When Ralph Vaughan Williams was rummaging through old hymnals, he discovered a tune by a composer of England’s past Thomas Tallis. This simple tune would inspire Vaughan Williams to write a work for string quartet and double string orchestra, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. In creating this piece he melded two worlds together, the modern with the old, clearing the dust from a long forgotten tune and bringing it to new heights.
Theme music is by Daryl Banner: https://darylbanner.bandcamp.com/
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Music used in this episode:
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Recorded by the US Army Strings and made available for use by Musopen.
Never Be the Same by Ecovillage
To the Lake by Jon Bjork
Empty Promises by Trevor Kowalski
Fairy Memoirs by Rand Aldo
Sources used for this episode:
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dorottya Fabian, et al, All of Music (Elanora Heights: Millenium House, 2009), 42-43.
Robert R. Reilly with Jens F. Laurson, Surprised by Beauty: A Listener’s Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2016), 398-404.
Alexandrian Media 