R Vaughan Williams: The Solent (1903) Albion Records

CORRECTION: Please note that the orchestra in this performance is the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, not the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as stated in the opening credits of the video. The film begins and ends with a painting by Sir John Arnesby Brown. The second painting in the sequence is by Albert Julius Olsson and the third is by Robert Gallon. Thereafter, the paintings are all by either Albert Julius Olsson or Norman Wilkinson.

[@tomeiseman3801]

In this world of endless vitriol, it is a welcome relief to immerse oneself in the music of RVW. Thank you.

[@TheMonolake]

We need this now...more than ever

[@31Alden]

Amen. Now more than ever.

[@rogermueller6034]

hear, hear!

[@regpharvey]

It really is amazing the effect RVW's music can have. Listening to it always reminds me of the deep beauty of life. It gives me hope.

[@davidjohn3914]

The Lark Ascending is a beautiful image of peace ascending between the two world wars 😊❤🎉

[@jantyszka1036]

Lovely early piece of RVW. Hearing a composer find his own voice is all kinds of fascinating.

[@RosemaryThomas1]

First time hearing this.How beautiful.What balm for the soul in these troubled times.RWV never ceases to bring the tears to my eyes.Thankyou,

[@mdb60]

I love classical music of all forms ... but there is something about Vaughan Williams that stirs my soul. His music tells the tales in epic fashion, one moment a sense of remembrance and longing, the next a grand homecoming .... a magical journey awaits the listener.

[@lizafield9002]

"A grand homecoming." Terrific comment. So beautiful. May all dear to us, & all unknown, be received into the Grand Homecoming of the unseen, unbroken realms when leaving this brief & difficult adventure.

[@soniaritter3101]

His music follows the shapes of sky, hill and heart.

[@b.m.t.h.3961]

A true musical genius

[@PeterBrowne99]

Since the early 1950's, I've bought, collected and saved every single RVW vinyl disc and CD ever pblished....yet you continue to add to my library via KZbin. Thank you Colin!

[@vincentlefebvre9255]

Your collection must be fabulous !

[@michaelcunningham3540]

Top man.

[@norahdenovan8658]

How lovely that you have collected all that 🙏

[@ronaldbwoodall2628]

Thanks for the opportunity to hear a work by Vaughan Williams I hadn't heard before. It' s a sad, atmospheric work that touches the spirit and the soul in a short time span, something that RVW did so well.

[@kevinshaw1387]

I went to the Cutty Sark and they have a silentfilm clip of the old sailors with the composistion ' Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Taltis' playing over it. Absoloutley beautiful..It has turned me onto Vaughan Williams, and here I am on KZbin checking out the rest of his work...what have I been missing !

[@barrypinkerton5685]

Have you heard 'the Lark as sending?'

[@johnmh1000]

@@barrypinkerton5685 Sorry to correct you Barry, but that's 'The Lark Ascending'. But I agree it's a wonderful piece. Best wishes.

[@steveegallo3384]

@@johnmh1000 -- It's a common mistake....but on YOUR part, and you should be sorry: Most scholars and musicologists now agree that the correct title is "The Lark As Sending," since Vaughan WIlliams was here referring to old Anglo-Saxon motifs and runes. [See: Das Durhamer Pflanzenglossar: lateinisch und altenglish, ed. by Bogislav von Lindheim, Beiträge zur englischen Philologie, 35 (Bochum-Langendreer: Poppinghaus, 1941); and William Somner, Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum, English Linguistics 1500-1800 (A Collection of Facsimile Reprints), 247 (Menston: The Scholar Press, 1970).] Cheers from Acapulco!

[@rachelrose20]

My goodness, such beautiful music. My soul is transported, thank you! 🙏

[@mguerrerogarcia]

An amazing piece of music. As well as his symphonies this composer accomplished a good deal of short and beautiful examples like this one.

[@annfarmer7966]

What a beautiful piece - only can almost taste the sea air.

[@joecarr2224]

Beautiful music, beautiful paintings! Thank you!

[@jakeb9288]

This is literally the most civil comments thread on KZbin. Thank you for the lovely rarities, Colin!

[@271250cl]

You are very welcome Jake.

