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{{short description|English composer (1872–1958)}}
{{redirect|Vaughan Williams|the cricketer|Vaughan Williams (cricketer)|the surname and other holders of the surname|Vaughan Williams (surname)}}
{{British barrelled name|Vaughan Williams|Williams}}
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<!-- Before adding an infobox, please consult [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Composers#Biographical infoboxes]] and seek consensus on this article's talk page. -->
[[File:Ralph-Vaughan-Williams-by-Hoppé-1921.jpg|thumb|alt=Semi-profile of European man in early middle age, clean-shaven, with full head of dark hair|Vaughan Williams {{circa|1920}}]]

'''Ralph Vaughan Williams''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OM}} ({{IPAc-en|audio=Pronunciation-of-Ralph-Vaughan-Williams.ogg|ˌ|ɹ|eɪ|f|_|v|ɔː|n|_|ˈ|w|ɪ|l|j|ə|m|z}} {{respell|RAYF|_|vawn|_|WIL|yəmz}};<ref>[https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/vaughan-williams Collins English Dictionary]</ref>{{refn|Vaughan Williams insisted on the traditional English pronunciation of his first name: "Rafe" ({{IPAc-en|ɹ|eɪ|f}}); Ursula Vaughan Williams said that he was infuriated if people pronounced it in any other way.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. xv</ref>|group= n}} 12 October 1872{{space}}– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over sixty years. Strongly influenced by [[Tudor music]] and [[English folk-song]], his output marked a decisive break in British music from its [[German classical music|German-dominated style]] of the 19th century.

Vaughan Williams was born to a well-to-do family with strong moral views and a progressive social outlook. Throughout his life he sought to be of service to his fellow citizens, and believed in making music as available as possible to everybody. He wrote many works for amateur and student performance. He was musically a late developer, not finding his true voice until his late thirties; his studies in 1907–1908 with the French composer [[Maurice Ravel]] helped him clarify the textures of his music and free it from [[Music of Germany|Teutonic influences]].

Vaughan Williams is among the best-known British symphonists, noted for his very wide range of moods, from stormy and impassioned to tranquil, from mysterious to exuberant. Among the most familiar of his other concert works are ''[[Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis]]'' (1910) and ''[[The Lark Ascending (Vaughan Williams)|The Lark Ascending]]'' (1914). His vocal works include hymns, folk-song arrangements and large-scale choral pieces. He wrote eight works for stage performance between 1919 and 1951. Although none of his operas became popular repertoire pieces, his ballet ''[[Job: A Masque for Dancing]]'' (1930) was successful and has been frequently staged.

Two episodes made notably deep impressions in Vaughan Williams's personal life. The [[World War I|First World War]], in which he served in the army, had a lasting emotional impact. Twenty years later, though in his sixties and devotedly married, he was reinvigorated by a love affair with a much younger woman, who later became his second wife. He went on composing through his 70s and 80s, producing his last symphony months before his death at the age of 85. His works have continued to be a staple of the British concert repertoire, and all his major compositions and many of the minor ones have been recorded.

==Life and career==

===Early years===
Vaughan Williams was born at [[Down Ampney]], Gloucestershire, the third child and younger son of the Reverend Arthur Vaughan Williams, the [[vicar]], and his wife, Margaret, ''née'' Wedgwood.<ref name=dnb>Frogley, Alain. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36636 "Williams, Ralph Vaughan (1872–1958)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154226/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36636 |date=24 September 2015 }}, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 10 October 2015 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>{{refn|His siblings were Hervey (1869–1944) and Margaret (Meggie, 1870–1931).<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), pp. 6–7</ref>|group= n}} His paternal forebears were of mixed English and Welsh descent; many of them went into the law or [[Church of England|the Church]]. The judges [[Edward Vaughan Williams|Sir Edward]] and [[Roland Vaughan Williams|Sir Roland Vaughan Williams]] were respectively Arthur's father and brother.<ref name=archive/> Margaret Vaughan Williams was a great-granddaughter of [[Josiah Wedgwood]] and niece of [[Charles Darwin]].{{refn|Margaret's father was [[Josiah Wedgwood III]], grandson of the potter; he married his cousin, Caroline Darwin, sister of Charles Darwin.<ref name=archive>Howes, Frank. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/36636 "Vaughan Williams, Ralph (1872–1958)"], ''Dictionary of National Biography'' Archive, Oxford University Press, 1971, retrieved 10 October 2015 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>|group= n}}

[[File:Leith Hill Place.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Exterior of quite large country house in extensive gardens|[[Leith Hill Place]], Surrey, Vaughan Williams's childhood home]]
Arthur Vaughan Williams died suddenly in February 1875, and his widow took the children to live in her family home, Leith Hill Place, [[Wotton, Surrey]].<ref name=chron/> The children were under the care of a nurse, Sara Wager, who instilled in them not only polite manners and good behaviour but also liberal social and philosophical opinions.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964) p. 11</ref> Such views were consistent with the progressive-minded tradition of both sides of the family. When the young Vaughan Williams asked his mother about Darwin's controversial book ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', she answered, "The Bible says that God made the world in six days. Great Uncle Charles thinks it took longer: but we need not worry about it, for it is equally wonderful either way".<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 13</ref>

In 1878, at the age of five, Vaughan Williams began receiving piano lessons from his aunt, Sophy Wedgwood. He displayed signs of musical talent early on, composing his first piece of music, a four-bar piano piece called "The Robin's Nest", in the same year. He did not greatly like the piano, and was pleased to begin violin lessons the following year.<ref name=chron>De Savage, pp. xvii–xx</ref><ref name=k11>Kennedy (1980), p. 11</ref> In 1880, when he was eight, he took a correspondence course in music from [[Edinburgh University]] and passed the associated examinations.<ref name=k11/>

In September 1883 he went as a boarder to Field House [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|preparatory school]] in [[Rottingdean]] on the south coast of England, {{convert|40|mi|km|spell=in}} from Wotton. He was generally happy there, although he was shocked to encounter for the first time social snobbery and political conservatism, which were rife among his fellow pupils.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 24</ref> From there he moved on to the [[public school (United Kingdom)|public school]] [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]] in January 1887. His academic and sporting achievements there were satisfactory, and the school encouraged his musical development.<ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 12–13; and Vaughan Williams (1964), pp. 25–27</ref> In 1888 he organised a concert in the school hall, which included a performance of his G major Piano Trio (now lost) with the composer as violinist.<ref name=chron/>

While at Charterhouse Vaughan Williams found that religion meant less and less to him, and for a while he was an [[atheism|atheist]]. This softened into "a cheerful [[agnosticism]]",<ref name=u29/> and he continued to attend church regularly to avoid upsetting the family. His views on religion did not affect his love of the [[King James Version|Authorised Version of the Bible]], the beauty of which, in the words of his widow [[Ursula Vaughan Williams]] in her 1964 biography of the composer, remained "one of his essential companions through life."<ref name=u29>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 29</ref> In this, as in many other things in his life, he was, according to his biographer [[Michael Kennedy (music critic)|Michael Kennedy]], "that extremely English product the natural nonconformist with a conservative regard for the best tradition".<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 43</ref>

===Royal College of Music and Trinity College, Cambridge===
[[file:Hubert Parry.jpg|thumb|alt=A man in late middle age, bald and moustached|upright|[[Hubert Parry]], Vaughan Williams's first composition teacher at the [[Royal College of Music]]]]
In July 1890 Vaughan Williams left Charterhouse and in September he was enrolled as a student at the [[Royal College of Music]] (RCM), London. After a compulsory course in [[harmony]] with [[Francis Edward Gladstone]], professor of organ, counterpoint and harmony, he studied organ with [[Walter Parratt]] and composition with [[Hubert Parry]]. He idolised Parry,<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 31</ref> and recalled in his ''Musical Autobiography'' (1950):
{{blockquote|Parry once said to me: "Write choral music as befits an Englishman and a democrat". We pupils of Parry have, if we have been wise, inherited from him the great English choral tradition, which [[Thomas Tallis|Tallis]] passed on to [[William Byrd|Byrd]], Byrd to [[Orlando Gibbons|Gibbons]], Gibbons to [[Henry Purcell|Purcell]], Purcell to [[Jonathan Battishill|Battishill]] and [[Maurice Greene (composer)|Greene]], and they in their turn through the Wesleys, to Parry. He has passed on the torch to us and it is our duty to keep it alight.<ref>Foreman, p. 38</ref>}}

Vaughan Williams's family would have preferred him to remain at Charterhouse for two more years and then go on to [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]]. They were not convinced that he was talented enough to pursue a musical career, but feeling it would be wrong to prevent him from trying, they had allowed him to go to the RCM.{{refn|One of his aunts thought him a "hopelessly bad" musician, but recognised that "it will simply break his heart if he is told that he is too bad to hope to make anything of it."<ref name=a31>Adams (2013), p. 31</ref>|group= n}} Nevertheless, a university education was expected of him, and in 1892 he temporarily left the RCM and entered [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], where he spent three years, studying music and history.<ref name=chron/>

Among those with whom Vaughan Williams became friendly at Cambridge were the philosophers [[G. E. Moore]] and [[Bertrand Russell]], the historian [[G. M. Trevelyan]] and the musician [[Hugh Allen (conductor)|Hugh Allen]].<ref name=dnb/><ref>Cobbe, p. 8</ref> He felt intellectually overshadowed by some of his companions, but he learned much from them and formed lifelong friendships with several.<ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 37–38</ref> Among the women with whom he mixed socially at Cambridge was Adeline Fisher, the daughter of [[Herbert William Fisher|Herbert Fisher]], an old friend of the Vaughan Williams family. She and Vaughan Williams grew close, and in June 1897, after he had left Cambridge, they became engaged to be married.<ref>Cobbe, p. 9</ref>{{refn|Vaughan Williams and Adeline had known each other since childhood. When they became engaged he wrote to his cousin [[Sir Ralph Wedgwood, 1st Baronet|Ralph Wedgwood]], "for many years we have been great friends and for about the last three I have known my mind on the matter".<ref>Cobbe, p. 14</ref>|group= n}}

[[file:Stanford-Bassano-1921.jpg|thumb|alt=Man in late middle age, wearing pince-nez and a moustache|upright|left|[[Charles Villiers Stanford]], Vaughan Williams's second composition teacher at the RCM]]
During his time at Cambridge Vaughan Williams continued his weekly lessons with Parry, and studied composition with [[Charles Wood (composer)|Charles Wood]] and organ with [[Alan Gray]]. He graduated as [[Bachelor of Music]] in 1894 and [[Bachelor of Arts]] the following year.<ref name=chron/> After leaving the university he returned to complete his training at the RCM. Parry had by then succeeded [[George Grove|Sir George Grove]] as director of the college, and Vaughan Williams's new professor of composition was [[Charles Villiers Stanford]]. Relations between teacher and student were stormy but affectionate. Stanford, who had been adventurous in his younger days, had grown deeply conservative; he clashed vigorously with his modern-minded pupil. Vaughan Williams had no wish to follow in the traditions of Stanford's idols, [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]] and [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]], and he stood up to his teacher as few students dared to do.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 19</ref> Beneath Stanford's severity lay a recognition of Vaughan Williams's talent and a desire to help the young man correct his opaque orchestration and extreme predilection for [[Mode (music)|modal music]].<ref>Dibble, p. 268; and Kennedy (1980), p. 19</ref>

