does not really compose pieces of music, Mr. Evans,but, instead, takes you along a path through a landscape of which he has painted pictures.
@@awaitthegroom do you also like the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus by Stuart Mitchell from his 7 Wonders Suite. I love them both, especially because of the woodwind
My favourite RVW song. I know this is not a song, but the melodies almost sound like they are singing so I would consider it such. Also, thank you David for the upload and the beautiful paintings that accompany the music. What a treasure this is in the masses of music we have today.
To Jane and Robert: It is sometimes said...that when we are called home from this lifely journey, we take with ourselves our immortal soul and the music we cherished.
It seems every day I discover another orchestral piece by VW I never heard before. I finally heard Three Portraits the other day for the first time. I can listen to his music and know it’s composed by VW because the melodies and harmonies are similar to other VW pieces. The depiction of beautiful countryside is so pronounced in his music like In the Fen Country, The Lark Ascending, Symphony #5, etc. The love of his music holds no bounds.
One of VW's pieces I most return to... and as good as some of his better known works IMO. Such a wonderful depiction of the countryside. Thanks for the lovely vid, David.
Oh, this is simply marvelous! I did not know of this beautifully reflective and passionate music by RVW before. That string writing at 04:29 and 07:22 made me tear up. (As a string player in my youth, my ear still is naturally drawn to the sound of them.) Thank you, sir, for introducing me to this!
🌴🎵🌻Your music accompanies us in a delicious and serene Lunch!!... It is so calm and we enjoy this music too...without words!!!...we are very happy and very grateful to you, Mr. Harris...💚👌👱♀️🌴🎶‼️
Yes, Kara I was thinking about that clarinet when I came across your question. The clarinet stands out as does the English horn in is making this piece adding to its haunting charm. ❤️
Kara Heckford - I agree Kara the clarinet, in particular does make sparkling and important contributions to ‘tensions’ created here within the music. It’s bird-song like responses add tonal distance, it’s as though nature’s voices are calling to each other across a valley in conversation with the English Horn and other instruments. The combined effect is emotional and deeply moving..
It is difficult to accept that the paintings are not photographs. They have become inextricably linked by the skill of David Harris to the music. Perfection.
Glad you enjoyed it Jonathan. It's one of VW's very early works, which, for some reason, he withdrew. Can't think why, because it is, as you say, beautiful.
@@davidharris2844 I'm a birdwatcher David but cannae go far at the moment re the virus. April is THE month for me but only doing local, no driving walks. Heartbraking really because it saved my life but no Padley, Upper Derwent, Win hill etc at the mo. Only see my little lady once a week in her back garden because she's self isolating with her son. So these vids are wonderful compensations of my & England's magnificent countryside. VW, Van morrison, Gainsborough, Mozart, The Dubliners etc, I'm taking all these treasures with me as I hang in there, walking locally. God bless the NHS, amazing people. Your contributions are invaluable too David..
Hi Jonathan and thanks for your kind comment. I wouldn't describe myself as a birdwatcher, but I certainly like watching birds and try and get out every day to do so. I'm lucky in that the place where I live is surrounded by nice walks, it must be difficult for people who live in towns and cities at the moment. Still, the countryside isn't going to go away, we just have to be patient.
@@davidharris2844 Hi David, just a quick update. Been to all my aforementioned places, even saw the lammergeier at Derwent. North cave, Potteric, etc, like old friends. Just supping some Tullamore dew & revisiting vids from early spring which helped enormously. I trust you're well etc..
@@jonathanwilkinson1461 Hi Jonathan, glad you've been getting out and about again, you never feel the worse for a bit of fresh air. It's strange how these oddities crop up from time to time, but they don't always fare so well. I saw a hoopoe once when I was living on the south coast, but I heard on the news a week or so later that it had died in a spell of cold and wet weather - shame. Anyway, best wishes for now.
Hi Deborah, glad you're still enjoying the channel. Ah, lovely Sussex. I grew up there in a little place called Rottingdean. I live in a very beautiful part of the north east now, but I still pine for the gentle downs and the song of the lark that seemed to be ever present. Still, you can't have it all. Anyway, best wishes to you and your brother, and thanks for your continuing support. David
Symphonic poems like this one I like most in RVW's work. He sometimes uses folk tunes and adapts them perfectly to the symphonic context. And the paintings here are first class, showing romantic landscapes that make you dream of another era.
