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.

Described by Walton as the 'greatest symphony since Beethoven', Vaughan Williams's fourth symphony was composed in 1935 and is noted for its abrasively dissonant harmonic language, unlike much of the composer's other work. This new, scholarly edition, edited by David Matthews, will replace the existing OUP edition from 1935 and the Eulenburg edition from 1983. The preliminary text will include a preface, sources and editorial method, and detailed textual notes.

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.

Vaughan Williams wrote his Symphony No. 8 between 1953 and 1955, when he was in his eighties. It is his shortest symphony, and is 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.

Vaughan Williams's 6th Symphony was composed immediately after the Second World War and its dramatic and at times violent musical language was long felt to be a comment on that conflict (though the composer denied it had any programmatic intent). Its power and invention were immediately recognized and it has remained part of the concert repertoire ever since. 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. Fully compatible orchestral parts 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.

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 vocal soloists or SATB choir and orchestra or reduced orchestra Serenade to Music is sublime - one of the most stunningly beautiful musical creations of the 20th century. This choral meditation on the nature of music and its power to enrapture is a setting of text from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. This tender and much-loved work was composed in 1938 in honour of Sir Henry Wood. It was written for 16 soloists and orchestra but may also be sung by four soloists and chorus, or by mixed-voice chorus. This beautifully presented edition includes an introduction by Michael Kennedy. Also available for full orchestra without choir.

Vaughan Williams fist encountered the old English folk song Dives and Lazarus when he was 21, and here presents five variants that are, in his own words, 'not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others'. The work was premiered in Carnegie Hall as part of the 1939 New York World's Fair, and is a wonderful example of the sumptuous string textures and modal tonalities that have become the composer's trademarks.

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 solo, SATB chorus, and orchestra Published in 1929, Benedicite is a substantial setting of texts from the 'Song of the Three Holy Children' (part of the Apocrypha) and John Austin's hymn text 'Hark, my soul, how everything'. Forceful and dynamic passages with thick choral-orchestral textures are juxtaposed against more solemn passages, often with a gentle soprano solo floating over the choral texture. Scores and parts for both the full orchestra accompaniment and strings and piano accompaniment are available on hire.

for SSA and piano This setting, which opens the Autumn section of the Vaughan Williams's cantata Folk Songs of the Four Seasons, uses a combination of pomp and wit to convey the gathering of the harvest. The character of John Barleycorn personifies the crop barley, and the song is a tongue-in-cheek telling of the indignities that he suffers at the hands of his farmers. Full and reduced orchestral accompaniments for the complete cantata are available on hire.

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

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'.'.