In his second spell at the RCM (1895–1896) Vaughan Williams got to know a fellow student, [[Gustav Holst]], who became a lifelong friend. Stanford emphasised the need for his students to be self-critical, but Vaughan Williams and Holst became, and remained, one another's most valued critics; each would play his latest composition to the other while still working on it. Vaughan Williams later observed, "What one really learns from an Academy or College is not so much from one's official teachers as from one's fellow-students&nbsp;... [we discussed] every subject under the sun from the lowest note of the [[contrabassoon|double bassoon]] to the philosophy of ''[[Jude the Obscure]]''".<ref>Moore, p. 26</ref> In 1949 he wrote of their relationship, "Holst declared that his music was influenced by that of his friend: the converse is certainly true."<ref>Vaughan Williams, Ralph. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/33963 "Holst, Gustav Theodore (1874–1934)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924162936/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/olddnb/33963 |date=24 September 2015 }}, ''Dictionary of National Biography'' Archive, Oxford University Press, 1949, retrieved 13 October 2015 {{ODNBsub}}</ref>

===Early career===
[[File:Ralph Vaughan Williams 1898.png|thumb|Vaughan Williams in 1898]]
Vaughan Williams had a modest private income, which in his early career he supplemented with a variety of musical activities. Although the organ was not his preferred instrument,{{refn|Vaughan Williams had studied under distinguished organists, and was given to boasting that he was the only pupil who had completely baffled Sir Walter Parratt, organist of [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|St George's Chapel, Windsor]], and [[Master of the Queen's Music]].<ref name=a31/>|group= n}} the only post he ever held for an annual salary was as a church organist and choirmaster. He held the position at St Barnabas, in the inner London district of South [[Lambeth]], from 1895 to 1899 for a salary of £50 a year. He disliked the job, but working closely with a choir was valuable experience for his later undertakings.<ref>Cobbe, p. 10</ref>
[[File:Grandiose Cheyne Walk - geograph.org.uk - 466071.jpg|thumb|alt=Exterior of rather grand town-houses|Vaughan Williams lived in [[Cheyne Walk]], [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], from 1905 to 1929]]
In October 1897 Adeline and Vaughan Williams were married. They honeymooned for several months in Berlin, where he studied with [[Max Bruch]].<ref name=dnb/> On their return they settled in London, originally in [[Westminster]] and, from 1905, in [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]]. There were no children of the marriage.<ref name=who/>

In 1899 Vaughan Williams passed the examination for the degree of Doctor of Music at Cambridge; the title was formally conferred on him in 1901.<ref name=who>[http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U243980 "Vaughan Williams, Ralph"], ''Who Was Who'', Oxford University Press, 2014, retrieved 10 October 2015 {{subscription}} {{Cite web |url=https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-243980;jsessionid=04E10BC2A6490ABC816EC2CAA22C8F3A |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 October 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183439/https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-243980;jsessionid=04E10BC2A6490ABC816EC2CAA22C8F3A |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 44</ref> The song "Linden Lea" became the first of his works to appear in print, published in the magazine ''The Vocalist'' in April 1902 and then as separate sheet music.<ref name=chron/><ref>Cobbe, pp. 41–42</ref> In addition to composition he occupied himself in several capacities during the first decade of the century. He wrote articles for musical journals and for the second edition of ''[[Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', edited the first volume of Purcell's ''Welcome Songs'' for the [[Purcell Society]], and was for a while involved in adult education in the University Extension Lectures. From 1904 to 1906 he was music editor of a new hymn-book, ''[[The English Hymnal]]'', of which he later said, "I now know that two years of close association with some of the best (as well as some of the worst) tunes in the world was a better musical education than any amount of sonatas and fugues".<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 74</ref> Always committed to music-making for the whole community, he helped found the amateur [[Leith Hill Musical Festival]] in 1905, and was appointed its principal conductor, a post he held until 1953.<ref name=dnb/>

In 1903–1904 Vaughan Williams started [[British folk revival|collecting folk-songs]]. He had always been interested in them, and now followed the example of a recent generation of enthusiasts such as [[Cecil Sharp]] and [[Lucy Broadwood]] in going into the English countryside noting down and transcribing songs traditionally sung in various locations.<ref>Heaney, Michael. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36040 "Sharp, Cecil James (1859–1924)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206103638/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/36040 |date=6 February 2017 }}; and de Val, Dorothy, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/57238 "Broadwood, Lucy Etheldred (1858–1929)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183440/https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-57238;jsessionid=96E379336A4C034D1758A630CC5FC1FF |date=20 October 2021 }}, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2008 and 2007, retrieved 16 October 2015 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> Collections of the songs were published, preserving many that could otherwise have vanished as oral traditions died out. Vaughan Williams incorporated some into his own compositions, and more generally was influenced by their prevailing modal forms.<ref name=grove/> This, together with his love of [[Tudor music|Tudor]] and Stuart music, helped shape his compositional style for the rest of his career.<ref name=dnb/>

Over this period Vaughan Williams composed steadily, producing songs, choral music, chamber works and orchestral pieces, gradually finding the beginnings of his mature style.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 76</ref> His compositions included the [[symphonic poem|tone poem]] ''[[In the Fen Country]]'' (1904) and the ''[[Norfolk Rhapsodies#Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1 in E minor|Norfolk Rhapsody No. 1]]'' (1906).<ref>Frogley, p. 88</ref> He remained unsatisfied with his technique as a composer. After unsuccessfully seeking lessons from [[Edward Elgar|Sir Edward Elgar]],<ref name=a38>Adams (2013), p. 38</ref> he contemplated studying with [[Vincent d'Indy]] in Paris. Instead, he was introduced by the critic and musicologist [[Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi|M.{{space}}D.{{space}}Calvocoressi]] to [[Maurice Ravel]], a more modernist, less dogmatic musician than d'Indy.<ref name=a38/>

===Ravel; rising fame; First World War===
[[File:Ravel-1906-pierre-petit-cropped.jpg|alt=Head of a young man with moustache and beard and a full head of hair|thumb|upright=.75|[[Maurice Ravel]] in 1906]]
Ravel took few pupils, and was known as a demanding taskmaster for those he agreed to teach.<ref>Nichols, p. 67</ref> Vaughan Williams spent three months in Paris in the winter of 1907–1908, working with him four or five times each week.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 80</ref> There is little documentation of Vaughan Williams's time with Ravel; the musicologist [[Byron Adams]] advises caution in relying on Vaughan Williams's recollections in the ''Musical Autobiography'' written forty-three years after the event.<ref>Adams (2013), pp. 40–41</ref> The degree to which the French composer influenced the Englishman's style is debated.<ref>Cobbe, p. 11</ref> Ravel declared Vaughan Williams to be "my only pupil who does not write my music";<ref name=a40>Adams (2013), p. 40</ref> nevertheless, commentators including Kennedy, Adams, [[Hugh Ottaway]] and Alain Frogley find Vaughan Williams's instrumental textures lighter and sharper in the music written after his return from Paris, such as the String Quartet in G minor, ''[[On Wenlock Edge (song cycle)|On Wenlock Edge]]'', the Overture to ''[[The Wasps (Vaughan Williams)|The Wasps]]'' and ''[[A Sea Symphony]]''.<ref name=grove/><ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 114; and Adams (2013) pp. 41 and 44–46</ref> Vaughan Williams himself said that Ravel had helped him escape from "the heavy contrapuntal Teutonic manner".<ref>Nichols, p. 68</ref>

In the years between his return from Paris in 1908 and the outbreak of the [[First World War]] in 1914, Vaughan Williams increasingly established himself as a figure in British music. For a rising composer it was important to receive performances at the big provincial music festivals, which generated publicity and royalties.<ref>McGuire, p. 123</ref> In 1910 his music featured at two of the largest and most prestigious festivals, with the premieres of the ''[[Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis]]'' at the [[Three Choirs Festival]] in [[Gloucester Cathedral]] in September and ''A Sea Symphony'' at the [[Leeds Festival (classical music)|Leeds Festival]] the following month.<ref name=fm>"Music", ''The Times'', 7 September 1910, p. 11</ref><ref>"Leeds Musical Festival", ''The Times'', 14 October 1910, p. 10</ref> The leading British music critics of the time, [[J. A. Fuller Maitland]] of ''[[The Times]]'' and [[Samuel Langford]] of ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'', were strong in their praise. The former wrote of the fantasia, "The work is wonderful because it seems to lift one into some unknown region of musical thought and feeling. Throughout its course one is never sure whether one is listening to something very old or very new".<ref name=fm/> Langford declared that the symphony "definitely places a new figure in the first rank of our English composers".<ref>Langford, Samuel. "Leeds Musical Festival: Dr. Vaughan Williams's ''Sea Symphony''", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 13 October 1910, p. 9</ref>{{refn|The fantasia made less of an impression on some lesser-known critics: "G. H." in ''Musical News'' thought the work "of not much musical interest", and the unnamed reviewer in ''[[The Musical Times]]'' found it "over-long for concert use".<ref>''Quoted'' in Thomson, p. 65</ref>|group= n}} Between these successes and the start of war Vaughan Williams's largest-scale work was the first version of ''[[A London Symphony]]'' (1914). In the same year he wrote ''[[The Lark Ascending (Vaughan Williams)|The Lark Ascending]]'' in its original form for violin and piano.<ref name=chron/>
[[File:Ralph-Vaughan-Williams-1913.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=European man of early middle age, in sem-profile; he is clean-shaven and has a full head of dark hair|Vaughan Williams in 1913]]

Despite his age—he was approaching forty-two in October—Vaughan Williams volunteered for military service on the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]] in August. Joining the [[Royal Army Medical Corps]] as a [[Private (rank)|private]], he served as a stretcher bearer in an ambulance crew in France and later in Greece.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 12w0</ref> Frogley writes of this period that Vaughan Williams was considerably older than most of his comrades, and "the back-breaking labour of dangerous night-time journeys through mud and rain must have been more than usually punishing".<ref name=dnb/> The war left its emotional mark on Vaughan Williams, who lost many comrades and friends, including the young composer [[George Butterworth]].<ref>Frogley, p. 99</ref> In 1917 Vaughan Williams was commissioned as a [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] in the [[Royal Artillery]], seeing action in France from March 1918. The continual noise of the guns damaged his hearing, and led to deafness in his later years.<ref>Moore, p. 54</ref> After the armistice in 1918 he served as director of music for the British [[First Army (United Kingdom)|First Army]] until demobilised in February 1919.<ref name=archive/>

===Inter-war years===
During the war Vaughan Williams stopped writing music, and after returning to civilian life he took some time before feeling ready to compose new works. He revised some earlier pieces, and turned his attention to other musical activities. In 1919 he accepted an invitation from Hugh Allen, who had succeeded Parry as director, to teach composition at the RCM; he remained on the faculty of the college for the next twenty years.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 136</ref>{{refn|[[List of music students by teacher: T to Z#V|His students]] included [[Ivor Gurney]], [[Constant Lambert]], [[Elizabeth Maconchy]], [[Grace Williams]] and [[Gordon Jacob]], the last of whom went on to work with his former teacher, transcribing the composer's barely legible manuscripts and arranging existing pieces for new instrumental combinations.<ref>Hurd, Michael. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/12046 "Gurney, Ivor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183443/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000012046;jsessionid=4463A49BA9F8555EC71D516BC44F1959 |date=20 October 2021 }}; Dibble, Jeremy. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/15883 "Lambert, Constant"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183441/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000015883;jsessionid=F2BEF4C0A14692F10B47BC4747187F34 |date=20 October 2021 }}; Cole, Hugo and Jennifer Doctor. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/17374 "Maconchy, Dame Elizabeth"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183445/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000017374;jsessionid=891FD5F98180DF3D58524E3912D9D712 |date=20 October 2021 }}; Boyd, Malcolm. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/30347 "Williams, Grace"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183443/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030347;jsessionid=2D19C664C68ED2BAADF2A19586BC553E |date=20 October 2021 }}; and Wetherell, Eric. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/14035 "Jacob, Gordon"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 19 October 2015 {{Grove Music subscription}} {{Cite web |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014035;jsessionid=92D04180527464B642BF1BE92B933543 |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 October 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183501/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014035;jsessionid=92D04180527464B642BF1BE92B933543 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Later the composer's other regular helper was [[Roy Douglas]], who worked with Vaughan Williams between 1947 and 1958 and wrote a memoir of working with him.<ref>Palmer, Christopher and Stephen Lloyd. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08091 "Douglas, Roy"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 19 October 2015 {{Grove Music subscription}} {{Cite web |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008091;jsessionid=A39BAF0B06F6DD368CFE40A24BD46EDA |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 October 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183441/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000008091;jsessionid=A39BAF0B06F6DD368CFE40A24BD46EDA |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>|group= n}} In 1921 he succeeded Allen as conductor of [[The Bach Choir]], London. It was not until 1922 that he produced a major new composition, ''[[Pastoral Symphony (Vaughan Williams)|A Pastoral Symphony]]''; the work was given its first performance in London in May conducted by [[Adrian Boult]] and its American premiere in June conducted by the composer.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), pp. 140 and 143</ref>

