Vaughan Williams's Veranda

[Pohjolas Daughter]

you should - its very good!

Some favorite recipes from it?  Though perhaps post them over in the eating section. 

PD

[vandermolen]

I just finished this book and found it to be very enjoyable. Each section focuses on Boult's recording of the symphonies or other major works like 'Job' (dedicated to Boult).

[LKB]

The image of that book unavoidably reminded me of a Gary Larson classic:

https://ifunny.co/picture/simultaneously-all-three-went-for-the-ball-and-the-coconut-7fL2bRsj7

Anyway, the book looks interesting and is now on my list. 

[vandermolen]

The image of that book unavoidably reminded me of a Gary Larson classic:

https://ifunny.co/picture/simultaneously-all-three-went-for-the-ball-and-the-coconut-7fL2bRsj7

Anyway, the book looks interesting and is now on my list. 

Yes, I see what you mean!
The book is a good read.

[relm1]

The image of that book unavoidably reminded me of a Gary Larson classic:

https://ifunny.co/picture/simultaneously-all-three-went-for-the-ball-and-the-coconut-7fL2bRsj7

Anyway, the book looks interesting and is now on my list. 

I think they're all trying to help RVW remember his iphone password.  Boult is asking "did you try password"?

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yes, I see what you mean!
The book is a good read.

Is that some sort of magnifying glass that VW is holding?  I can't zoom in well on the cover.

PD

[Roasted Swan]

Is that some sort of magnifying glass that VW is holding?  I can't zoom in well on the cover.

PD

I'm pretty sure its his hearing aid which circa 1958 was not as compact as it would be these days!

[vandermolen]

Is that some sort of magnifying glass that VW is holding?  I can't zoom in well on the cover.

PD

A hearing aid PD.

PS I see that RS has already answered your question.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Ah, yes, I see now the cord going up to his ear.

How old would he have been when this photo was taken?

PD

[Roasted Swan]

Ah, yes, I see now the cord going up to his ear.

How old would he have been when this photo was taken?

PD

Photo taken Jan. 1st 1954 so RVW was 81 and 3 months(ish)

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Photo taken Jan. 1st 1954 so RVW was 81 and 3 months(ish)

Thanks!  Any idea what his hearing was like then and if not terribly good, when he started having major issues?  I don't recall hearing of big problems for him, but do realize that hearing deteriorates with age (and exposure to loud noises).

PD

[relm1]

Thanks!  Any idea what his hearing was like then and if not terribly good, when he started having major issues?  I don't recall hearing of big problems for him, but do realize that hearing deteriorates with age (and exposure to loud noises).

PD

I read during the first world war he was exposed to artillery fire frequently, starting to lose his hearing during WW1.  This article says:

Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Of these four composers, only one person's hearing loss can be definitively linked to a cause. Without a doubt, Vaughan Williams had World War I to thank for his hearing loss. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Private in 1914, then was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery, "which were responsible for the 60 pounder 'big guns' firing shells towards enemy lines." The prolonged exposure to these massive weapons meant that Vaughan Williams gradually began to lose his hearing. By his death in 1958, he, like Beethoven, Smetana, and Fauré before him, was also completely deaf. And despite the condition of his hearing, Vaughan Williams too continued to compose. In fact, he had a bit of an unexpected compositional resurgence in his 70's that culminated in his 9th and final symphony in 1957. And while this piece is not nearly as well known as Beethoven's 9th symphony, also written in deafness, it is fun to draw comparisons between the two.

https://www.classicalwcrb.org/blog/2016-03-04/four-composers-and-the-music-they-never-heard

Now I'm curious what is a 60 lb. gun and what does it sound like.  Could find this so can imagine it's quite loud for those poor people next to it or on the receiving end.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I read during the first world war he was exposed to artillery fire frequently, starting to lose his hearing during WW1.  This article says:

Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Of these four composers, only one person's hearing loss can be definitively linked to a cause. Without a doubt, Vaughan Williams had World War I to thank for his hearing loss. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps as a Private in 1914, then was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery, "which were responsible for the 60 pounder 'big guns' firing shells towards enemy lines." The prolonged exposure to these massive weapons meant that Vaughan Williams gradually began to lose his hearing. By his death in 1958, he, like Beethoven, Smetana, and Fauré before him, was also completely deaf. And despite the condition of his hearing, Vaughan Williams too continued to compose. In fact, he had a bit of an unexpected compositional resurgence in his 70's that culminated in his 9th and final symphony in 1957. And while this piece is not nearly as well known as Beethoven's 9th symphony, also written in deafness, it is fun to draw comparisons between the two.

https://www.classicalwcrb.org/blog/2016-03-04/four-composers-and-the-music-they-never-heard

Now I'm curious what is a 60 lb. gun and what does it sound like.  Could find this so can imagine it's quite loud for those poor people next to it or on the receiving end.