[@malthuswasright]

Blimey!!! I've scanned the lot and not an abusive word to be found! Have I travelled through some mystical portal and bypassed the entire internet? Lovely post BTW.

[@271250cl]

malthuswasright Thanks! Perhaps RVW's music brings out the very best in people! :)

[@JimmyTheTurtle892]

Jake Broten these are the miraculous things Williams' music can do

[@sarkiesarkie4918]

Thanks Colin.

[@peterx727]

Unmistakably RVW. I thought I was familiar with all his music, but this is new to me. Lovely piece - thank you for posting.

[@timskelton4383]

So much VW I still haven't heard. One less after today. Thank you for this.

[@wcsxwcsx]

It's been quite a day for discovering RVW music. One gem after another.

[@shin-i-chikozima]

The nostalgic melody of Vaughan Williams fits Japanese emotions

[@harryrambler]

And as an Englishman that makes his own ramen I understand what you mean by this.

[@shin-i-chikozima]

@@harryrambler Is Ramen Japanese noodles？

[@wichitazen]

Great art, great music!!.Thank you for sharing both.

[@ricklangley3438]

First time I have ever heard this. I was spellbound. A wonderful evocation of the restlessness of the sea. It deserves to be much better known. Thanks a million for uploading it.

[@kathrynmcmorrow7170]

Rick Langley Yes yes yes

[@peterjones6628]

i agree, how strange that the threads are so civilised...infused with VW's mastery, without doubt and i think that all of colin's videos are superb, he comes up with some rare pieces and manages to set lovely pictures to the music thank you, sir!

[@adamastorBassBar]

There is a civilised side to KZbin!

[@iteachbass]

Absolutely exquisite! Thank you for sharing these rare gems.

[@Newgrist]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge of fine classical music with us. I was not aware of this Ralph Vaughan Williams composition.

[@katharinevollmer8446]

Loved it

[@fredwheeler7433]

To Jane...on the occasion of the third anniversary of your Mother's passing, remember this: your Mother somehow is still close to you, by the haunting musical notes of Vaughn Williams.

[@FriendofRamblinJack]

Superb as always. Thank you, Colin. --US Coast Guard mom in Kalifornia

[@johannesbluemink4581]

Wonderful. Another RVW gem. Never tire of his music!

[@jamesmorgan9448]

When I first heard the Tallis Fantasia I realized that RTW was something extraordinary, I thank you Collin for introducing me to the Silent, what a composer!

[@271250cl]

My pleasure!

[@artgreen6915]

Typo or misunderstanding? In case the latter: the Solent. The piece of water between mainland Britain and the Isle of Wight, into which ships sail first on leaving either Portsmouth or Southampton; which Cowes on the island also faces; from which the Fastnet and Round the Island races start; in which Cowes Week is held; onto which the New Forest has its shore; where Supermarine seaplanes foreshadowing the Spitfire were raced; and at whose western end is the line of chalk rocks called the Needles.

[@oliverschwarz-roosmann5249]

Was für eine wundervolle Musik. Voller Poesie. So friedvoll. Und wunderbar instrumentiert!

[@rstonhold2034]

A grand elicitation of the sea and scenery of the Solent where I have spent many happy hours. Thank you.

[@peterartboy]

I really enjoyed that, Thank you. I'm quite old now, but for the first 17 years of my life this area was home and many happy memories I have too. Now that you have made me aware of Vaughan Williams' work I will look for more. God Bless.

[@271250cl]

If you enjoyed 'The Solent' you might want to check out Norfolk Rhapsody and In the Fen Country. There are many glories out there to discover.

[@Paul49Giloi]

Thank you very much for posting this, Colin. First time I've heard this piece. Full of poetic imagery.

[@davidgriffiths7215]

As other people have said, I've never heard this piece despite having adored RVW's music from my teens. Thanks for adding to my knowledge and giving me twelve minutes of pure bliss. I'm off to buy the CD!

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

I recently came across a mystery novel by Graham Hurley, "Turnstone", wherein a team of boat racers were traversing the Solent. Listening to this around the same time. It really set the stage in my mind for part of the story. These paintings are divine, as is this music!