[[File:Vaughan-Williams-Musical-Times-1922.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Smartly dressed European man looking towards camera|Vaughan Williams in 1922]]
Throughout the 1920s Vaughan Williams continued to compose, conduct and teach. Kennedy lists forty works premiered during the decade, including the [[Mass in G minor (Vaughan Williams)|Mass in G minor]] (1922), the ballet ''Old King Cole'' (1923), the operas ''[[Hugh the Drover]]'' and ''[[Sir John in Love]]'' (1924 and 1928), the suite ''[[Flos Campi]]'' (1925) and the oratorio ''[[Sancta Civitas]]'' (1925).<ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 412–416</ref>

During the decade Adeline became increasingly immobilised by arthritis, and the numerous stairs in their London house finally caused the Vaughan Williamses to move in 1929 to a more manageable home, "The White Gates", [[Dorking]], where they lived until Adeline's death in 1951. Vaughan Williams, who thought of himself as a complete Londoner, was sorry to leave the capital, but his wife was anxious to live in the country, and Dorking was within reasonably convenient reach of town.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), pp. 171 and 179</ref>

In 1932 Vaughan Williams was elected president of the [[English Folk Dance and Song Society]]. From September to December of that year he was in the US as a visiting lecturer at [[Bryn Mawr College]], Pennsylvania.<ref name=chron/> The texts of his lectures were published under the title ''National Music'' in 1934; they sum up his artistic and social credo more fully than anything he had published previously, and remained in print for most of the remainder of the century.<ref name=dnb/>

During the 1930s Vaughan Williams came to be regarded as a leading figure in British music, particularly after the deaths of Elgar, [[Frederick Delius|Delius]] and Holst in 1934.<ref>Cobbe, p. 175</ref> Holst's death was a severe personal and professional blow to Vaughan Williams; the two had been each other's closest friends and musical advisers since their college days. After Holst's death Vaughan Williams was glad of the advice and support of other friends including Boult and the composer [[Gerald Finzi]],<ref>Cobbe, pp. 174–175</ref> but his relationship with Holst was irreplaceable.<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 200</ref>

In some of Vaughan Williams's music of the 1930s there is an explicitly dark, even violent tone. The ballet ''[[Job: A Masque for Dancing]]'' (1930) and the [[Symphony No. 4 (Vaughan Williams)|Fourth Symphony]] (1935) surprised the public and critics.<ref name=grove/> The discordant and violent tone of the symphony, written at a time of growing international tension, led many critics to suppose the symphony to be [[program music|programmatic]]. [[Hubert J. Foss|Hubert Foss]] dubbed it "The Romantic" and [[Frank Howes]] called it "The Fascist".<ref name=s74>Schwartz. p. 74</ref> The composer dismissed such interpretations, and insisted that the work was [[absolute music]], with no programme of any kind; nonetheless, some of those close to him, including Foss and Boult, remained convinced that something of the troubled spirit of the age was captured in the work.<ref name=s74/>{{refn|Boult recalled that the symphony "brought many of us straight up against the spectacle of war, and the ghastly possibility of it. A prophet, like other great men, he foresaw the whole thing."<ref>Barbirolli ''et al'', p. 536</ref>|group= n}}

As the decade progressed, Vaughan Williams found musical inspiration lacking, and experienced his first fallow period since his wartime musical silence. After his anti-war cantata ''[[Dona nobis pacem (Vaughan Williams)|Dona nobis pacem]]'' in 1936 he did not complete another work of substantial length until late in 1941, when the first version of the [[Symphony No. 5 (Vaughan Williams)|Fifth Symphony]] was completed.<ref name=dnb/>

In 1938 Vaughan Williams met [[Ursula Vaughan Williams|Ursula Wood]] (1911–2007), the wife of an army officer, Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Michael Forrester Wood.<ref>[http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:DST1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11C89CD56F084C68&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Obituary of Ursula Vaughan Williams"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818023509/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3ADST1&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=11C89CD56F084C68&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=18 August 2021 }}, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 25 October 2007</ref> She was a poet, and had approached the composer with a proposed scenario for a ballet. Despite their both being married, and a four-decade age-gap, they fell in love almost from their first meeting; they maintained a secret love affair for more than a decade.<ref name=on/> Ursula became the composer's muse, helper and London companion, and later helped him care for his ailing wife. Whether Adeline knew, or suspected, that Ursula and Vaughan Williams were lovers is uncertain, but the relations between the two women were of warm friendship throughout the years they knew each other. The composer's devotion to his first wife never faltered, according to Ursula, who admitted in the 1980s that she had been jealous of Adeline, whose place in Vaughan Williams's life and affections was unchallengeable.<ref name=on>Neighbour, pp. 337–338 and 345</ref>

===1939–1952===
During the Second World War Vaughan Williams was active in civilian war work, chairing the [[Home Office]] Committee for the Release of Interned Alien Musicians, helping [[Myra Hess]] with the organisation of the daily [[National Gallery]] concerts, serving on a committee for refugees from Nazi oppression, and on the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), the forerunner of the [[Arts Council of Great Britain|Arts Council]].<ref name=chron/> In 1940 he composed his first film score, for the propaganda film ''[[49th Parallel (film)|49th Parallel]]''.<ref>[https://www.proquest.com/docview/1326412486 "When is an Opera not an Opera? When it could be a Film"], ''Musical Opinion'', January 2013, p. 136 {{subscription}}</ref>

In 1942 Michael Wood died suddenly of heart failure. At Adeline's behest the widowed Ursula was invited to stay with the Vaughan Williamses in Dorking, and thereafter was a regular visitor there, sometimes staying for weeks at a time. The critic Michael White suggests that Adeline "appears, in the most amicable way, to have adopted Ursula as her successor".<ref name=white>White, Michael. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:DST1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F35A23D68CE9F99&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "The merry widow"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818040429/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3ADST1&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=0F35A23D68CE9F99&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=18 August 2021 }}, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 4 May 2002</ref> Ursula recorded that during air raids all three slept in the same room in adjacent beds, holding hands for comfort.<ref name=white/>

[[File:Pilgrim's Progress.jpg|alt=Title page of 17th-century printed book showing engraving of the author|thumb|''[[The Pilgrim's Progress]]''&nbsp;– inspiration to Vaughan Williams across forty-five years]]
In 1943 Vaughan Williams conducted the premiere of his Fifth Symphony at the [[the Proms|Proms]]. Its serene tone contrasted with the stormy Fourth, and led some commentators to think it a symphonic valediction. [[William Glock]] wrote that it was "like the work of a distinguished poet who has nothing very new to say, but says it in exquisitely flowing language".<ref>Glock, William. "Music", ''The Observer'', 18 July 1943, p. 2</ref> The music Vaughan Williams wrote for the BBC to celebrate the end of the war, ''Thanksgiving for Victory'', was marked by what the critic [[Edward Lockspeiser]] called the composer's characteristic avoidance of "any suggestion of rhetorical pompousness".<ref>Lockspeiser, Edward. "Thanksgiving for Victory, for Soprano Solo, Speaker, Chorus and Orchestra by R. Vaughan Williams", ''[[Music & Letters]]'', October 1945, p. 243 {{JSTOR|728048}} {{subscription}}</ref> Any suspicion that the septuagenarian composer had settled into benign tranquillity was dispelled by his [[Symphony No. 6 (Vaughan Williams)|Sixth Symphony]] (1948), described by the critic Gwyn Parry-Jones as "one of the most disturbing musical statements of the 20th century", opening with a "primal scream, plunging the listener immediately into a world of aggression and impending chaos."<ref>Parry-Jones, Gwyn. [http://www.rvwsociety.com/journal_pdfs/rvw_journal_03.pdf "The Inner and Outer Worlds of RVW"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313113058/http://www.rvwsociety.com/journal_pdfs/rvw_journal_03.pdf |date=13 March 2012 }}, ''Journal of the RVW Society'', July 1995</ref> Coming as it did near the start of the [[Cold War]], many critics thought its ''pianissimo'' last movement a depiction of a nuclear-scorched wasteland.<ref>Horton, p. 210; and Kennedy (1980) pp. 301–302</ref> The composer was dismissive of programmatic theories: "It never seems to occur to people that a man might just want to write a piece of music."<ref name=k302>Kennedy (1980), p. 302</ref>

In 1951 Adeline died, aged eighty.<ref>"Obituary", ''The Times'', 12 May 1951, p. 8</ref> In the same year Vaughan Williams's last opera, ''[[The Pilgrim's Progress (opera)|The Pilgrim's Progress]]'', was staged at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] as part of the [[Festival of Britain]]. He had been working intermittently on a musical treatment of [[John Bunyan]]'s allegory for forty-five years, and the 1951 "morality" was the final result. The reviews were respectful,<ref>"The Royal Opera", ''The Times'', 27 April 1951, p. 8; Hope-Wallace, Philip. "''The Pilgrim's Progress'': New Work by Vaughan Williams", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 27 April 1951, p. 3; and Blom, Eric. "Progress and Arrival", ''The Observer'', 29 April 1951, p. 6</ref> but the work did not catch the opera-going public's imagination, and the Royal Opera House's production was "insultingly half-hearted" according to Frogley.<ref name=dnb/> The piece was revived the following year, but was still not a great success. Vaughan Williams commented to Ursula, "They don't like it, they won't like it, they don't want an opera with no heroine and no love duets—and I don't care, it's what I meant, and there it is."<ref>Hayes, Malcolm. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=132048A0E4A18870&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Progress at last"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817205602/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3ATND1&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=132048A0E4A18870&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=17 August 2021 }}, ''[[The Independent]]'', 31 October 1997</ref>

===Second marriage and last years===
In February 1953 Vaughan Williams and Ursula were married.{{refn|There were no children of the marriage.<ref name=who/>|group= n}} He left the Dorking house and they took a lease of 10 [[Hanover Terrace]], [[Regent's Park]], London. It was the year of [[Queen Elizabeth II's coronation]]; Vaughan Williams's contribution was an arrangement of the [[Old 100th|Old Hundredth]] psalm tune, and a new setting of "O taste and see" from [[Psalm 34]], performed at the service in [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>Howes, Frank. "The New Compositions", ''The Times'', 18 March 1953, p. 2</ref>