Thank you for that info.

PD

[vandermolen]

Two other images featuring VW and hearing aids:

[vandermolen]

Some time ago I bought a second-hand copy of 'The Record Guide' by Edward Sackville-West and Desmond Shawe-Taylor. This was the first Record Guide published in Britain and was from 1951 when the likes of VW and Bax were still alive. I was amused by how opinionated it is. Here's an extract about VW's First Symphony '[it] has never been recorded. We do not regret this, for it is not characteristic of the composer at his best and would be exceedingly hard to record satisfactorily'. At the time VW had only composed six symphonies. Of 'Job' it states 'The music is full of fine things, but on the whole the flame of inspiration burns rather low'. The only recording was the premiere one with Boult conducting the BBC SO (now available on Dutton). The Decca Boult symphony cycle lay in the future. Wood's recording of A London Symphony was available as was Barbirolli's Hallé recording of the 5th Symphony + Boult's LSO recording of Symphony No.6 which is given a very warm welcome. Bax was only represented by the 3rd Symphony (Hallé, Barbirolli) The Garden of Fand (RPO/Beecham) and by 'Maytime in Sussex' (Cohen/Sargent).

[relm1]

Do you think that RVW benefited or was hurt by his time at war?  I was thinking what a tremendous loss it must have been to lose his hearing but also so much was created from that experience.  What is the cost of artistry?  If he had somehow never served in war and not lost his hearing, how would his output have changed?  Clearly his early music wouldn't have changed but some of his richer, deeper works might have but what could we have heard that never were born?

[Luke]

For the book I have written I researched quite a lot about RVW and WW1, and visited some of the relevant places. Whilst training he was billeted in my local town and the surrounding area, and I visited as many of the houses he was hosted in as I could locate, as well as other connected locations such as his mess hall and the church whose organ he played and composed on. I did some local research to help find a lodging not mentioned in the literature. Some of the famous photos of VW at this time were taken here, in places I visit frequently....it gives quite a frison to be there

In the end I have had to cut all of this from the book for reasons of space!

But then I traced him on his journey to his next training post, the last one before France. This is down on Salisbury Plain, near the village of Sutton Veney. Here - runs one of three versions of the story - is where he heard the practising of the army bugler which became the heart of the slow movement of the Pastoral Symphony, one work which is particularly closely linked to his wartime experiences. This bit has made it into the book.

[Luke]

This picture, for instance, was supposedly taken in a park in the town, and those trees are still there, I think.

...and this image of him with his ragtag band was taken, I think, in the same park, which is below the church where he played the organ and across the road from the house where he initially lodged


(RVW clear on the back row)

[Karl Henning]

This picture, for instance, was supposedly taken in a park in the town, and those trees are still there, I think.

...and this image of him with his ragtag band was taken, I think, in the same park, which is below the church where he played the organ and across the road from the house where he initially lodged


(RVW clear on the back row)

Maybe a stand-alone article?

[vandermolen]

Do you think that RVW benefited or was hurt by his time at war?  I was thinking what a tremendous loss it must have been to lose his hearing but also so much was created from that experience.  What is the cost of artistry?  If he had somehow never served in war and not lost his hearing, how would his output have changed?  Clearly his early music wouldn't have changed but some of his richer, deeper works might have but what could we have heard that never were born?

An interesting question but difficult if not impossible to answer. I don't think that the hearing loss affected VW until he was an old man but I may be wrong. Of course he lost his friend George Butterworth in the First WW (a great loss to music generally). It was GB who encouraged VW to write a purely orchestral symphony (after A Sea Symphony) and it (A London Symphony) is dedicated to his memory. The First World War may well have influenced A Pastoral Symphony and 'Job' but it's difficult to know.