Romance for viola and piano (Vaughan Williams)
Encyclopedia
The Romance
for viola
and piano
was one of many pieces found in Ralph Vaughan Williams
' library after his death in 1958. It is probable that it was written and dedicated to the great English violist
, Lionel Tertis
, along with Vaughan Williams' other pieces for viola, Flos Campi
and the Suite
for viola and small orchestra. The date of the composition is not known, but it is thought that it dates from around 1914.
The piece is composed in arch form. It opens with soft, pentatonic murmurings from the piano, expanding into a rather melancholy and songful aria for the viola. The middle is somewhat restless and anguished, before closing in a similar manner to the beginning. The pentatonic modality is used throughout, though there are also stirring false relation
s and chromatic sections. Despite its relative brevity and content, the piece has, since its publication in 1961, gained a place in the modern viola repertoire.
Romance (music)
The term romance has a centuries-long history. Applied to narrative ballads in Spain, it came to be used by the 18th century for simple lyrical pieces not only for voice, but also for instruments alone. During the 18th and 19th centuries Russian composers developed the French variety of the...
for viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
was one of many pieces found in Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
' library after his death in 1958. It is probable that it was written and dedicated to the great English violist
Violist
-Notable violists:A* Julia Rebekka Adler * Sir Hugh Allen , conductor* Kris Allen * Johann Andreas Amon * Paul Angerer , composer* Steven Ansell * Atar Arad * Cecil Aronowitz...
, Lionel Tertis
Lionel Tertis
Lionel Tertis, CBE was an English violist and one of the first viola players to find international fame.Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, and initially studied the violin in Leipzig and at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
, along with Vaughan Williams' other pieces for viola, Flos Campi
Flos Campi
Flos Campi: suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, completed in 1925. Its title is Latin for "flower of the field". It is neither a concerto nor a choral piece, although it prominently features the viola and a...
and the Suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
for viola and small orchestra. The date of the composition is not known, but it is thought that it dates from around 1914.
The piece is composed in arch form. It opens with soft, pentatonic murmurings from the piano, expanding into a rather melancholy and songful aria for the viola. The middle is somewhat restless and anguished, before closing in a similar manner to the beginning. The pentatonic modality is used throughout, though there are also stirring false relation
False relation
A false relation is the name of a type of dissonance that sometimes occurs in classical polyphonic music, most commonly in vocal music of the Renaissance....
s and chromatic sections. Despite its relative brevity and content, the piece has, since its publication in 1961, gained a place in the modern viola repertoire.