[[File:Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1954.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Old man, with white hair, seated at a desk, writing|Vaughan Williams signing the guest book at [[Yale University]] in 1954]]
Having returned to live in London, Vaughan Williams, with Ursula's encouragement, became much more active socially and in ''[[pro bono publico]]'' activities. He was a leading figure in the [[Society for the Promotion of New Music]],<ref>Payne, Anthony. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/26075 "Society for the Promotion of New Music"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 19 October 2015 {{Grove Music subscription}} {{Cite web |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000026075;jsessionid=0D19D651E6C079A95558CCD9C9435742 |title=Archived copy |access-date=20 October 2021 |archive-date=20 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183521/https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000026075;jsessionid=0D19D651E6C079A95558CCD9C9435742 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> and in 1956 he set up and endowed the RVW Trust to support young composers and promote new or neglected music.<ref name=trust>[https://vaughanwilliamsfoundation.org/the-foundation/history/ "History of the Vaughan Williams Foundation"], Vaughan Williams Foundation, October 2022</ref>{{refn|In 2022, on the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, and following a merger with the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust, the RVW Trust became the Vaughan Williams Foundation.<ref name=trust/>|group=n}} He and his wife travelled extensively in Europe, and in 1954 he visited the US once again, having been invited to lecture at [[Cornell University|Cornell]] and other universities and to conduct. He received an enthusiastic welcome from large audiences, and was overwhelmed at the warmth of his reception.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/10/archives/vaughan-williams-hailed-at-cornell.html "Vaughan Williams Hailed at Cornell"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 10 November 1954, p. 42 {{subscription}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725214509/https://www.nytimes.com/1954/11/10/archives/vaughan-williams-hailed-at-cornell.html |date=25 July 2018 }}</ref> Kennedy describes it as "like a musical state occasion".<ref>Kennedy (2013), pp. 294–295</ref>

Of Vaughan Williams's works from the 1950s, ''Grove'' makes particular mention of ''[[Three Shakespeare Songs]]'' (1951) for unaccompanied chorus, the Christmas cantata ''[[Hodie]]'' (1953–1954), the Violin Sonata, and, most particularly, the ''[[Ten Blake Songs]]'' (1957) for voice and oboe, "a masterpiece of economy and precision".<ref name=grove/> Unfinished works from the decade were a cello concerto and a new opera, ''Thomas the Rhymer''.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 432</ref> The predominant works of the 1950s were his three last symphonies. The seventh—officially unnumbered, and titled ''[[Sinfonia antartica]]''—divided opinion; the score is a reworking of music Vaughan Williams had written for the 1948 film ''[[Scott of the Antarctic (film)|Scott of the Antarctic]]'', and some critics thought it not truly symphonic.<ref name=grove/> The [[Symphony No. 8 (Vaughan Williams)|Eighth]], though wistful in parts, is predominantly lighthearted in tone; it was received enthusiastically at its premiere in 1956, given by the [[the Hallé|Hallé Orchestra]] under the dedicatee, [[John Barbirolli|Sir John Barbirolli]].<ref>"Audience Cheers Dr Vaughan Williams: New Symphony Performed", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 3 May 1956, p. 1</ref> The [[Symphony No. 9 (Vaughan Williams)|Ninth]], premiered at a [[Royal Philharmonic Society]] concert conducted by [[Malcolm Sargent|Sir Malcolm Sargent]] in April 1958, puzzled critics with its sombre, questing tone, and did not immediately achieve the recognition it later gained.<ref name=grove/>

Having been in excellent health, Vaughan Williams died suddenly in the early hours of 26 August 1958 at Hanover Terrace, aged 85.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/27/archives/ralph-vaughan-williams-dies-dean-of-british-composers-85-grand-old.html "Ralph Vaughan Williams Dies"], ''The New York Times'', 27 August 1958, p. 1 {{subscription}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725214931/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/08/27/archives/ralph-vaughan-williams-dies-dean-of-british-composers-85-grand-old.html |date=25 July 2018 }}</ref> Two days later, after a private funeral at [[Golders Green Crematorium|Golders Green]], he was cremated. On 19 September, at a crowded memorial service, his ashes were interred near the burial plots of Purcell and Stanford in the north choir aisle of Westminster Abbey.<ref>"Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams: Abbey Commemoration", ''The Times'', 20 September 1958, p. 8</ref><ref>[http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/sir-charles-villiers-stanford "Sir Charles Villiers Stanford"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055641/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/sir-charles-villiers-stanford |date=4 March 2016 }} and [http://westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/ralph-vaughan-williams "Ralph Vaughan Williams"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922210829/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/ralph-vaughan-williams |date=22 September 2015 }}, Westminster Abbey, retrieved 19 October 2015</ref>

==Music==
{{See also|List of compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams|Vaughan Williams and English folk music}}
[[File:Tallis-fantasia-page1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|alt=Page of printed musical score|Opening of ''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis'', 1910]]
Michael Kennedy characterises Vaughan Williams's music as a strongly individual blending of the modal harmonies familiar from folk‐song with the French influence of Ravel and Debussy. The basis of his work is melody, his rhythms, in Kennedy's view, being unsubtle at times.<ref name=odm>Kennedy, Michael (ed). [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e10634 "Vaughan Williams, Ralph"], ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, retrieved 10 October 2015 {{subscription}}</ref> Vaughan Williams's music is often described as visionary;{{refn|The word is used repeatedly in discussions of Vaughan Williams by composers such as [[Herbert Howells]],<ref>Barbirolli ''et al'', p. 537</ref> [[Anthony Payne]],<ref name=t318>Thomson ''et al'', p. 318</ref> and [[Wilfrid Mellers]],<ref>Mellers, Wilfrid. "Review: ''Hodie'' by Vaughan Williams", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', March 1966, p. 226 {{JSTOR|953381}}{{subscription}}</ref> conductors including [[Sakari Oramo]],<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3651859/Visionary-genius-of-the-spirit-world.html "Visionary genius of the spirit world"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118115804/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/3651859/Visionary-genius-of-the-spirit-world.html |date=18 November 2018 }}, ''The Telegraph'', 26 April 2006</ref> and scholars such as Byron Adams,<ref>Adams (1996), p. 100</ref> Kennedy,<ref name=odm/> and Hugh Ottaway.<ref>Ottaway, p. 213</ref>|group= n}} Kennedy cites the masque ''Job'' and the Fifth and Ninth Symphonies.<ref name=odm/> Vaughan Williams's output was prolific and wide-ranging. For the voice he composed songs, operas, and choral works ranging from simpler pieces suitable for amateurs to demanding works for professional choruses. His comparatively few chamber works are not among his better-known compositions.<ref>Mark, p. 179</ref> Some of his finest works elude conventional categorisation, such as the ''[[Serenade to Music]]'' (1938) for sixteen solo singers and orchestra; ''Flos Campi'' (1925) for solo viola, small orchestra, and small chorus; and his most important chamber work, in Howes's view—not purely instrumental but a song cycle—''On Wenlock Edge'' (1909) with accompaniment for string quartet and piano.<ref name=archive/>

In 1955 the authors of ''The Record Guide'', [[Edward Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville|Edward Sackville-West]] and [[Desmond Shawe-Taylor (music critic)|Desmond Shawe-Taylor]], wrote that Vaughan Williams's music showed an exceptionally strong individual voice: Vaughan Williams's style is "not remarkable for grace or politeness or inventive colour", but expresses "a consistent vision in which thought and feeling and their equivalent images in music never fall below a certain high level of natural distinction". They commented that the composer's vision is expressed in two main contrasting moods: "the one contemplative and trance-like, the other pugnacious and sinister". The first mood, generally predominant in the composer's output, was more popular, as audiences preferred "the stained-glass beauty of the Tallis Fantasia, the direct melodic appeal of the ''Serenade to Music'', the pastoral poetry of ''The Lark Ascending'', and the grave serenity of the Fifth Symphony". By contrast, as in the ferocity of the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies and the Concerto for Two Pianos: "in his grimmer moods Vaughan Williams can be as frightening as Sibelius and [[Béla Bartók|Bartók]]".<ref>Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor, p. 786</ref>

===Symphonies===
It is as a symphonist that Vaughan Williams is best known.<ref name=archive/> The composer and academic [[Elliott Schwartz]] wrote (1964), "It may be said with truth that Vaughan Williams, [[Jean Sibelius|Sibelius]] and [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofieff]] are the symphonists of this century".<ref name=s201>Schwartz, p. 201</ref> Although Vaughan Williams did not complete the first of them until he was thirty-eight years old, the nine symphonies span nearly half a century of his creative life. In his 1964 analysis of the nine, Schwartz found it striking that no two of the symphonies are alike, either in structure or in mood.<ref>Schwartz, p. 17</ref> Commentators have found it useful to consider the nine in three groups of three—early, middle and late.<ref name=s18/>
{{external media|width=180px|audio1 =[https://archive.org/details/uso20090601/uso20090601-008-vaughan-williams-sea-symphony-mvtIV.wav ''A Sea Symphony'']}}

====''Sea'', ''London'' and ''Pastoral'' Symphonies (1910–1922)====
The first three symphonies, to which Vaughan Williams assigned titles rather than numbers,{{refn|Vaughan Williams did not assign numbers to any of his symphonies before No 8, but Nos 4–6 have generally been referred to by number nevertheless.<ref>Cox, p. 115</ref>|group= n}} form a sub-group within the nine, having [[programme music|programmatic]] elements absent from the later six.<ref name=s18>Schwartz, p. 18</ref>

''[[A Sea Symphony]]'' (1910), the only one of the series to include a part for full choir, differs from most earlier [[Choral symphony|choral symphonies]] in that the choir sings in all the movements.<ref name=archive/><ref name=f93/> The extent to which it is a true symphony has been debated; in a 2013 study, Alain Frogley describes it as a hybrid work, with elements of symphony, oratorio and cantata.<ref name=f93>Frogley, p. 93</ref> Its sheer length—about eighty minutes—was unprecedented for an English symphonic work, and within its thoroughly tonal construction it contains harmonic dissonances that pre-echo the early works of [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]] which were soon to follow.<ref>Frogley, pp. 93–94</ref>
''[[A London Symphony]]'' (1911–1913) which the composer later observed might more accurately be called a "symphony by a Londoner",<ref>Thomson, p. 73</ref> is for the most part not overtly pictorial in its presentation of London. Vaughan Williams insisted that it is "self-expressive, and must stand or fall as 'absolute' music".<ref>McVeagh, p. 115</ref> There are some references to the urban soundscape: brief impressions of street music, with the sound of the [[barrel organ]] mimicked by the orchestra; the characteristic [[Street cries|chant]] of the lavender-seller; the jingle of [[hansom cab]]s; and the chimes of [[Big Ben]] played by harp and clarinet.<ref>Frogley, p. 97</ref> But commentators have heard—and the composer never denied or confirmed—some social comment in sinister echoes at the end of the scherzo and an orchestral outburst of pain and despair at the opening of the finale.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 139</ref> Schwartz comments that the symphony, in its "unified presentation of widely heterogeneous elements", is "very much like the city itself".<ref>Schwartz, p. 57</ref> Vaughan Williams said in his later years that this was his favourite of the symphonies.{{refn|This was in 1951, when the last three symphonies were yet to be written.<ref>Cobbe, p. 487</ref>|group= n}}

The last of the first group is ''[[Pastoral Symphony (Vaughan Williams)|A Pastoral Symphony]]'' (1921). The first three movements are for orchestra alone; a wordless solo soprano or tenor voice is added in the finale. Despite the title the symphony draws little on the folk-songs beloved of the composer, and the pastoral landscape evoked is not a tranquil English scene, but the French countryside ravaged by war.<ref>Kennedy (2008), p. 36</ref> Some English musicians who had not fought in the First World War misunderstood the work and heard only the slow tempi and quiet tone, failing to notice the character of a requiem in the music and mistaking the piece for a rustic idyll.{{refn|[[Peter Warlock]] commented that the symphony was "like a cow looking over a gate", though he added, "but after all, it's a very great work"<ref name=t318/> and Sir Hugh Allen said the work conjured up "VW rolling over and over in a ploughed field on a wet day".<ref name=k278>Kennedy (2013), p. 278</ref>|group= n}} Kennedy comments that it was not until after the Second World War that "the spectral 'Last Post' in the second movement and the girl's lamenting voice in the finale" were widely noticed and understood.<ref name=k278/>