How wise you are, Jayne. TVW insisted on that atheism, but served the Lord countless times (up to today), and SURELY the Holy Spirit came to him. Nothing this beautiful can be untouched by the Comforter, and ALL that the Holy Spirit touches is as beautiful as this!!!
Once again I find myself listening to this beautiful Music by dear RVW., the Pictures and Music complement each other so well. Could you perhaps be kind enough to tell about the second or third Picture. It is of distant Views with Sheep on the high side of Field which slopes down to the right. Absolutely enchanting. It's between the Picture of the Poplars and the Picture is of Horses in a Farmyard. Thank you.
Hi Peter, I see from your later comment that you've found the name of the painting - it is, as you say, "Autumn Morning" painted by George Vicat Cole in 1891. Funnily enough, it's a painting I'm particularly drawn to as well, as it reminds me of a hill I regularly used to walk on when I was living in Sussex. I often used to see green woodpeckers thereabouts. Glad you're still enjoying the video.
@@davidharris2844 Thank you for your Reply, although we have now lived in North Devon since 1977, my Wife and I too lived in Sussex, then my Wife's a Sussex Girl and we lived up on the Downs in Lewes so often walked over the Downs to Blackcap.
@@peterjhillier7659 We seem to have followed fairly similar trajectories. I was brought up in Rottingdean, which isn't far from Lewes and then moved down to a little town on Exmoor called Dulverton. Unfortunately, circumstances have meant that I now live near Newcastle and although there is some beautiful countryside around here, I still miss the south.
David Harris Rottingdean, Bob Copper's Family's Home. Have you ever read any of his lovely Books; A Song for every Season, Early to Rise, and Songs and Summer Breezes? His Uncle ran the Kings Head at North Chailey and when we lived at South Street Chailey we often passed it.
@@peterjhillier7659 I remember reading Early to Rise many years ago and thoroughly enjoying it. One of the Coppers, I forget who, ran the Queen Victoria in Rottingdean for a number of years and another one had a pub in Peacehaven. It would seem they became a family of landlords.
MUZYKA RALPHA VAUGHANA WILLIAMSA Z sercem ściśniętym słucham tej muzyki Jakby śpiewały ją drzewa i ptaki Strumyk na łące mą uwagę przykuł Który swym pięknem zawsze jest jednaki Jest w tej muzyce tyle zachwycenia Gdy się pochyla nad ziarenkiem piasku To, co jest złe w nas, pozostawia w cieniu Nutką po nutce krzesi szczęścia nastrój Gdy przymknę oczy, i dotykam kory Podziwiam mchem porosłe rozpadliny Brzozy przeczystej, białe jej ubiory Która mnie wiedzie w czułych tchnień godziny Cierniste wzgórza a nad nimi ptaki Jaskółki, które mają gniazdka w stajni Wieczorne zorze i na niebie znaki Drzewo do strzechy się z miłością garnie Pejzaż angielski, ale jakże polski Który ujmuje mnie w dzieciństwa strony Pozornie zwykły, ale jakże boski Pejzaż ten w myślach i w mym sercu płonie 11 sierpnia 2021 Jan Sabiniarz
Always brings me to tears, not just because of the beauty of the music but also because it portrays an England that is slipping away before my eyes...
🥲🥲absolutely
I grew up in England (Shropshire) and have many fond memories of the countryside,however it’s not the same now, but this music is a great reminder of the beautiful,peaceful place it once was. Fr John in Australia.
I understand your sentiment completely. Thats exactly how I feel.
England’s finest composer, although classical radio stations think he only wrote 2 pieces ever. Should have been knighted, his music is sublime and lives forever
His "knighting" was by the Holy Spirit of God, whether the great composer sought or knew that, or not. Natural genius raised to the transcendent level...
Classic FM have recently started playing this piece!
He was offered a knighthood, but refused it, preferring, it seemed, his doctorate. He did, however, accept the Order of Merit, which is a personal gift of the sovereign.
@@sidpheasant7585 It's intersting that he always described himself as "a cheerful agnositc" though he certainly strikes me as a spiritual person.
