Vaughan Williams

by Simon Heffer

Celebrates the life and work of the English composer by tracing his privileged upbringing, his years of painstaking studies, his promotion of folk song, and his relationship with George Butterworth.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

167 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Simon James Heffer is an English historian, journalist, author and political commentator.

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent short biography of the English composer of “The Lark Ascending”, Theme on Thomas Tallis, and the English Folk Suites. But you have to listen to the London and Pastoral symphonies, as well as the Norfolk Suite and the Fantasia on Carols each Christmas. It is the music of place.

[Alexander Cappellazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book about a great man, but there are better ones out there about VW. The author has some biases that pull me out of the story of the mans life.

[Neale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simon Heffer's 'Vaughan Williams', reprinted in the excellent Faber Finds series, is a better companion to the music of Vaughan Williams than it is to the man. The facts are all there, but RVW as a human being hardly exists beyond his public persona. Heffer is too discreet to offer any deep insights.

The music is duly enumerated and commented on, occasionally in an illuminating way. Heffer is no musicologist - by no means a bad thing. He is, in fact, by profession, a rightwing journalist, the authorised biographer of Enoch Powell, although he keeps his ideology mostly in check here - dealing with the radically inclined RVW. Perhaps this is why his style seems rather constrained at times.

The book is at its best putting RVW and the British musical revival into historical context. It also made me aware of a couple of RVW's lesser known musical contemporaries deserving of attention.

Vaughan Williams and his music are easy to mythologise and get misty-eyed about: To its credit, Heffer's book is both a celebration and a useful corrective.

[Arthur Cowslip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speedy and readable biography of the English composer. This really whips through his life at a fair rate. I could probably have done with more detail, but to be fair it does slow down periodically to focus on some important milestones in his life:

- He signed up for active service in the Great War at the age of 42!
- When his wife died after a decades long struggle with crippling arthritis, he married someone forty years younger than him!
- He was a late starter, hitting his peak in his fifties and then continuing to write music (proper symphonies as well) right up until he died at age 84!

Quite a fascinating life.

[Lydia Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book was concise and thorough, putting Ralph's compositions into chronological and historical context, but somehow also managed to bring me to tears at appropriate intervals by its narrative.
The world needs more musicians like R.V.W.
Great read. I need this one for my own personal library.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to know about this composer whose works I am hearing quite often. The Lark Ascending is so beautiful and natural; Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is stirring. The biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams helps to place the setting that created these beautiful works of music.