====Symphonies 4–6 (1935–1948)====
The middle three symphonies are purely orchestral, and generally conventional in form, with [[sonata form]] (modified in places), specified [[Tonic (music)|home keys]], and four-movement structure.<ref>Schwartz, pp. 75, 78, 80, 84, 90, 93, 97, 100, 106, 110, 114 and 117</ref> The orchestral forces required are not large by the standards of the first half of the 20th century, although the Fourth calls for an augmented woodwind section and the Sixth includes a part for [[tenor saxophone]].<ref>[http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.4_in_F_minor_(Vaughan_Williams,_Ralph) "Symphony No.4 in F minor (Vaughan Williams, Ralph)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024222532/http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.4_in_F_minor_(Vaughan_Williams,_Ralph) |date=24 October 2015 }}; and [http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.6_in_E_minor_(Vaughan_Williams,_Ralph) "Symphony No.6 in E minor (Vaughan Williams, Ralph)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005201143/http://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.6_in_E_minor_(Vaughan_Williams,_Ralph) |date=5 October 2015 }}, International Music Score Library Project, retrieved 11 October 2015</ref> The [[Symphony No. 4 (Vaughan Williams)|Fourth Symphony]] (1935) astonished listeners with its striking dissonance, far removed from the prevailing quiet tone of the previous symphony.<ref>Schwartz, p. 88</ref> The composer firmly contradicted any notions that the work was programmatical in any respect, and Kennedy calls attempts to give the work "a meretricious programme&nbsp;... a poor compliment to its musical vitality and self-sufficiency".<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 268</ref>

The [[Symphony No. 5 (Vaughan Williams)|Fifth Symphony]] (1943) was in complete contrast to its predecessor. Vaughan Williams had been working on and off for many years on his operatic version of Bunyan's ''The Pilgrim's Progress''. Fearing—wrongly as it turned out—that the opera would never be completed, Vaughan Williams reworked some of the music already written for it into a new symphony. Despite the internal tensions caused by the deliberate conflict of modality in places, the work is generally serene in character, and was particularly well received for the comfort it gave at a time of all-out war.<ref>Cox, pp. 122–123; and Schwartz. p. 104</ref> [[Neville Cardus]] later wrote, "The Fifth Symphony contains the most benedictory and consoling music of our time."<ref>Cardus, Neville, "The Measure of Vaughan Williams", ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|The Saturday Review]]'', 31 July 1954, p. 45</ref>

With the [[Symphony No. 6 (Vaughan Williams)|Sixth Symphony]] (1948) Vaughan Williams once again confounded expectations. Many had seen the Fifth, composed when he was seventy, as a valedictory work, and the turbulent, troubled Sixth came as a shock. After violent orchestral clashes in the first movement, the obsessive ''[[ostinato]]'' of the second and the "diabolic" scherzo, the finale perplexed many listeners. Described as "one of the strangest journeys ever undertaken in music",<ref>Cox, p. 111</ref> it is marked ''pianissimo'' throughout its 10–12-minute duration.{{refn|In 1956 the composer said in a letter to Michael Kennedy that the nearest that words could get to what he intended in the finale were Prospero's in ''[[The Tempest]]'': "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep."<ref name=k302/>|group= n}}

====''Sinfonia antartica'', Symphonies 8 and 9 (1952–1957)====
The seventh symphony, the ''[[Sinfonia antartica]]'' (1952), a by-product of the composer's score for ''Scott of the Antarctic'', has consistently divided critical opinion on whether it can be properly classed as a symphony.<ref name=s135>Schwartz, p. 135</ref> Alain Frogley in ''Grove'' argues that though the work can make a deep impression on the listener, it is neither a true symphony in the understood sense of the term nor a tone poem and is consequently the least successful of the mature symphonies. The work is in five movements, with wordless vocal lines for female chorus and solo soprano in the first and last movements.<ref name=grove>Ottaway, Hugh and Alain Frogley. [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/42507 "Vaughan Williams, Ralph"], ''Grove Music Online'', Oxford University Press, retrieved 10 October 2015 {{Grove Music subscription}}</ref> In addition to large woodwind and percussion sections the score features a prominent part for [[wind machine]].<ref>Schwartz, p. 121</ref>

The [[Symphony No. 8 (Vaughan Williams)|Eighth Symphony]] (1956) in D minor is noticeably different from its seven predecessors by virtue of its brevity and, despite its minor key, its general light-heartedness. The orchestra is smaller than for most of the symphonies, with the exception of the percussion section, which is particularly large, with, as Vaughan Williams put it, "all the 'phones' and 'spiels' known to the composer".<ref name=k293>Kennedy (2013), p. 293</ref> The work was enthusiastically received at its early performances, and has remained among Vaughan Williams's most popular works.<ref name=k293/><ref>Schwartz, p. 150</ref>

The final symphony, the [[Symphony No. 9 (Vaughan Williams)|Ninth]], was completed in late 1957 and premiered in April 1958, four months before the composer's death. It is scored for a large orchestra, including three saxophones, a [[flugelhorn]], and an enlarged percussion section. The mood is more sombre than that of the Eighth; ''Grove'' calls its mood "at once heroic and contemplative, defiant and wistfully absorbed".<ref name=grove/> The work received an ovation at its premiere,<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E7DF1E3FE43BBC4B53DFB2668383649EDE "Ninth Symphony by Vaughan Williams Cheered at World Premiere in London"], ''The New York Times'', 3 April 1958, p. 22 {{subscription}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305205906/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E06E7DF1E3FE43BBC4B53DFB2668383649EDE |date=5 March 2016 }}</ref> but at first the critics were not sure what to make of it, and it took some years for it to be generally ranked alongside its eight predecessors.<ref>Kennedy (2013), pp. 296–297</ref>

===Other orchestral music===
{{external media|video1=[https://archive.org/details/retnvt-Me2_Strings_-_Vaughn_Williams_Fantasia_on_a_Theme_by_Thomas_Tallis ''Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis''] |audio1=[https://archive.org/details/dso20100516/dso20100516-002-vaughan-williams-lark-ascending.wav ''The Lark Ascending'']|audio2=[https://archive.org/details/mm-838-vaughan-williams-6/MM838+Vaughan+Williams+Greensleeves.flac ''Fantasia on Greensleeves'']}}
[[File:Vaughan-Williams-by-Rothenstein.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Drawing of a man in early middle age, clean shaven, with a good head of hair, looking towards the viewer|Vaughan Williams in 1919, by [[William Rothenstein]]]]

''Grove'' lists more than thirty works by Vaughan Williams for orchestra or band over and above the symphonies. They include two of his most popular works—the ''[[Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis]]'' (1910, revised 1919), and ''[[The Lark Ascending (Vaughan Williams)|The Lark Ascending]]'', originally for violin and piano (1914); orchestrated 1920.<ref>Foreman, p. 19</ref> Other works that survive in the repertoire in Britain are the [[Norfolk Rhapsodies|''Norfolk Rhapsody No 1'']] (1905–1906), ''[[The Wasps (Vaughan Williams)|The Wasps (An Aristophanic Suite)]]'' (1909) – the overture in particular – the ''[[English Folk Song Suite]]'' (1923) and the ''Fantasia on Greensleeves'' (1934).<ref name=grove/>

Vaughan Williams wrote four concertos: for violin (1925), [[Piano Concerto (Vaughan Williams)|piano]] (1926), [[Oboe Concerto (Vaughan Williams)|oboe]] (1944) and [[Tuba Concerto (Vaughan Williams)|tuba]] (1954); another concertante piece is his "Romance for [[harmonica]], strings and piano" (1951).<ref name=grove/> None of these works has rivalled the popularity of the symphonies or the short orchestral works mentioned above.{{refn|The 2015 concert listings section of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society lists no performances of any of the concertos in Britain during that year, and, internationally, one performance of the "Oboe Concerto" (in [[Las Palmas]]) and one of the Piano Concerto (in [[Seattle]]).<ref>[http://www.rvwsociety.com/concerts.html#top "Vaughan Williams Concerts in 2015"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104224505/http://www.rvwsociety.com/concerts.html |date=4 November 2015 }}, Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, retrieved 11 October 2015</ref>|group= n}} Bartók was among the admirers of the Piano Concerto, written for and championed by [[Harriet Cohen]], but it has remained, in the words of the critic Andrew Achenbach, a neglected masterpiece.<ref>Achenbach, p. 45</ref>

In addition to the music for [[Scott of the Antarctic (film)|''Scott of the Antarctic'']], Vaughan Williams composed incidental music for eleven other films, from ''[[49th Parallel (film)|49th Parallel]]'' (1941) to ''The Vision of William Blake'' (1957).<ref name=grove/>

===Chamber and instrumental===
By comparison with his output in other genres, Vaughan Williams's music for chamber ensembles and solo instruments forms a small part of his oeuvre. ''Grove'' lists twenty-four pieces under the heading "Chamber and instrumental"; three are early, unpublished works.<ref name=grove/> Vaughan Williams, like most leading British 20th-century composers, was not drawn to the solo piano and wrote little for it.{{refn|The composer and musical scholar [[Christopher Palmer]] includes Vaughan Williams in the list of major British composers, along with Elgar, Delius, Holst, Walton and Britten, who showed little interest in the solo piano and seldom wrote for it.<ref name=cp2>Palmer, Christopher (1988). Notes to Chandos CD 8497, OCLC 602145160</ref>|group= n}} From his mature years, there survive for standard chamber groupings two string quartets (1908–1909, revised 1921; and 1943–1944), a "phantasy" string quintet (1912), and a sonata for violin and piano (1954). The first quartet was written soon after Vaughan Williams's studies in Paris with Ravel, whose influence is strongly evident.{{refn|Vaughan Williams was amused by the comment of a friend who correctly detected the French influence, but thought "I must have been having tea with Debussy."<ref name=a40/>|group= n}} In 2002 the magazine ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' described the second quartet as a masterpiece that should be, but is not, part of the international chamber repertory.<ref>Roach, p. 1047</ref> It is from the same period as the Sixth Symphony, and has something of that work's severity and anguish.<ref>Mark, p. 194</ref> The quintet (1912) was written two years after the success of the ''Tallis Fantasia'', with which it has elements in common, both in terms of instrumental layout and the mood of rapt contemplation.<ref>Mark, pp. 182–183</ref> The violin sonata has made little impact.<ref>Mark, pp. 195–196</ref>

===Vocal music===
Ursula Vaughan Williams wrote of her husband's love of literature, and listed some of his favourite writers and writings:
{{blockquote|From [[John Skelton (poet)|Skelton]] and [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]], [[Philip Sidney|Sidney]], [[Edmund Spenser|Spenser]], the Authorised Version of the Bible, the madrigal poets, the anonymous poets, to Shakespeare—inevitably and devotedly—on to [[George Herbert|Herbert]] and his contemporaries, [[John Milton|Milton]], Bunyan, and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]], [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Tennyson]], [[Algernon Swinburne|Swinburne]], [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti|both]] [[Christina Rossetti|Rossettis]], [[Walt Whitman|Whitman]], [[William Barnes|Barnes]], [[Thomas Hardy|Hardy]] and [[A. E. Housman|Housman]].<ref>Vaughan Williams (1972–73), p. 88</ref>}}
In addition to his love of poetry, Vaughan Williams's vocal music is inspired by his lifelong belief that the voice "can be made the medium of the best and deepest human emotion."<ref>Manning, p. 28</ref>