@@johnglasspool6785 His work is vastly spiritual and much of it specifically designed for church. Yet He also believed something mysterious about the land, I think. Bizzarely perhaps, from our p.o.v., he went to fight in WW1 despite being beyond the age limit. He was with the stretchers (of course he would be), but then with the Guns that made him deaf! He aso led a military band (of course he would!) Perhaps that was a utopian-socialist side of him? But if we have faith, and if we see the way things are, we KNOW the Holy Spirit would not permit a great number of pieces we have in church through to this day develop in the hands of somebody who did not care (for) what he was doing. It's just inconceivable. Years later British atheist (and former choirboy) Simon Le Bon helped generate that beautiful, divine, healing masterpiece called "Ordinary World", with its very non-random religious-sounding lyrics. Don't even know if this a slightly "playful" side to the Holy Spirit, but the result is anyway something replete with love and beauty. Likewise Holst's "Planets", and of course was Her Late Majesty's funeral, when our so very non-spiritual country suddenly found itself a beacon of meaning and unity and gratitude and order in the evil craziness of 2022! Not random at all, all of this...
An evocation of the passing of an era.
Truly a wonderful combination of music and paintings.
Left me in tears, astonishingly moving.
Thank you, your words exactly express my feelings 🕊
Achingly beautiful. I am in raptures when I see and hear this.
In a very broken world this beautiful world revives my spirit. England the beautiful.
So beautifully haunting. My favourite piece by RVW ever. Playing on Classic FM right now!
My favourite piece of classical music of all time. I love to listen to it when I'm walking along country roads at dusk. Beautiful.
My exact feelings. Just love this piece of music.
Every time I listen to Vaughan Williams' works ,
I am immersed in a sense of realism as I see the wonderful natural scenery of England unfolds before my eyes .
We Japanese find comfort and nostalgia in England's natural scenery .
Vaughan Williams'works touch the heartstrings of Japanese people
From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
And the same feeling from England to Japan. I always believe there is kindred connection between these two islands.
@@TheManOfSteel89
Thank-you so much to your wonderful and impressive comments
Currently
everywhere in Japan is covered with the faint scent and the color of light pink of cherry blossoms
The cherry blossoms are in full bloom everywhere ,
where is on the banks of rivers , on the hills , in the private gardens , in the parks , on the mountains and in the streets .
Someday please visit Japan
Marvellous scenery , amazing landscape , wonderful cityscape , splendid old buildings , Japanese delicious foods and heartfelt hospitality wait for you .
Be on the alert for Covid - １９
Good luck ！
Some of my happiest times were walking in the Japanese hills and also finding the same peace in the temple gardens. The people were so good to me. I was at home. Most nights I slept in the hills.
@@TheManOfSteel89 Don't ask me to explain why but l've always had that same feeling...
Thank you , Japan and England have much in common especially for the love of music,literature,and countryside.
To me the music describes life on a human scale and the wonder of nature as
understood by those that worked on the farms and in the villages. Sadly, mostly lost now.
Be cheered, I still work on farms, love my sheep and cattle xx
One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever - touches your soul.
The skill of David to blend beautiful art with stunning music is sublime.there is no one better at this skill than David Harris, he gets it spot on, this is truly food for the soul.
Thanks, as always, for your kind comment Lee. I'm glad you're enjoying the channel.
One day there will come a new Jerusalem and I pray it is just like this .........my blessed England , I love you so
Well, I cannot echo the sentiment not being from England but I heartily acknowledge the sentiment. My friend, there will be a new Heaven and Earth, and May it be that the Lord God will indeed renew England.
Beautiful comment. And obviously, Vaughan-Williams loved England with all his heart and soul.
@@arnoldronning5471 aa
An England that seems to be slipping away now I feel 😢
No have faith in our Dear Old England is in our souls. Believe please.....it is always there....thank you RVW for you ❤❤❤❤❤❤
My spirit soars when I hear this music - that may sound 'hippyish' but that is what this sublime music does to me
Not at all. This score is uplifting and provides great comfort and strength. I don’t sense a ‘hippyish’ time in the slightest! A glass of vino is the course :)
Mark - I'm a bit late in replying! But you are right - enjoy your vino!
I think though ol Ralph had that 'touch' he's grown on me over the years and I literally am taken away to somewhere beautiful
I love this music, these landscapes, this world mood that is forever written in my heart's memory ...
I can't understand why his music and other post World War One English composers have not been used in movies; they were made for them. The ending of his 5th Symphony introduced me to classical music 40 years ago, when i was into heavy metal. Thank You!!
Glad you enjoyed it Douglas. I suspect some of Vaughan Williams' music probably has been used in films; certainly he wrote the score for "The 49th Parallel", a wartime propaganda film, which I've uploaded elsewhere at ua-cam.com/video/gpllpHMnwiM/v-deo.html&ab_channel=DavidHarris
Also, the music for "Scott of the Antarctic" was paralleled in his Antarctic Symphony (not quite sure which came first).
