Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music

Most people would nowadays associate Sir Henry Wood with the Royal Albert Hall via the Proms concerts. In 1938, though, when the Proms were still performed at the Queen's Hall, a Jubilee Concert was held for Sir Henry at the Royal Albert Hall, and it was for this event that Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the "Serenade to Music." Setting a passage from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Vaughan Williams created a unique piece for sixteen individual voices, identified by their initials in the score.

Recently performed works:
  • Bernstein : Chichester Psalms
  • Britten : Rejoice in the Lamb
  • Howells : Requiem
  • Britten : Hymn to St Cecilia
  • Tallis : O nata lux
  • Gibbons : Almighty and Everlasting God
  • Farrant : Lord, for thy tender mercy's sake
  • Byrd : Haec Dies
  • East : Hence stars, too dim of light
  • Batten : O Praise the Lord
Next concert: Saturday 12 July 2025
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