====Songs====
Between the mid-1890s and the late 1950s Vaughan Williams set more than eighty poems for voice and piano accompaniment. The earliest to survive is "A Cradle Song", to [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge|Coleridge]]'s words, from about 1894.<ref name=grove/> The songs include many that have entered the repertory, such as "Linden Lea" (1902), "Silent Noon" (1904) and the song cycles ''[[Songs of Travel]]'' (1905 and 1907) and ''On Wenlock Edge''.<ref>Fuller, pp. 106–107</ref> To Vaughan Williams the human voice was "the oldest and greatest of musical instruments".<ref>Vaughan Williams, Ralph. "The Composer in Wartime", ''[[The Listener (magazine)|The Listener]]'', 1940, ''quoted'' in Fuller, p. 106</ref> He described his early songs as "more or less simple and popular in character",<ref>Cobbe, p. 41</ref> and the musicologist Sophie Fuller describes this simplicity and popularity as consistent throughout his career.<ref>Fuller, p. 108</ref> Many composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries wrote sentimental works for female voice; by contrast, songs by Vaughan Williams, such as "The Vagabond" from ''Songs of Travel'', to words by [[Robert Louis Stevenson]], are "a particularly masculine breath of fresh air" (Fuller), "virile open-air verses" (Kennedy).<ref>Fuller, p. 114 and Kennedy (1980), p. 80</ref> Some of Vaughan Williams's later songs are less well known; Fuller singles out the cycle ''Three Poems by Walt Whitman'', a largely dark work, as too often overlooked by singers and critics.<ref name=f118>Fuller, p. 118</ref> For some of his songs the composer expands the accompaniment to include two or more string instruments in addition to the piano; they include ''On Wenlock Edge'', and the Chaucer cycle ''Merciless Beauty'' (1921), judged by an anonymous contemporary critic as "surely among the best of modern English songs".<ref name=f118/>

====Choral music====
[[File:Ralph Vaughan William staute in Dorking, top.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Outdoor statue of middle-aged man with raised arms as if conducting an orchestra|Statue of Vaughan Williams by [[William Fawke]], [[Dorking]]]]  Despite his agnosticism Vaughan Williams composed many works for church performance. His two best known hymn tunes, both from c. 1905, are "Down Ampney" to the words "[[Come Down, O Love Divine]]", and "''Sine nomine''" "[[For All the Saints]]".<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 85</ref> ''Grove'' lists a dozen more, composed between 1905 and 1935. Other church works include a ''Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis'' (1925), the [[Mass in G minor (Vaughan Williams)|Mass in G minor]] (1920–1921), a Te Deum (1928)<ref name=grove/> and the motets ''[[O clap your hands (Vaughan Williams)|O Clap Your Hands]]'' (1920), ''Lord, Thou hast been our Refuge'' (1921) and ''O Taste and See'' (1953, first performed at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II).<ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 412 and 428</ref>

Vaughan Williams's choral works for concert performance include settings of both secular and religious words. The former include ''Toward the Unknown Region'' to words by Whitman (composed 1904–1906), ''[[Five Tudor Portraits]]'', words by John Skelton (1935), and the Shakespearean ''Serenade to Music'' (in its alternative version for chorus and orchestra, 1938). Choral pieces with religious words include the oratorio ''[[Sancta Civitas]]'' (1923–1925) and the Christmas cantata ''[[Hodie]]'' (1954). In 1953 the composer said that of his choral works ''Sancta Civitas'' was his favourite.<ref>Steinberg, p. 297</ref> The ''[[Dona nobis pacem (Vaughan Williams)|Dona Nobis Pacem]]'', an impassioned anti-war cantata (1936) is a combination of both, with words from Whitman and others juxtaposed with extracts from the Latin mass, anticipating a similar mixture of sacred and secular text in [[Benjamin Britten|Britten]]'s ''[[War Requiem]]'' twenty-five years later.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 254</ref>

===Stage works===
Vaughan Williams was wary of conventional labels; his best known ballet is described on the title page as "a masque for dancing" and only one of his operatic works is categorised by the composer simply as an opera. For some of his theatre pieces that could be classed as operas or ballets, he preferred the terms "masque", "romantic extravaganza", "play set to music", or "morality".{{refn|Applied by the composer to, respectively, ''On Christmas Night'' and ''The Bridal Day''; ''The Poisoned Kiss'', ''Riders to the Sea'' and ''The Pilgrim's Progress''.<ref name=grove/><ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 415, 420 and 427</ref>|group= n}}

In a 2013 survey of Vaughan Williams's stage works, Eric Saylor writes, "With the possible exception of [[Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]], no composer's operatic career was less emblematic of his success elsewhere."<ref name=s157>Saylor, p. 157</ref> Although Vaughan Williams was a regular opera-goer, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about works by operatic masters from [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] to Wagner and [[Giuseppe Verdi|Verdi]], his success in the operatic field was at best patchy. There is widespread agreement among commentators that this was partly due to the composer's poor choice of librettists for some, though not all, of his operas.<ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 179 and 276; and Saylor, pp. 157 and 161</ref> Another problem was his keenness to encourage amateurs and student groups, which sometimes led to the staging of his operas with less than professional standards.<ref name=s157/> A further factor was the composer's expressed preference for "slow, long ''tableaux''", which tended to reduce dramatic impact, although he believed them essential, as "music takes a long time to speak—much longer than words by themselves."<ref>Cobbe, p. 73</ref>

''Hugh the Drover, or Love in the Stocks'' (completed 1919, premiere 1924) has a libretto, by the writer and theatre critic Harold Child, which was described by ''[[The Stage]]'' as "replete with folksy, Cotswold village archetypes".<ref name=stage>Gutman, David. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/850701387 "Hugh the Drover"], ''The Stage'', 25 November 2010, retrieved 13 October 2015 {{subscription}}</ref> In the view of the critic [[Richard Traubner]] the piece is a cross between traditional ballad opera and the works of Puccini and Ravel, "with rhapsodic results." The score uses genuine and pastiche folk-songs but ends with a passionate love duet that Traubner considers has few equals in English opera.<ref>Traubner, Richard. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/1783409 "Vaughan Williams: Riders to the Sea and Hugh the Drover"], ''Opera News'', 17 February 1996, p. 40 {{subscription}}</ref> Its first performance was by students at the Royal College of Music, and the work is rarely staged by major professional companies.<ref name=stage/>

''Old King Cole'' (1923) is a humorous ballet. The score, which makes liberal use of folk-song melodies, was thought by critics to be strikingly modern when first heard. Kennedy comments that the music "is not a major work but it is fun." The piece has not been seen frequently since its premiere, but was revived in a student production at the RCM in 1937.<ref>"Royal College of Music", ''The Times'', 2 December 1937, p. 12</ref>

''On Christmas Night'' (1926), a masque by [[Adolph Bolm]] and Vaughan Williams, combines singing, dancing and mime. The story is loosely based on [[Charles Dickens|Dickens]]'s ''[[A Christmas Carol]]''.<ref name=k415>Kennedy (1980), p. 415</ref> The piece was first given in [[Chicago]] by Bolm's company; the London premiere was in 1935. Saylor describes the work as a "dramatic hodgepodge" which has not attracted the interest of later performers.<ref name=saylor163>Saylor, p. 163</ref>

The only work that the composer designated as an opera is the comedy ''Sir John in Love'' (1924–1928). It is based on [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]''. Folk-song is used, though more discreetly than in ''Hugh the Drover'', and the score is described by Saylor as "ravishingly tuneful".<ref>Saylor, p. 159</ref> Although versions of the play had already been set by [[Otto Nicolai|Nicolai]], Verdi, and Holst, Vaughan Williams's is distinctive for its greater emphasis on the love music rather than on the robust comedy.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 218</ref> In 1931, with the Leith Hill Festival in mind, the composer recast some of the music as a five-section cantata, ''In Windsor Forest'', giving the public "the plums and no cake", as he put it.<ref>Kennedy, Michael (1981). Notes to EMI CD CDM 5 65131 2, OCLC 36534224</ref>

''[[The Poisoned Kiss]]'' (1927–1929, premiered in 1936) is a light comedy. Vaughan Williams knew the [[Savoy operas]] well,<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), pp. 289, 315 and 334</ref> and his music for this piece was and is widely regarded as in the [[Arthur Sullivan|Sullivan]] vein.<ref>Hughes, pp. 232–233; and Greenfield, Edward. "Vaughan Williams: ''The Poisoned Kiss''", ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'', January 2004, p. 77</ref> The words, by an inexperienced librettist, were judged to fall far short of [[W. S. Gilbert|Gilbert]]'s standards.<ref>[[John Warrack|Warrack, John]]. "Vaughan Williams's ''The Poisoned Kiss''", ''[[The Musical Times]]'', June 1956, p. 322 {{JSTOR|937901}}{{subscription}}</ref> Saylor sums up the critical consensus that the work is something between "a frothy romantic comedy [and] a satirical fairy-tale", and not quite successful in either category.<ref>Saylor, p. 161; and Clements, Andrew. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:EGLL&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0FEBED8E507A47FD&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Flower power: Vaughan Williams's botanically themed opera reeks of tweeness"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818050242/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3AEGLL&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=0FEBED8E507A47FD&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=18 August 2021 }}, ''The Guardian'', 7 November 2003</ref>

[[File:Blake-Job's-Comforters.jpg|alt=19th century engraving showing the Old Testament character Job, and his hypocritical comforters|thumb|upright=1.0|left|[[William Blake]]'s engraving of [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]] and his comforters]]
''Job: A Masque for Dancing'' (1930) was the first large-scale ballet by a modern British composer.<ref>Kennedy, Michael (ed). [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e788 "Ballet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183845/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199578108.001.0001/acref-9780199578108 |date=20 October 2021 }}, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, retrieved 13 October 2015 {{subscription}}</ref> Vaughan Williams's liking for long ''tableaux'', however disadvantageous in his operas, worked to successful effect in this ballet. The work is inspired by [[William Blake]]'s ''[[William Blake's Illustrations of the Book of Job|Illustrations of the Book of Job]]'' (1826). The score is divided into nine sections and an epilogue, presenting dance interpretations of some of Blake's engravings.<ref>Weltzien, pp. 335–336</ref> The work, choreographed by [[Ninette de Valois]], made a powerful impression at its early stagings, and has been revived by the [[Royal Ballet]] several times.<ref name=saylor163/><ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/Work.aspx?work=844 "Job"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102812/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/Work.aspx?work=844 |date=4 March 2016 }}, Royal Opera House performance database, retrieved 13 October 2015</ref> Kennedy ranks the score as "one of Vaughan Williams's mightiest achievements", and notes that it is familiar in concert programmes, having "the stature and cohesion of a symphony."<ref>Kennedy (1980), pp. 221 and 224</ref>

In Kennedy's view the one-act ''Riders to the Sea'' (1925–1931, premiered 1937) is artistically Vaughan Williams's most successful opera; Saylor names ''Sir John in Love'' for that distinction, but rates ''Riders to the Sea'' as one of the composer's finest works in any genre.<ref>Kennedy (1980), p. 427; and Saylor, p. 159</ref> It is an almost verbatim setting of [[J. M. Synge]]'s 1902 play of the same name, depicting family tragedy in an Irish fishing village. Kennedy describes the score as "organized almost symphonically" with much of the thematic material developed from the brief prelude. The orchestration is subtle, and foreshadows the ghostly finale of the Sixth Symphony; there are also pre-echoes of the ''Sinfonia antartica'' in the lamenting voices of the women and in the sound of the sea.<ref>Kennedy (1997) pp. 427–428</ref>