His 49th Parallel was the theme for a great film of the same name. Short but oh so moving. Check out the film with Laurence Olivier, Raymond Massey, and Leslie Howard. Well worth watching.
Another wonderful upload David - Thank you.
You have a real "feel" for marrying sublime music to sublime works of art.
Glad you enjoyed it Sandy and thanks for your kind comment.
Yes love these my heart was entertained by old English hims the teach would put me out the class for being Jewish as a child so most of my early life was listening to these in school corridor by old head who put these on around the school after the war .. thanks David love these and paintings shows life as simple as it was .. yes our English eur life is being swept away by this gov of today ❤️✝️
Glad you enjoyed the video. As one or two people have pointed out, life may have been simpler in the past, but it wasn't necessarily easier. Having said that I do feel we often lose as much as we gain through progress.
I've always felt that Ralph Vaughan William"s work was from a higher reality, and Cole's summer pastoral scenes glow with a soft, warm, gorgeous golden light that brings joy from a lost world.
Dan - you nailed it - 'higher reality'
absolutely a lost world, you feel you could walk into the pictures..
@@andycollinge3996 Dear God, if only.
....and from another time altogether.
🍸🍸🍸
I think that when God created the world, this is how he saw landscapes and people and listened to such music ... These landscapes and this music make the soul and heart bloom like a spring tree ...
I have not heard this piece before, David you are a treasure for bringing so much joy to all of us. The paintings evoke feelings of a Hardy novel. Thank you once again for your writings as well.
Glad you enjoyed the video Deborah and thank you for your kind comment. The Serenade in A Minor is one of Vaughan Williams' early pieces and, remarkably, one which he actually withdrew. It's hard to imagine why.
Best wishes.
@@davidharris2844 hi David, just wondering what RVW withdrew this piece from? Do you mean his general repertoire?
@@jamess7048 Hi James, as far as I know the Serenade, without the Romance, was first played in 1901, but then withdrawn by the composer in 1908, after a performance in London. The Romance was added later, but, again as far as I know, never played. It was his first orchestral work and it is possible he intended to come back to it. I believe this 2012 cd release is its premiere recording.
Such beautiful raw emotion.
I have memory issues and often forget the titles to my favorite works. Thanks for helping me rediscover them.
Pleasure, glad you're finding a few you like.
Dear old RVW what a wonderful legacy you have left us. How well the beautiful Pictures reflect the Mood of his Music. It does make modern Life seem so banal. Thank you.
It's a pleasure Peter, I'm glad you enjoyed the video and thought the paintings complemented the music. As you imply, music like this can raise us from the quotidian, if only for a while.
I dream of being able to gather all of the troublesome gang members and rebellious youth together and asking them to give a few moments of their lives to ask themselves is it an England of hedonistic, riotious behaviour you want or this picture of perfection? Oh that the balm of this music would anoint the souls of so many who don't know it. Simply perfect. Love to all.
Thank you so much for posting
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it Karen.
Thank you! Ethereal, poignant and yearning for love found and lost, serene and pastoral, a masterpiece! 💔❤️
Glad you enjoyed it Rusty. One of VW's earlier pieces, which, rather surprisingly, he withdrew. I can't see why myself.
@@davidharris2844 Thank you for the reply, David. I’m listening again. Thank you for posting this fine piece. It’s so interesting that creatives have such doubt in their works. I’ve been a fine artist since 1971. I look back at an occasional photo that survived of a work of art some forty years ago that I’d decided to destroy. And, now four decades later wonder why I was so critical and wish I had it back.
@@shodanart Hi Rusty, nice to hear from you again. I think it's probably a good thing to have a certain amount of self doubt, without it complacency and arrogance would creep in. Having said that, I agree with you that people can be over critical of themselves, and I too regret having got rid of some of my youthful efforts, (in my case bits of writing).
Perhaps we tend to be more concerned with how others see us and anything we might create when we are younger.
This is a masterpiece the more you repeat play it. It is deeply introspective.
A Serenade in A minor - yes, romance, that warms the heart, but more. There’s that sadness that comes with romantic love and loss one hears. A definite tearful refrain.
His use of the clarinet. Violins and flute, the traveling Oboe, is bittersweet, not so much romantic, to me, as love’s emotion; questioning, romantic memories, perhaps.
I like that the crescendos are not to abrasive and are brief. An issue I have with bombastic classical music in general, particularly when the harmonic swells come amongst thoughtful melodic moments.
