This four-act comic opera celebrating Shakespeares Sir John Falstaff was given its first professional performance in 1946. The libretto, written by the composer, is based on The Merry Wives of Windsor, and interpolates texts by contemporaries of Shakespeare such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and Thomas Campion. The work contains English folksong material and fine examples of the composer's orchestral lyricism and dramatic flair. Music from the opera was later adapted to form the cantata In Windsor Forest and the Fantasia on Greensleeves. For this comprehensive new edition, the editor (and conductor) David Lloyd-Jones has drawn on all available sources, providing an authoritative Study Score with critical commentary. The performance materials are newly-engraved. The orchestral score, vocal score, choral scores, and the optional Episode & Interlude are also available on hire. Please note that this score comes as two separate volumes.

This well-known song by Vaughan Williams is arranged here for mixed voices, with additional lower voice parts by Alan Bullard. The pastoral imagery in the lyrics is beautifully brought to life by the trademark folk-inspired melodies, fluid harmonies, and a lively piano accompaniment. Originally published in The Oxford Book of Flexible Choral Songs.

for violin and mixed choir This innovative and imaginative choral arrangement of The Lark Ascending has the original solo violin part accompanied by mixed choir. It sensitively sets George Meredith's poem (on which the original orchestration is based) and combines this with wordless vocal lines and vocal solos, preserving the texture and timeless effect of the original. Commissioned and premiered by the Swedish Chamber Choir, the work has also been recorded by the choir under the direction of Simon Phipps.

This engaging work 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'. This arrangement for solo viola and orchestra is compatible with the original orchestral accompaniment, materials for which are available on hire.

Vaughan Williams's famous romance for solo violin and orchestra is given new life in this beautiful arrangement, which features the original solo line as part of a string sextet. Perfect as a rehearsal tool in preparation for a larger-scale orchestral concert, the arrangement is also ideal for performance in a chamber recital.

Vaughan Williams's famous romance for solo violin and orchestra is given new life in this beautiful arrangement, which features the original solo line as part of a string sextet. Perfect as a rehearsal tool in preparation for a larger-scale orchestral concert, the arrangement is also ideal for performance in a chamber recital.

Vaughan Williams's famous romance for solo violin and orchestra is given new life in this beautiful arrangement. For the first time, violinists can perform the original solo line as part of a string quartet, while also joining the other players for the longer tutti sections. Perfect as a rehearsal tool in preparation a larger-scale orchestral concert, the arrangement is also ideal for performance in a chamber recital.

Vaughan Williams wrote Symphony No. 8 between 1953 and 1955 while in his eighties. It is his shortest symphony and considered by many to be his least serious. Aside from a few sombre moments, the symphony is optimistic in mood and displays Vaughan Williams's love for exotic and colourful combinations of instruments with a percussion sections that, he said, employs "all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer". For this newly engraved edition, editor David Lloyd-Jones has consulted all extant sources and materials to create a score matching the composer's intentions. The full score is completed with Textual Notes and Preface, and accompanying orchestral parts are available on hire.

for SATB wordless chorus, viola solo, and orchestra A suite for solo viola, wordless chorus (SATB), and small orchestra, Flos Campi is one of Vaughan Williams's most enigmatic pieces. Although the six movements all borrow their titles from the Old Testament's Song of Solomon, the chorus never articulates a single word. Instead, it serves as a section of the orchestra, creating an elegant vocal texture and backdrop to the viola's haunting solo lines. The work was premiered in October 1925 by the violist Lionel Tertis, singers from the RCM, and the Queen's Hall Orchestra, directed by Sir Henry Wood.

for soprano solo, SSA chorus, and full orchestra This new edition of Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 7, the Sinfonia Antartica, has been prepared by David Matthews with support from the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust. The work was drawn from the music Vaughan Williams provided for the film Scott of the Antarctic in 1947 and was completed in 1952. In it the composer skilfully evokes the sparse beauty and grandeur of the landscape with a large orchestra and percussion section, including - famously - a wind machine, to create a work of great power and intensity. This new edition contains an introduction and textual commentary and is published as a full score, study score, and women's chorus, with all performing material on hire.

The Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra was composed in 1953-4 to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the LSO and was written for the orchestra's principal tuba player, Philip Catelinet. It was the first major concerto to be written for the instrument, and remains today the outstanding work of its kind. This new edition is based on all extant sources and contains full textual notes and a discussion of the editorial method. Notable additions are the inclusion of two sets of phrasing for the Romanza-one from the first publication, largely influenced by Catelinet, and the other from Vaughan Williams's manuscript-and the original cadenza to the first movement. The arrangement for tuba and piano has been updated in light of the research carried out by David Matthews, and all orchestral parts have been revised.

Despite having been composed in the years 1938-43 when Europe was ravaged by war, this work radiates peace and serenity. It marks the peak of the lyrical modalism of works such as the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910), Flos Campi (1925), and Job (1931). Although it is not a programme symphony, it draws heavily on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress for inspiration, featuring several themes that were sketched for (and eventually used in) Vaughan Williamsas 1951 opera. In addition, Bunyan's words 'He hath given me rest by his sorrow and life by his death' were originally inscribed over the third movement. This idea of strength drawn from religion must have been especially potent when Vaughan Williams conducted the premiere of the work at the Proms in 1943, during the dark days of the Second World War. The ending in particular has a sense of rising above all worldly concerns into a higher spiritual plane. This edition contains a preface on the history of the work by Michael Kennedy. Orchestral parts are available on hire.

for piano duet This exquisite Fantasia on the timeless English folk song 'Greensleeves' was arranged by for piano duet by Hubert Foss based on music from Vaughan Williams's opera Sir John in Love. It features sweeping expressive phrases reminiscent of the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. The folk tune 'Lovely Joan' is included alongside the Greensleeves tune, forming the basis of a more animated central section.

for SSA and piano or string orchestra or full orchestra This is an exuberant and animated chorus from the cantata In Windsor Forest, which was itself adapted from the opera Sir John in Love. The text is from Act II, Scene 3 of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, and features the women's chorus gleefully denouncing men as 'deceivers'. The colourful orchestral accompaniment is available on hire in versions of full orchestra or string orchestra and piano.

for soprano and baritone soloists, SATB, and orchestra Drawing upon the Bible, sections from the Mass, and poems by Walt Whitman, this is a powerful musical evocation of the destruction and death brought about through war and violence, with an overarching message of peace and reconciliation. It was composed in 1936, a time when war was threatening to engulf Europe once again, and the title, which translates as 'Give us peace', is as relevant now as it was when the work was premiered in 1936. Featuring some of the composer's most potent music (both serene and violent), it makes an affecting plea. Materials for the full orchestral version and an accompaniment for strings and piano are available on hire.

Vaughan Williams's famous romance for solo violin and orchestra is given new life in this beautiful arrangement. For the first time, violinists can perform the original solo line as part of a string quartet, while also joining the other players for the longer tutti sections. Perfect as a rehearsal tool in preparation for a larger-scale orchestral concert, the arrangement is also ideal for performance in a chamber recital.

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.

In this unaccompanied motet Vaughan Williams sets a text by the English poet John Skelton (c.1463-1529). The music captures the spirituality of the text with floating choral lines and a sophisticated harmonic language, employing eerie dissonances to create a sense of otherworldliness. The work carries the following dedication: 'To the memory of my master Hubert Parry not as an attempt palely to reflect his incomparable art, but in the hope that he would have found in this motet (to use his own words) 'something characteristic'.'.

An anthem for soprano or baritone soloist, with SATB and an instrumental obbligato for flute, oboe, or organ.

for unison voices and piano This is an adaptation of music from Act 4, Scene 1 of The Pilgrim's Progress so that it may be performed in concert. It is simple and expressive, bringing focus to the profundity of John Bunyan's text. Recorder, flute, or clarinet may be incorporated into the piano accompaniment, as indicated in the score.