Ralph Vaughan Williams

[CyberStryke21]

For all I know it could've been an aggravating hang nail or perhaps a toothache to inspire such anger.

Man, I wonder what he would've produced if he broke his arm

[vandermolen]

Does anyone know the proper pronunciation of "Rhosymedre", one of the melodies Vaughan Williams used for his Three Preludes on Welsh Hymn Tunes for Organ?

Extensive research (ie looked up on Google!) suggests either:

"Rose-e-med-ree" or "Rushmeadreh"

I wanted some VW played at my wedding and this was the piece chosen (played on church organ)

[Szykneij]

Extensive research (ie looked up on Google!) suggests either:

"Rose-e-med-ree" or "Rushmeadreh"

I wanted some VW played at my wedding and this was the piece chosen (played on church organ)

Thanks! It's a beautiful piece. I'm rehearsing an orchestral arrangement which can be performed with the organ arrangement as accompaniment.

[vandermolen]

Thanks! It's a beautiful piece. I'm rehearsing an orchestral arrangement which can be performed with the organ arrangement as accompaniment.

Yes, it meant a lot to me to have some VW played at my wedding. The organist was very kind in hunting around until she came up with this.  Yes, it is a lovely piece and I have an organ only and with orch versions on CD.  Best of luck with your performance.  How nice that you are performing it.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Down Ampney is my favorite RVW hymntune, I think.

[Calaf]

Extensive research (ie looked up on Google!) suggests either:

"Rose-e-med-ree" or "Rushmeadreh"

I wanted some VW played at my wedding and this was the piece chosen (played on church organ)

I guess that's how it would be for an anglophone (and probably how VW himself would have pronounced it). But it seems to be a Welsh name. Do the Welsh pronounce differently?

[vandermolen]

I guess that's how it would be for an anglophone (and probably how VW himself would have pronounced it). But it seems to be a Welsh name. Do the Welsh pronounce differently?

I have a feeling that the first pronunciation that I found might be the English one and the second one the Welsh. 

[Calaf]

I found it very strange that it should be a Welsh name. Just looking at it brings greek roots to mind.

[drogulus]

     I've been thinking about it, and I have decided that Vaughan Williams is my favorite composer. I don't want to have a favorite, but it just seems I do. Other candidates would be Mahler, Elgar, Finzi, Berlioz, and Hindemith. But Vaughan Williams is out front, which is quite something, because he was the first composer I listened to, back in 1962. There is something satisfying about your first great enthusiasm being a lifelong one, even though you have changed so much. I've learned so much about music, but it hasn't spoiled my appreciation for the composers I was introduced to so long ago.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

I've been thinking about it, and I have decided that Vaughan Williams is my favorite composer. I don't want to have a favorite, but it just seems I do.

Some things happen, apart from the Intellect, apart from the intellectual component of the Will, don't they? :-)

[drogulus]

Some things happen, apart from the Intellect, apart from the intellectual component of the Will, don't they? :-)

      Nothing is apart from anything else when it's happening. Intellect, Will, and other capitalized notions are post facto analytic categories. I suppose I should say that I didn't decide RVW was my favorite, but I decided it regardless. I trust that is sufficiently obscure.

[k a rl h e nn i ng]

Say, are those your birds, Ernie?

[CyberStryke21]

I've been thinking about it, and I have decided that Vaughan Williams is my favorite composer. I don't want to have a favorite, but it just seems I do. Other candidates would be Mahler, Elgar, Finzi, Berlioz, and Hindemith. But Vaughan Williams is out front, which is quite something, because he was the first composer I listened to, back in 1962. There is something satisfying about your first great enthusiasm being a lifelong one, even though you have changed so much. I've learned so much about music, but it hasn't spoiled my appreciation for the composers I was introduced to so long ago.

      Vaughan-Williams is no longer my hands down No. 1 composer, but he is still one of my favorites, and has been special to me since being introduced to him three years ago. Vaughan-Williams is also an exception in my library - every other composer I like, I like as a result of playing his music, and coming to understand him through the rehearsal and performance process. While it is true that I played the Tallis Fantasia a few years ago, I didn't really pay much attention to it, due to a variety of circumstances, and I actually let him sit for about a year before picking him back up. Vaughan-Williams is also special to me because as opposed to Beethoven or Shostakovich, there was no hands down "if you like [fill-in-the-blank], you HAVE to hear this!" Exploring Vaughan-Williams was my own process, and I have not been disappointed with a single purchase (except for the Sea Symphony, but that's because they cut a four-movement symphony into about 20 tracks on the disc ). I've always been drawn to his music, and it never disappoints.

[drogulus]

Say, are those your birds, Ernie?

         No, they're just cool Australian birds of some sort.

         In my favorites post, I didn't mention the 3 "Bs", mostly because they are universal in a way my personal choices are not. I don't expect everyone to like or even be familiar with the ones I named. There is more great music than a lifetimes study can absorb.

[DavidRoss]

I've been thinking about it, and I have decided that Vaughan Williams is my favorite composer. I don't want to have a favorite, but it just seems I do. Other candidates would be Mahler, Elgar, Finzi, Berlioz, and Hindemith. But Vaughan Williams is out front, which is quite something, because he was the first composer I listened to, back in 1962. There is something satisfying about your first great enthusiasm being a lifelong one, even though you have changed so much. I've learned so much about music, but it hasn't spoiled my appreciation for the composers I was introduced to so long ago.

I am surprised, but I like knowing this about you, Ernie.  It makes my heart smile.  BTW, RVW is one of my faves, too--as are all the others mentioned except Finzi, of whom I've heard very little (only the Naxos disc with the cello cto).  What else might you recommend?