RVW put that high violin in there followed by a dark bass undertone for a reason. There’s light and dark- chiaroscuro - romance but vagaries of life and love and loss of love.
Ralph Vaughn Williams had such a deep understanding of the sweeping poignancy of referring nature and introspection in his sweet melodic passages and orchestral contrasts. The use of melancholy Oboes, majestic horns, that violin character making its own statement over the top and deep bass underlying the foundation.
The oboe again as if the sun coming out. Kettle drums and a haunting English horn, so deep, so much life itself.
Thank you for posting this!
It's a pleasure, I'm glad you enjoyed it Rusty. And thank you for your personal insights into the piece.
David Harris Thank you, David, so much.
My “personal insights” mean little:
This piece makes me weep with its beauty and depth. 💔
@@shodanart Exquisitely expressed, Rusty
Wow
Mr. Walker,
For many years, I have felt the fender passages of this nostalgic piece mellow its way into the gyri of my brain. I listen to it often and, now that you have expressed its bearing "... sadness that comes with ... love and loss ..." I more fully grasp how and why its emotionally charged strains take me back into my son's delightful childhood, invoked all the more by his untimely, tragic death at age 50. thank you for your insight.
Thank you once again David for a beautifully exhilarating masterpiece of music and artwork. I love the peasant scenes of rural England. It makes me want to romp around the glorious countryside with those folks. Lovely uplifting pure heavenly strains. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it Deborah. Some of the paintings do have a rather idyllic feel about them, probably not terribly accurate depictions of the times. I suspect, in reality, there was a fair bit of poverty and hunger in the countryside.
Best wishes.
@@davidharris2844 Oh, undoubtedly the peasant farmers were poor unlikely to have had educated opportunities, but hard working most likely simple people with daydreams too. One can romanticize the bucolic existence tho. The paintings are superb when a bit of color appears in their wardrobe against the natural colors of the landscape. I am smitten with the skies as I used to spend a lot of time on my skies. So real looking.
I love this -- exquisitely depicted in every way. Thank you.
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it Laura.
@@davidharris2844 I still am a year later. So lovely.
@@lauradavidson4326 That's nice to learn, thanks for letting me know Laura. It's such an affecting piece of music.
Beautiful pictures of a bygone age lovely but rather sad music. I feel in it a longing for this lost idyll. Thanks David.
All too easy, in this day and age, to long for an imagined idyllic lost past - I know I do sometimes. Pleased you enjoyed the video anyway John.
That's because it is what we were made for John. Hang onto it.
David Harris
If it was a stark choice David between the workhouses and terrible working conditions of the Industrial revolution, or the beautiful paintings of the British countryside, I know where I would rather be, imagined or otherwise!
That comment aside, I always very much like and appreciate your UA-cam classical music videos with perfect complementary artwork.Thankyou.
Visit West Wales. You will find a place lost in time. No trains, few buses and no pavements. We still plough and Harrow with horses on our farm and the only sounds we hear are the birds, the wind and the animals. Our farm built in 1537. Not much has changed apart from glass in the windows and intermittent electricity. We still rely on oil lamps. 😍
What a beautiful piece. Easily in my top 3 RVW pieces. For me this is evocative of the Sussex Downs on a late summer's evening, with that hint of sadness being the coming of autumn (and the loss of our warm-weather avian friends) or violent imagery of environmental destruction due to house building.
Rendered with great belovedness. Thank you
Hi Tony, glad you are managing to find a few videos to enjoy on the channel.
Never get tired of hearing this mucik.
Superbe peisajele muzica minunata magnifică super toate postările dumneavoastră . Felicitări !
Vă mulțumim pentru comentariul dvs. amabil Adela, mă bucur că v-a plăcut videoclipul.
Simplemente maravilloso.!!!
Evocative scenes and evocative sounds of wide warm summer days of ‘yesteryear’ are all here depicted with tree topped open skies above the rolling hills of rustic England, that is now lost forever. But captured here for all to enjoy, just let the music of RVW enter your soul to hear the birds singing and feel the heat of the sun as the clouds scurry by. Loved it.
Thank you so deeply. You are a true writer: you agile and heartfelt words give the glow of empathy and love to this music -- and indeed, sanctify it with the blessing and truth that live forever and justify our lives.
Phyllis Hamilton - Thank you for your kind words, the rich tones of RVW are captured here in their meaning, we who understand, all feel it.