''The Bridal Day'' (1938–1939) is a masque, to a scenario by Ursula, combining voice, mime and dance, first performed in 1953 on [[BBC]] television. Vaughan Williams later recast it a [[cantata]], ''Epithalamion'' (1957).<ref>Kennedy (1980) pp. 421 and 431</ref>

''The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1951), the composer's last opera, was the culmination of more than forty years' intermittent work on the theme of Bunyan's religious allegory. Vaughan Williams had written incidental music for an amateur dramatisation in 1906, and had returned to the theme in 1921 with the one-act ''The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains'' (finally incorporated, with amendments, into the 1951 opera). The work has been criticised for a preponderance of slow music and stretches lacking in dramatic action,<ref name=k428>Kennedy (1997), p. 428</ref> but some commentators believe the work to be one of Vaughan Williams's supreme achievements.<ref name=grove/> Summaries of the music vary from "beautiful, if something of a stylistic jumble" (Saylor) to "a synthesis of Vaughan Williams's stylistic progress over the years, from the pastoral mediation of the 1920s to the angry music of the middle symphonies and eventually the more experimental phase of the ''Sinfonia antartica'' in his last decade" (Kennedy).<ref name=k428/><ref>Saylor, p. 174</ref>

==Recordings==
Vaughan Williams conducted a handful of recordings for gramophone and radio. His studio recordings are the overture to ''The Wasps'' and the ballet ''Old King Cole'' (both made in 1925),<ref name=k189>Kennedy (1980), p. 189</ref> and the Fourth Symphony (1937).<ref name=k189/> Live concert tapings include ''Dona Nobis Pacem'' (1936),<ref name=dnp>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/symphony-no-5-in-d-dona-nobis-pacem/oclc/185708738&referer=brief_results "Vaughan Williams, Symphony No 5 and Dona Nobis Pacem"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107162123/http://www.worldcat.org/title/symphony-no-5-in-d-dona-nobis-pacem/oclc/185708738%26referer%3Dbrief_results |date=7 November 2017 }}, WorldCat, retrieved 18 October 2015</ref> the ''Serenade to Music'',<ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/music-in-the-heart/oclc/811454187&referer=brief_results "Vaughan Williams, Serenade to Music"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107165356/http://www.worldcat.org/title/music-in-the-heart/oclc/811454187%26referer%3Dbrief_results |date=7 November 2017 }}, WorldCat, retrieved 18 October 2015</ref> and the Fifth Symphony,<ref name=dnp/> recorded in 1951 and 1952, respectively. There is a recording of Vaughan Williams conducting the ''St Matthew Passion'' with his Leith Hill Festival forces.<ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/st-matthew-passion/oclc/49038653&referer=brief_results"Bach, St Matthew Passion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116083406/http://www.worldcat.org/title/st-matthew-passion/oclc/49038653%26referer%3Dbrief_results |date=16 November 2018 }}, WorldCat, retrieved 18 October 2015</ref> In the early days of LP in the 1950s Vaughan Williams was better represented in the record catalogues than most British composers. ''The Record Guide'' (1955) contained nine pages of listings of his music on disc, compared with five for [[William Walton|Walton]], and four apiece for Elgar and Britten.<ref>Sackville-West and Shawe-Taylor, pp. 164–167 (Britten), 254–257 (Elgar), 786–794 (Vaughan Williams), and 848–852 (Walton)</ref>

All the composer's major works and many of the minor ones have been recorded.<ref name=pg/> There have been numerous complete LP and CD sets of the nine symphonies, beginning with Boult's [[Decca Classics|Decca]] cycle of the 1950s, most of which was recorded in the composer's presence.<ref>Culshaw, p. 121</ref>{{refn|The Ninth Symphony in what became the Decca complete cycle was recorded by [[Everest Records]];<ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/symphony-9-in-e-minor/oclc/4266659?ht=edition&referer=di "Symphony No 9 in E minor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701135721/http://www.worldcat.org/title/symphony-9-in-e-minor/oclc/4266659?ht=edition&referer=di |date=1 July 2017 }}, WorldCat, retrieved 25 October 2015</ref> the sessions took place on the morning after the composer's death.<ref>"Death of Vaughan Williams: His last day spent working", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 27 August 1958, p. 1</ref> Decca licensed the recording from Everest for inclusion in a CD set of the nine symphonies in 2003.<ref>Achenbach, Andrew. "Vaughan Williams Complete Symphonies", ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'', February 2003, p. 49</ref>|group= n}} Although rarely staged, the operas have fared well on disc. The earliest recording of a Vaughan Williams opera was ''Hugh the Drover'', in an abridged version conducted by Sargent in 1924.<ref>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/wasps-overture-old-king-cole-ballet-suite-hugh-the-drover-opera-in-two-acts/oclc/32744608&referer=brief_results "Hugh the Drover"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223075743/https://www.worldcat.org/title/wasps-overture-old-king-cole-ballet-suite-hugh-the-drover-opera-in-two-acts/oclc/32744608%26referer%3Dbrief_results |date=23 February 2019 }}, WorldCat, retrieved 18 October 2015</ref> Since the 1960s there have been stereophonic recordings of ''Hugh the Drover'', ''Sir John in Love'', ''Riders to the Sea'', ''The Poisoned Kiss'', and ''The Pilgrim's Progress''.<ref name=coll>[http://www.worldcat.org/title/vaughan-williams-the-masterpieces-the-greatest-artists/oclc/229056470&referer=brief_results "Vaughan Williams: The Collectors' Edition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183815/https://www.worldcat.org/title/collectors-edition-the-masterpieces-the-greatest-artists/oclc/229056470?referer=brief_results |date=20 October 2021 }}, WorldCat, retrieved 18 October 2015</ref> Most of the orchestral recordings have been by British orchestras and conductors, but notable non-British conductors who have made recordings of Vaughan Williams's works include [[Herbert von Karajan]], [[Leonard Bernstein]], [[Leopold Stokowski]],<ref>March ''et al'', pp. 1372 (Karajan), 1378 (Bernstein) and 1381 (Stokowski)</ref> and, most frequently, [[André Previn]], who conducted the [[London Symphony Orchestra]] in the first complete stereo cycle of the symphonies, recorded between 1967 and 1972.<ref>Achenbach, p. 40</ref> Among the British conductors most closely associated with Vaughan Williams's music on disc and in concert in the generations after Boult, Sargent and Barbirolli are [[Vernon Handley]], [[Richard Hickox]], [[Mark Elder|Sir Mark Elder]] and [[Andrew Davis (conductor)|Sir Andrew Davis]].<ref>Achenbach, pp. 41 (Hickox) and 45 (Handley); and Kennedy (2008), p. 39 (Hickox, Elder and Davis)</ref> Record companies with extensive lists of Vaughan Williams recordings include [[EMI Classics|EMI]], Decca, [[Chandos Records|Chandos]], [[Hyperion Records|Hyperion]] and [[Naxos Records|Naxos]].<ref name=pg>March ''et al'', pp. 1368–1386</ref>

==Honours and legacy==
Vaughan Williams refused a [[knight bachelor|knighthood]] at least once, and declined the post of [[Master of the King's Music]] after Elgar's death.<ref>Onderdonk, ch 1, p. 19</ref> The one state honour he accepted was the [[Order of Merit]] in 1935, which confers no prenominal title: he preferred to remain "Dr Vaughan Williams".<ref>Vaughan Williams (1964), p. 207</ref> His academic and musical honours included an honorary doctorate of music from the [[University of Oxford]] (1919); the [[Walter Willson Cobbett Medal|Cobbett]] medal for services to chamber music (1930); the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society (1930); the Collard life fellowship of the Worshipful Company of Musicians (1934, in succession to Elgar); an honorary fellowship of Trinity College, Cambridge (1935); the [[Shakespeare Prize|Shakespeare prize]] of the [[University of Hamburg]] (1937); the [[Albert Medal (Royal Society of Arts)|Albert medal]] of the [[Royal Society of Arts]] (1955); and the [[Howland Memorial Prize|Howland memorial prize]] of Yale University (1954).<ref name=dnb/><ref name=who/> <!--At the time of his death Vaughan Williams was President of the [[English Folk Dance and Song Society]], who renamed their library the [[Vaughan Williams Memorial Library]] in his honour.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vwml.org/vwml-projects/vwml-the-full-english/vwml-full-english-collectors/vwml-ralph-vaughan-williams |title=Vaughan Williams Memorial Library |publisher=vwml.org |access-date=11 April 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412062046/https://www.vwml.org/vwml-projects/vwml-the-full-english/vwml-full-english-collectors/vwml-ralph-vaughan-williams |archive-date=12 April 2017 }}</ref>  --- CITEVAR problem needs fixing-->

After Vaughan Williams's death, ''The Times'' summed up his legacy in a [[editorial|leading article]]:
{{blockquote|[H]istorically his achievement was to cut the bonds that from the times of Handel and Mendelssohn had bound England hand and foot to the Continent. He found in the Elizabethans and folk-song the elements of a native English language that need no longer be spoken with a German accent, and from it he forged his own idiom. The emancipation he achieved thereby was so complete that the composers of succeeding generations like Walton and Britten had no longer need of the conscious nationalism which was Vaughan Williams's own artistic creed. There is now an English music which can make its distinctive contribution to the comity of nations.<ref>Editorial, "The Role of Vaughan Williams", ''The Times'', 27 August 1958, p. 9</ref>}}

In 1994 a group of enthusiasts founded the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, with the composer's widow as its president and [[Roy Douglas]] and Michael Kennedy as vice presidents. The society, a [[Charitable organization|registered charity]],<ref>{{EW charity|1156614|The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society}}</ref> has sponsored and encouraged performances of the composer's works including complete symphony cycles and a Vaughan Williams opera festival. The society has promoted premieres of neglected works, and has its own record label, Albion Records.<ref>[http://www.rvwsociety.com/aboutsociety.html "About the Society"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715220117/http://www.rvwsociety.com/aboutsociety.html |date=15 July 2011 }}, Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, retrieved 10 October 2015</ref>

[[File:Bust of Ralph Vaughan Williams in Chelsea Embankment Gardens (geograph 3010690).jpg|thumb|alt=Outdoor bust of middle aged man with good head of hair, against a garden background|upright|Bust of Vaughan Williams by [[Marcus Cornish]], Chelsea Embankment]]
Composers of the generation after Vaughan Williams reacted against his style, which became unfashionable in influential musical circles in the 1960s; [[diatonic]] and melodic music such as his was neglected in favour of [[atonal]] and other modernist compositions.<ref>Kennedy (1989), p. 200; and Frogley and Thomson, p. 1</ref> In the 21st century this neglect has been reversed. In the fiftieth anniversary year of his death two contrasting documentary films were released: [[Tony Palmer (director)|Tony Palmer]]'s ''O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Vaughan Williams'' and [[John Bridcut]]'s ''The Passions of Vaughan Williams''.<ref>Frogley and Thomson, p. 2</ref> British audiences were prompted to reappraise the composer. The popularity of his most accessible works, particularly the ''Tallis Fantasia'' and ''The Lark Ascending'', increased,{{refn|The British radio station [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]], which specialises in popular classics, conducted polls of its listeners in 2014 and 2015 in which ''The Lark Ascending'' was voted the most popular of all musical works, and the ''Tallis Fantasia'' was in the top three.<ref>[http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/p/list-all/ "Hall of Fame 2014"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027163905/http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2014/chart/p/list-all |date=27 October 2015 }}, and [http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2015/chart/p/list-all/ "Hall of Fame 2015"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029050517/http://halloffame.classicfm.com/2015/chart/p/list-all |date=29 October 2015 }}, Classic FM, retrieved 19 October 2015</ref>|group= n}} but a wide public also became aware of what a reviewer of Bridcut's film called "a genius driven by emotion".<ref>Morrison, Richard. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=122BA1CE54A68B78&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Always up for a lark ascending"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183815/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3ALTIB&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=122BA1CE54A68B78&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=20 October 2021 }}, ''The Times'', 22 August 2008; Walker, Lynne. [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:TND1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11D366AF2C742850&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Just Williams—Almost 50 years after his death, the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is finally being celebrated on film. About time too."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183815/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3ATND1&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=11D366AF2C742850&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=20 October 2021 }}, ''The Independent'', 28 November 2007; and [http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:UKNB:WMN1&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=120E40649DB22C40&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA "Portrait of a genius driven by emotion"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020183816/http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid%2Fiw.newsbank.com%3AUKNB%3AWMN1&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=120E40649DB22C40&svc_dat=InfoWeb%3Aaggregated5&req_dat=102CDD40F14C6BDA |date=20 October 2021 }}, ''Western Morning News'', 28 November 2007</ref> Among the 21st-century musicians who have acknowledged Vaughan Williams's influence on their development are [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]], [[PJ Harvey]], [[Peter Maxwell Davies|Sir Peter Maxwell Davies]], [[Anthony Payne]], [[Wayne Shorter]], [[Neil Tennant]] and [[Mark-Anthony Turnage]].<ref>Frogley and Thomson, pp. 2–3</ref>

