1943: Vaughn Williams: Symphony No. 5 (Pilgrim’s Progress), age 71

Mr. Peabody Says:

The Pilgrim’s Progress is an opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based on John Bunyan’s 1678 allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress. Williams used ideas from this opera in his 5th symphony. To start, try listening to the scherzo, movement two. It is fast, light, very rhythmic, and the beat constantly changes.

In general I like hugely dramatic music with lots of emotion, big contrasts, and for me this music is subtle, understated and just different from any other music I’ve heard. In keeping with the idea of trying to find more modern, live recordings, I picked this one for people to be able to watch, and the sound seems very good.

Sir Andrew Davis

Instrumentation:

  • two flutes (one doubling piccolo), oboe, cor anglais, two clarinets, two bassoons
  • two French horns, two trumpets, three trombones
  • timpani
  • strings

It’s a rather small orchestra by modern standards. Other than piccolo, cor anglais and the trombones this might be the instrumentation of late Haydn.

1st movement

Williams’ sound-world is very different from that of Debussy and Ravel, but there are also similarities between his tonal language and that of the Impressionists. One huge similarity is the use of modes. At the very beginning you hear horns playing D and F#, a bitone, but over C in the bass. That immediately gives you C Lydian. That only scratches the surface.

Front and center is a theme that is pentatonic. The 1st part of this movement is very peaceful, very quiet and rather slow, but about six minutes in there is something increasingly turbulent and even menacing. At that point the music speeds up, not so much in tempo but in the number notes per measure, which creates the feeling of acceleration. This is the development section, and that’s where the music heats up. Then there is a gradual relaxation, and the opening horn chord comes back. That signals a kind of recap. At the very end that horn chord comes back, but there is also an Fm7chord, mysterious and ambiguous. That’s how the movement ends.

2nd movement

Immediately you hear A minor pentatonic, but alternating with Cm. This is no scherzo in the traditional sense. At the beginning it’s not clearly in 3/4 time, and here and there seem to be extra beats. But it’s really in a fast 3/4, so he is playing with hemiolas, meaning different groups that sound like the time is continually changing. In general this movement is extremely interesting rhythmically, but there are certainly other things to listen to and be fascinated by. This movement is ethereal, almost magical.

3rd movement

It is not clear why the composer called this “Romanza”, but perhaps that word had special emotional or spiritual significance. He starts with a C chord, then A, then Gm. Immediately you know that with these notes: C C# D E G A Bb you are not in a mode or key. You are sliding around. Each moment is pleasant, tonal, but the way the chords flow one to another is modern. Later it is more modal, and as always you hear pentatonic. Rather than sounding like something “romantic”, there is a feeling of seriousness and contemplation, perhaps almost like something you might use for meditation.

4th movement

A “passacaglia” is a repetitive bass line, but very little of this movement is about such a thing because there is so much more to it. In fact, the last movement is surprisingly long, at around 13 minutes. If all the movements were that long it would be a rather long symphony. There are many moods and many changes. At the end there is a return to the theme of the 1st movement, binding the whole symphony together.

Dedication

Vaughan Williams dedicated the symphony to Jean Sibelius and says:

“Dedicated without permission to Jean Sibelius”.

After listening to a broadcast of the work, Sibelius wrote:

“I heard Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ new Symphony from Stockholm under the excellent leadership of Malcolm Sargent … This Symphony is a marvelous work … the dedication made me feel proud and grateful … I wonder if Dr. Williams has any idea of the pleasure he has given me?”

Premieres and publication

The Fifth Symphony was premiered on 24 June 1943 at a Prom concert in the Royal Albert Hall, London, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. The American premiere was given in Carnegie Hall on 30 November 1944 by the New York Philharmonic under Artur Rodziński.

The score of the symphony was published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in 1946. Vaughan Williams lightly revised the score in 1951, but that revision was not published during his lifetime. It was published in 1961.

Reception

When this symphony first was heard, it was instantly acclaimed by the listening public. Its success resulted from many factors, most notably the serenity of the work itself as contrasted with the severity of the war then in progress.

3 thoughts on “1943: Vaughn Williams: Symphony No. 5 (Pilgrim’s Progress), age 71

  1. Your link was not available here, but I found one with Vaughn Williams himself conducting. Very enjoyable. I want to listen to it again, more than once. I have a feeling each time there will be more to discover.

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