England my England
Not forever. Life is fragile but resilient and may it be that humanity will recognize that they are stewards of the Earth, not its owners.
Arnold Ronning - we are all ‘passengers on a journey’, a few gifted and talented people do manage to achieve greatness and leave perpetual imprints of their existence for the benefit of mankind, Shakespeare and Bach spring to mind, but not forgetting RVW of course. Most of us, on the other hand unfortunately slide into obscurity.
je suis peintre et j'ai découvert Vaughan à un moment où le vide c'était installé dans ma vie et j'avoue que sa musique m'a redonné quelque chose de profond et d'une très grande émotion ! quand je l'écoute cela me donne de l'espoir et me laisse croire que l'être humain est bon et capable de merveilleuses choses ! sa musique et les peintures de cole sont un ensemble qui magnifient la vie ! merci M Harris !
Je suis content que vous ayez apprécié la vidéo Francis, c’est certainement un beau morceau de musique.
This has become one of my favorite pieces by VW, which is saying a lot, because I love almost everything by VW. Thanks for another fine video!
One of mine too. I think it's a marvellous piece of music, by turns haunting and stirring.
me too I love the little high flute / pipe at 4:44
Vaughan Williams does not really compose pieces of music, Mr. Evans,but, instead, takes you along a path through a landscape of which he has painted pictures.
@@awaitthegroom do you also like the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus by Stuart Mitchell from his 7 Wonders Suite. I love them both, especially because of the woodwind
My favourite RVW song.
I know this is not a song, but the melodies almost sound like they are singing so I would consider it such. Also, thank you David for the upload and the beautiful paintings that accompany the music. What a treasure this is in the masses of music we have today.
Glad you enjoyed it Samuel.
To Jane and Robert: It is sometimes said...that when we are called home from this lifely journey, we take with ourselves our immortal soul and the music we cherished.
Sublime. This has become one of my favourite RVW pieces. Amazing to think that it was only ever performed once during his lifetime.
Music + paintings = Gorgeous 👍 👍 👍 👏 👏 👏 🙋
Another fine VW piece and I love the evocative paintings by the Coles - lovely post!
It seems every day I discover another orchestral piece by VW I never heard before. I finally heard Three Portraits the other day for the first time. I can listen to his music and know it’s composed by VW because the melodies and harmonies are similar to other VW pieces. The depiction of beautiful countryside is so pronounced in his music like In the Fen Country, The Lark Ascending, Symphony #5, etc. The love of his music holds no bounds.
One of VW's pieces I most return to... and as good as some of his better known works IMO. Such a wonderful depiction of the countryside. Thanks for the lovely vid, David.
Pleasure. It's a wonderful piece of music, I agree. Hope all's well and that you're still penning away.
I love your videos! I always picture the most brilliant pastoral scenes when listening to Vaughan Williams. Your channel is a blessing :)
Isn't it wonderful how music can stir the imaginings? I'm really pleased that you enjoy my channel and thanks for the kind comment.
Oh, this is simply marvelous! I did not know of this beautifully reflective and passionate music by RVW before. That string writing at 04:29 and 07:22 made me tear up. (As a string player in my youth, my ear still is naturally drawn to the sound of them.) Thank you, sir, for introducing me to this!
It's a pleasure Thom. It's one of Vaughan Williams' early pieces, which he withdrew for some reason.
If you want to escape for a moment from your troubles then this is the place to go to, the music and pictures together have mind altering power.
The many comments posted on here show how powerful beautiful music is - thanks David.
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it Julian.
Bellísimas imágenas ,en conjunción con la maravillosa música de R. V. Williams.¡¡¡
This piece takes me away…. The whole serenade is wonderful.
VW all over it of course. Instantly favourited! Thank you David - I didn't know this piece.
An early piece which VW, apparently, wasn't satisfied with, as he withdrew it. Can't see why myself. Hope all's well.
Amazing picture at 4:54 I love the sky and the poplars
lovely !
Sublime
Revivifying! Just what I needed this morning to restore my sanity.
Ah the power of music and art. It clears the fog and soothes the troubled mind. Glad you enjoyed it.
🌴🎵🌻Your music accompanies us in a delicious and serene Lunch!!...
It is so calm and we enjoy this music too...without words!!!...we are very happy and very grateful to you, Mr. Harris...💚👌👱♀️🌴🎶‼️
Pleasure as always Malena. Hope you enjoyed your lunch.
