Easter Joy Vaughan Williams & Metaphysical Poets

Easter Joy Vaughan Williams & Metaphysical Poets

by 

in
3 responses

For me, it just isn’t Easter until I’ve heard Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Five Mystical Songs.” I defy anyone not to be uplifted by the opening song of the cycle, titled, appropriately enough, “Easter.” The songs are settings of poems by George Herbert (1593-1633). This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll hear a classic recording, with bass-baritone John Shirley-Quirk, as part of a program devoted to the 17th century metaphysical poets.

We’ll also hear William Alwyn’s “Lyra Angelica” of 1954, a harp concerto inspired by Giles Fletcher’s epic poem of 1610, “Christ’s Victorie and Triumph.” The composer regarded it as his most beautiful piece, and I am inclined to agree. The work likely received its widest exposure when Michelle Kwan elected to skate to it during the 1988 Olympics.

Finally, we’ll have a lute song setting by John Hilton of a poem by John Donne, “Wilt thou forgive that sinne,” from an album on the Harmonia Mundi label, titled “The Rags of Time.”

I hope you’ll join me for “Donne Deal” – an hour of metaphysical therapy – this Easter Sunday at 10 p.m. EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.


Comments

3 responses to “Easter Joy Vaughan Williams & Metaphysical Poets”

  1. … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: rossamico.com/2017/04/16/easter-joy-vaughan-williams-metaphysical-poets/ […]

  2. … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 93954 more Information to that Topic: rossamico.com/2017/04/16/easter-joy-vaughan-williams-metaphysical-poets/ […]

  3. … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: rossamico.com/2017/04/16/easter-joy-vaughan-williams-metaphysical-poets/ […]

Leave a Reply

Tag Cloud

Aaron Copland (92) Beethoven (95) Composer (114) Film Music (123) Film Score (143) Film Scores (255) Halloween (94) John Williams (187) KWAX (229) Leonard Bernstein (101) Marlboro Music Festival (125) Movie Music (138) Opera (202) Philadelphia Orchestra (89) Picture Perfect (174) Princeton Symphony Orchestra (106) Radio (87) Ralph Vaughan Williams (85) Ross Amico (244) Roy's Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner (290) The Classical Network (101) The Lost Chord (268) Vaughan Williams (103) WPRB (396) WWFM (881)

DON’T MISS A BEAT

Receive a weekly digest every Sunday at noon by signing up here


RECENT POSTS