===Cultural legacy===
The Royal College of Music commissioned an official portrait of the composer from [[Gerald Kelly|Sir Gerald Kelly]] (1952) which hangs in the college. The [[Manchester Art Gallery]] has a bronze sculpture of Vaughan Williams by Epstein (1952) and the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] (NPG) has drawings by Joyce Finzi (1947) and [[Juliet Pannett]] (1957 and 1958); versions of a bronze head of the composer by [[David McFall]] (1956) are in the NPG and at the entrance to the Music reading room of the [[British Library]].<ref name=dnb/><ref>Stonehouse and Stromberg, p. 257</ref> There is a statue of Vaughan Williams in Dorking,<ref>[http://www.dorkingmuseum.org.uk/local-history/famous-dorking-residents/ralph-vaughan-williams/ "Ralph Vaughan Williams"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110073138/http://www.dorkingmuseum.org.uk/local-history/famous-dorking-residents/ralph-vaughan-williams/ |date=10 November 2015 }}, Dorking Museum, retrieved 19 October 2015</ref> and a bust by [[Marcus Cornish]] in [[Chelsea Embankment|Chelsea Embankment Gardens]], near his old house in Cheyne Walk.<ref>[http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/ralph-vaughan-williams-bust "Plaque: Ralph Vaughan Williams—Bust"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191112/http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/ralph-vaughan-williams-bust |date=4 March 2016 }}, London Remembers, retrieved 19 October</ref>

==Notes, references and sources==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=n|colwidth=30em}}

===References===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal | last = Achenbach | first = Andrew | title = Building the ideal RVW library | journal =[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]| date = August 2008 | pages = 40–45}}
* {{cite book | last = Adams | first = Byron | chapter = Scripture, Church and culture: biblical texts in the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams | title = Vaughan Williams Studies | editor = Alain Frogley | year = 1996 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-48031-4 }}
* {{cite book | last = Adams | first = Byron | chapter = Vaughan Williams's musical apprenticeship | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Barbirolli | first = John|author1-link=John Barbirolli| author2 = [[Arthur Bliss]]|author3=[[Adrian Boult]]|author4=[[Norman Demuth]]|author5=[[George Dyson (composer)|George Dyson]] |author6=[[Alun Hoddinott]] |author7=[[Herbert Howells]] |author8=[[Frank Howes]] |author9=[[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]] |author10=Michael Kennedy|author11=[[Steuart Wilson]] | title = Tributes to Vaughan Williams | journal =[[The Musical Times]]| date = October 1958 | pages = 535–539 | jstor = 937433 | volume=99}} {{subscription}}
* {{cite book | last = Cobbe | first = Hugh| title = Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams | year = 2010 | orig-year = 2008 | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-958764-3 }}
* {{cite book|chapter=Ralph Vaughan Williams|title=The Symphony: Elgar to the Present Day|last=Cox|first= David|editor=Simpson, Robert|publisher=Pelican Books|location=Harmondsworth|year=1967|oclc=221594461}}
* {{cite book | last = Culshaw | first = John | author-link = John Culshaw | title = Putting the Record Straight | location = London | publisher = Secker and Warburg | year = 1981 | isbn = 978-0-436-11802-9 }}
* {{cite book | last = De Savage | first = Heather | chapter = Chronology | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Dibble | first = Jeremy |author-link= Jeremy Dibble|title = Charles Villiers Stanford: Man and Musician | year = 2003 | location = Oxford and New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-816383-1 }}
* {{cite book | last = Foreman | first = Lewis | title = Vaughan Williams in Perspective: Studies of an English Composer | year = 1998 | location = Ilminster | publisher = Albion Press | isbn = 978-0-9528706-1-6 }}
* {{cite book | last = Frogley | first = Alain | chapter = History and geography: the early orchestral works and first three symphonies | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Frogley | first = Alain | author2 = Aidan Thomson | chapter =  Introduction | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Fuller | first = Sophie | chapter = The songs and shorter secular choral works | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Horton | first = Julian | chapter = The later symphonies | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Hughes | first = Gervase | author-link = Gervase Hughes | title = Composers of Operetta | year = 1962 | location = London | publisher = Macmillan | oclc = 1828913}}
* {{cite book | last = Kennedy | first = Michael|author-link=Michael Kennedy (music critic)| title = The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams | year = 1980 | edition = second | orig-year = 1964 | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-315453-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Kennedy | first = Michael | title = Portrait of Walton | url = https://archive.org/details/portraitofwalton00kenn | url-access = registration | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-19-816705-1}}
* {{cite book | last = Kennedy | first = Michael | chapter = Ralph Vaughan Williams | title = The Penguin Opera Guide | editor=[[Amanda Holden (writer)|Amanda Holden]]| year = 1997 | orig-year = 1993 | location = London | publisher = Penguin | isbn = 978-0-14-051385-1 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/operaguidepengui00nich }}
* {{cite journal | last = Kennedy | first = Michael | title = The Vaughan Williams Identity | journal =[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]| date = August 2008 | pages = 36–39}}
* {{cite book | last = Kennedy | first = Michael | chapter = Fluctuations in the response to the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Manning | first = David | title = Vaughan Williams on Music | year = 2008 | location = Oxford and New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-518239-2}}
* {{cite book | last = March | first = Ivan| author2 = [[Edward Greenfield]]|author3=Robert Layton|author4=Paul Czajkowski | title = The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music 2009 | year = 2008 | location = London | publisher = Penguin | isbn = 978-0-141-03335-8}}
* {{cite book | last = Mark | first = Christopher | chapter = Chamber music and works for soloist with orchestra | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = McGuire | first = Charles Edward | chapter = 'An Englishman and a democrat': Vaughan Williams, large choral works and the English festival tradition | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = McVeagh | first = Diana |author-link=Diana McVeagh| title = Twentieth-century English Masters | year = 1986 | location = London | publisher = Macmillan | isbn = 978-0-333-40242-9}}
* {{cite book | last = Moore | first = Jerrold Northrop | author-link = Jerrold Northrop Moore | year = 1992 | title = Vaughan Williams: A Life in Photographs | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-816296-4 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Neighbour | first = Oliver | author-link = Oliver Neighbour | title = Ralph, Adeline, and Ursula Vaughan Williams: Some Facts and Speculation | journal =[[Music & Letters]]| date = August 2008 | pages = 337–345 | jstor = 30162996 | volume=89 | issue = 3 | doi=10.1093/ml/gcn042}} {{subscription}}
* {{cite book | last = Nichols | first = Roger|author-link=Roger Nichols (musical scholar)| year = 1987 | title = Ravel Remembered | location = London | publisher = Faber and Faber | isbn = 978-0-571-14986-5}}
* {{cite book | last = Onderdonk | first = Julian | chapter = 1. The composer and society: family, politics, nation | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | pages=9–28| isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Ottaway | first = Hugh | author-link = Hugh Ottaway |  title = Vaughan Williams's Eighth Symphony | journal =[[Music & Letters]]| date = July 1957 | pages = 213–225 | jstor = 730270 | volume=38 | issue = 3 | doi=10.1093/ml/xxxviii.3.213}} {{subscription}}
* {{cite book | last = Roach | first = Emma | title = Gramophone Classical Good CD Guide 2003 | year = 2002 | location = Teddington | publisher =[[Gramophone Company]]| isbn = 978-1-876871-98-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/gramophoneclassi00jame_0 }}
* {{cite book | last1=Sackville-West| first1=Edward|author1-link=Edward Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville| author2=Desmond Shawe-Taylor|author2-link=Desmond Shawe-Taylor (music critic)| title=The Record Guide| location=London| publisher=Collins| year=1955 | oclc=474839729 }}
* {{cite book | last = Saylor | first = Eric | chapter = Music for stage and film | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Schwartz | first = Elliott | author-link =  Elliott Schwartz | title = The Symphonies of Ralph Vaughan Williams | year = 1982 | orig-year = 1964 | location = New York | publisher = Da Capo Press | isbn = 978-0-306-76137-9 }}
* {{cite book | last = Steinberg | first = Michael | author-link = Michael Steinberg (music critic) | title = Choral Masterworks: A Listener's Guide | year = 2005 | location = Oxford and New York | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-512644-0 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/choralmasterwork00stei }}
* {{cite book | last = Stonehouse | first = Roger | author2 = Gerhard Stromberg | title = The Architecture of the British Library at St Pancras | year = 2004 | location = London and New York | publisher = Spon Press | isbn = 978-0-419-25120-0}}
* {{cite book | last = Thomson | first = Aidan | chapter = Becoming a national composer: critical reception to c.1925 | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Thomson | first = Aidan | author2 = [[Peter Maxwell Davies]] |author3=Piers Hellawell |author4=[[Nicola LeFanu]] |author5=Anthony Payne | chapter = Vaughan Williams and his successors: composers' forum | title = The Cambridge Companion to Vaughan Williams | editor = Alain Frogley and Aidan Thomson | year = 2013 | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn = 978-0-521-19768-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Vaughan Williams | first = Ursula | title = RVW: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams | orig-year = 1964 | year = 1965 | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 978-0-19-315411-7 }}
* {{cite journal | last = Vaughan Williams | first = Ursula | title = Ralph Vaughan Williams and his Choice of Words for Music | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association | date = 1972–1973 | pages = 81–89 | jstor = 766156 }} {{subscription}}
* {{cite journal | last = Weltzien | first = O. Alan | title = Notes and Lineaments: Vaughan Williams's ''Job: A Masque for Dancing'' and Blake's ''Illustrations'' | journal =[[The Musical Quarterly]]| date =Autumn 1992 | pages = 301–336 | jstor = 742481 | volume=76 | issue = 3 | doi=10.1093/mq/76.3.301}} {{subscription}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ralph Vaughan Williams}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.rvwsociety.com/ The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society]
* [http://www.vaughanwilliams.uk/ The Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams]
* {{BBC composer page|vaughanwilliams|Vaughan Williams}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Vaughan Williams, Ralph|name=Ralph Vaughan Williams|author=yes}}
* {{ChoralWiki}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Vaughan Williams, Ralph}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Ralph Vaughan Williams}}
* {{UK National Archives ID}}
* {{IMDb name|id=0891002}}
* {{NPG name}}

{{Ralph Vaughan Williams}}
{{Musical nationalism}}
{{Portal bar|Classical music|Opera|Biography|England|Music}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan Williams, Ralph}}
[[Category:Ralph Vaughan Williams| ]]
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