@@davidharris2844
I am the grateful one....!!🌴💚🌿🎵🌻✨️🍷...cheers
Stunning piece David. Thanks for sharing!
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it Mark.
Beautiful instruments, spectacular paintings and a gorgeous arrangement. Thank you for posting.
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it Tyron.
Why is no one saying anything about the gorgeous clarinet playing?
Well a because clarinet is contributing to the whole picture, and when somebody compliments this piece, the clarinet is automatically included.
Yes, Kara I was thinking about that clarinet when I came across your question. The clarinet stands out as does the English horn in is making this piece adding to its haunting charm. ❤️
Kara Heckford - I agree Kara the clarinet, in particular does make sparkling and important contributions to ‘tensions’ created here within the music. It’s bird-song like responses add tonal distance, it’s as though nature’s voices are calling to each other across a valley in conversation with the English Horn and other instruments. The combined effect is emotional and deeply moving..
@Kara H I was immediately drawn to the lovely clarinet as I played clarinet for many years and never came close to this perfection.
Thank you. Beautiful paintings
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed the video.
Wonderful blend of music and picture, for once toatlly apposite.
Marvellous David...your work,,David,is marvellous
Pleasure, I'm glad you enjoy the channel Fernando. And thank you for the kind comment.
Happy new Year to you and your Family David!
And to you and yours Jan. Best wishes.
It is difficult to accept that the paintings are not photographs. They have become inextricably linked by the skill of David Harris to the music. Perfection.
Wow, that was beautiful. Thank you so much..
Glad you enjoyed it Jonathan. It's one of VW's very early works, which, for some reason, he withdrew. Can't think why, because it is, as you say, beautiful.
@@davidharris2844 I'm a birdwatcher David but cannae go far at the moment re the virus. April is THE month for me but only doing local, no driving walks. Heartbraking really because it saved my life but no Padley, Upper Derwent, Win hill etc at the mo. Only see my little lady once a week in her back garden because she's self isolating with her son. So these vids are wonderful compensations of my & England's magnificent countryside. VW, Van morrison, Gainsborough, Mozart, The Dubliners etc, I'm taking all these treasures with me as I hang in there, walking locally. God bless the NHS, amazing people. Your contributions are invaluable too David..
Hi Jonathan and thanks for your kind comment. I wouldn't describe myself as a birdwatcher, but I certainly like watching birds and try and get out every day to do so. I'm lucky in that the place where I live is surrounded by nice walks, it must be difficult for people who live in towns and cities at the moment. Still, the countryside isn't going to go away, we just have to be patient.
@@davidharris2844 Hi David, just a quick update. Been to all my aforementioned places, even saw the lammergeier at Derwent. North cave, Potteric, etc, like old friends. Just supping some Tullamore dew & revisiting vids from early spring which helped enormously. I trust you're well etc..
@@jonathanwilkinson1461 Hi Jonathan, glad you've been getting out and about again, you never feel the worse for a bit of fresh air. It's strange how these oddities crop up from time to time, but they don't always fare so well. I saw a hoopoe once when I was living on the south coast, but I heard on the news a week or so later that it had died in a spell of cold and wet weather - shame. Anyway, best wishes for now.
OH !!! I love your videos Thank You David !!!
So pleased you enjoy the channel Ewa. You can't go far wrong with beautiful music and beautiful paintings.
brave. brilliant. spectacular artistic event. applause applause
Hi David, still listening to your music channel, 150 years of RVW. My brother from Canada sends his best, I do too. Blessings from sussex. Deborah. Xx
Hi Deborah, glad you're still enjoying the channel. Ah, lovely Sussex. I grew up there in a little place called Rottingdean. I live in a very beautiful part of the north east now, but I still pine for the gentle downs and the song of the lark that seemed to be ever present. Still, you can't have it all. Anyway, best wishes to you and your brother, and thanks for your continuing support. David
RVW....my favorite composer ever......thanks!
Pleasure, he's one of my favourites too. And I think this is a particularly wonderful piece of music.
I've fallen in love with this song. Thanks for sharing this with us. Great job on the video too.
Glad you enjoyed it Marty. It's one of VW's early pieces and strangely, to my ears at least, he wasn't overly pleased with it and withdrew it.
Wow! This is so moving.
Great performance and music, beautiful ... beautiful! Thank you!
Really pleased you enjoyed it. It is a beautiful piece of music.
Masterpiece
excellent choice of paintings/music....a real feast!!
