Bristol Classical Players

Tonight The Bristol Classical Players celebrate the 150th birthday of one of Britain’s very greatest composers: Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Born in Gloucestershire in 1872, Vaughan Williams was a great advocate for the preservation of folksong heritage, including those used in his Norfolk Rhapsody. The delicacy of The Lark Ascending needs no introduction; this much-loved work has consistently been voted one of the most popular pieces of classical music, and will tonight be played by Sara Stagg.

As well as writing pastoral-inspired shorter pieces, Vaughan Williams was perhaps Britain’s greatest writer of symphonies. The serene 5th symphony, written during the turmoil of World War 2, is the expression of longed-for peace and serenity; but a dark undertow lends the work shattering power.