In this engaging work Vaughan Williams takes advantage of the expressive possibilities of the cello, ranging from wistful and melancholic to lively and jovial. It was composed in 1929 and premiered the following year by its dedicatee, the legendary Spanish cellist Pablo Casals. The five folk songs on which the work is founded are 'Salisbury Plain', 'The Long Whip', 'Low down in the broom', 'Bristol Town', and 'I've been to France'. Materials for the orchestral accompaniment are available on hire.

Joaquín Rodrigo is best known as the composer of one of the most popular works of music in the classical repertoire—the Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra. Jazz great Miles Davis said of the work, “After listening to it for a couple of weeks, . . . I couldn’t get it out of my mind,� and used it as inspiration for his album Sketches of Spain. But Javier Suárez-Pajares and Walter Aaron Clark demonstrate in this musical biography that Rodrigo’s work and influence extend far beyond that singular work. Blinded in infancy, Rodrigo didn’t allow visual limitations to prevent him from pursuing his passion for music; traveling to study in Paris; connecting with a wide range of musicians, authors, and artists; and navigating the political and cultural complexities of Franco’s Spain. Though firmly grounded in the traditional music of Spain, his creative reach extended to a wide variety of styles, genres, and media. He was as versatile as he was prolific and, one hundred years after his first serious composition, remains a figure of global renown.