Is so grateful to listen and see the paitings of God´s creation! Good greation from Sweden!
Glad you enjoyed it Jan.
Maravillosa pieza musical..¡¡
Une musique qui excite l'imaginaire comme les tableaux qui illustrent cette vidéo .........…..
Bellísima música y pinturas.!!
Beautiful music, and the paintings go along with it perfectly!
Belíssimo!
Symphonic poems like this one I like most in RVW's work. He sometimes uses folk tunes and adapts them perfectly to the symphonic context. And the paintings here are first class, showing romantic landscapes that make you dream of another era.
BRAVO , BRAVO MAESTRO !
Those strings 7:22-7:36!! I have no words for their effect.
Beautiful
Great job. Thank you..!!
Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it.
Simplemente maravilloso..
Music to feed your soul
RVW touched in the womb by GOD along with many others to spread joy
How wise you are, Jayne.
TVW insisted on that atheism, but served the Lord countless times (up to today), and SURELY the Holy Spirit came to him.
Nothing this beautiful can be untouched by the Comforter, and ALL that the Holy Spirit touches is as beautiful as this!!!
my soul inside out
How I would have loved to meet RVW.
Once again I find myself listening to this beautiful Music by dear RVW., the Pictures and Music complement each other so well. Could you perhaps be kind enough to tell about the second or third Picture. It is of distant Views with Sheep on the high side of Field which slopes down to the right. Absolutely enchanting. It's between the Picture of the Poplars and the Picture is of Horses in a Farmyard. Thank you.
Hi Peter, I see from your later comment that you've found the name of the painting - it is, as you say, "Autumn Morning" painted by George Vicat Cole in 1891. Funnily enough, it's a painting I'm particularly drawn to as well, as it reminds me of a hill I regularly used to walk on when I was living in Sussex. I often used to see green woodpeckers thereabouts. Glad you're still enjoying the video.
@@davidharris2844 Thank you for your Reply, although we have now lived in North Devon since 1977, my Wife and I too lived in Sussex, then my Wife's a Sussex Girl and we lived up on the Downs in Lewes so often walked over the Downs to Blackcap.
@@peterjhillier7659 We seem to have followed fairly similar trajectories. I was brought up in Rottingdean, which isn't far from Lewes and then moved down to a little town on Exmoor called Dulverton. Unfortunately, circumstances have meant that I now live near Newcastle and although there is some beautiful countryside around here, I still miss the south.
David Harris Rottingdean, Bob Copper's Family's Home. Have you ever read any of his lovely Books; A Song for every Season, Early to Rise, and Songs and Summer Breezes? His Uncle ran the Kings Head at North Chailey and when we lived at South Street Chailey we often passed it.
@@peterjhillier7659 I remember reading Early to Rise many years ago and thoroughly enjoying it. One of the Coppers, I forget who, ran the Queen Victoria in Rottingdean for a number of years and another one had a pub in Peacehaven. It would seem they became a family of landlords.
Balm to the soul.
Simpler, slower times, but so much harder too.
Yes exactly as Thomas Hardy would say.
MUZYKA
RALPHA VAUGHANA WILLIAMSA
Z sercem ściśniętym słucham tej muzyki
Jakby śpiewały ją drzewa i ptaki
Strumyk na łące mą uwagę przykuł
Który swym pięknem zawsze jest jednaki
Jest w tej muzyce tyle zachwycenia
Gdy się pochyla nad ziarenkiem piasku
To, co jest złe w nas, pozostawia w cieniu
Nutką po nutce krzesi szczęścia nastrój
Gdy przymknę oczy, i dotykam kory
Podziwiam mchem porosłe rozpadliny
Brzozy przeczystej, białe jej ubiory
Która mnie wiedzie w czułych tchnień godziny
Cierniste wzgórza a nad nimi ptaki
Jaskółki, które mają gniazdka w stajni
Wieczorne zorze i na niebie znaki
Drzewo do strzechy się z miłością garnie
Pejzaż angielski, ale jakże polski
Który ujmuje mnie w dzieciństwa strony
Pozornie zwykły, ale jakże boski
Pejzaż ten w myślach i w mym sercu płonie
11 sierpnia 2021 Jan Sabiniarz
Dzięki za piękny wiersz Jan.
I dream of a world such as described here; perhaps inthe afterlife.
this bloke is amazing
PRECIOSA MUSICA
Coles paintings and Ralph Vaughan Williams music show how beautiful England once was ,now sadly gone ,never to return .
One of VW's best!