[@lednew2010]

Ralph is "on the verge" here. Some great writing, but it would take 6 more years that included 3 months of study with Ravel before his first major successes, including "A Sea Symphony" where you'll hear these themes brought to full fruition. He loved the opening motif so much, he also used it in his 9th symphony over 50 years later! Thanks for posting this.

[@jamme1234567890]

I thought I recognised that opening!

[@richardnaylor4077]

music with incredible depth and inspired editing. Thank you.

[@iscreen]

Sincere thanks for all your wonderful RVW postings, not least this fine piece.

[@whiteelectricwind]

sublime glory!

[@bonniecallahan5924]

What lovely music. I've collected RVW for decades and have never heard this! THANK YOU!

[@richardlewis1395]

Lovely music and wonderfully put together video. I love those paintings.

[@dilltdog1158]

Beautiful, Beautiful RVW music. It speaks to the soul.

[@christinawatson7268]

Absolutely beautiful, I'm in heaven, thank you for sharing.💜

[@donaldauguston9740]

Thank you for posting these videos Colin. I've not heard many of them and am very grateful to you. Take care, DA

[@271250cl]

Thanks very much Donald.

[@thaifreeburma]

His music is invested with really powerful feelings and expressions of human spirit; it often carries a strong narrative.

[@davidandmaureenfarrow2727]

Thank you Colin for sharing this wonderful music with us. It must take you a lot of time and patience. Well done. Dave.

[@urmorph]

The Solent is the channel between the Isle of Wight and southern England. (Spellcheck doesn't recognize it either.)

[@984francis]

I call it The Solvent because of the Fawley refinery. I spent a happy teenage summer sailing a GP14 there.

[@Brad4Ellis]

The word is Celtic, possibly with Semitic origins: it may have been brought to the Celts by Phoenician traders seeking tin from Devon and Cornwall. The word’s first known written appearance appears to be in 731 as “”soluente,”” suggesting Brtittonic influence.

[@wilkiepup1]

Very welcome today in America. Thank you. Your choice of music is just perfect to me.

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

Now here is a piece you like immediately. Keep it in mind when the madness of the day requires balm.

[@Allusionary]

This from a man who was so great, he could turn down a knighthood--- not out of haughtiness, but humility. He would rather be known as Mister Ralph Vaughan Williams than Sir Ralph Vaughan Williams. He lives in our hearts and in the heart of the Universe as an eternal source of light and beauty.

[@271250cl]

Actually, he preferred to be called Dr Vaughan Williams. :)

[@Allusionary]

@@271250cl And he so richly deserved the title. I was a babe in arms when the great Doctor made his transition to the spirit world.

[@Elitist20]

He also refused to become Master of the Queen's Music.

[@biker5662]

Ah, what peace and beauty. Thank you for sharing this masterpiece.

[@michaelpinder8991]

Thank you Colin. What a mesmerising combination of video and audio. RVW shows us here how little is more than enough!

[@271250cl]

Glad you enjoyed it Michael and many thanks for taking the time to respond.

[@sandylopez7567]

Thank you very much for sharing this music , and for creating such a gorgeous video to go with it -really enjoyed it.

[@271250cl]

Thanks for your kind comment, Sandy!

[@caseypride]

So beautiful...RVW is the man. I do understand why he withheld this one from publication, but it's a joy to hear it now. Thank you!

[@ChrisBreemer]

Words fail to describe the endless beauty of this music. I'm sure if all people knew and appreciated such music, the world would be a better place.

[@barbmiller9285]

This is healing music. I am called back to beauty.

[@lonnieandcandicepritzen3568]

A beautiful combination of music and video content! Thank you!

[@sdorr]

A wonderful piece! Many thanks for uploading, including the beautiful visual settings.

[@MichaelVanderosen]

Beautiful.!.. thanks Colin for posting and for the paintings...

[@271250cl]

Glad you like it, Michael!

[@indeserto]

Great stuff, and LOVELY, perfectly-chosen pictures, as always! Thank you.

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

Just recently discovered a mystery author (Graham Hurley?) who sets his stories in Portsmouth. This music creates a setting for his yarns. A FastNet race gone bad in a cyclone. Wild area.

[@MusicalYoshi]

How well the character of the music enmeshes with the visuals never fails to astound me. Thanks again for sharing more of Vaughan Williams' works.

[@271250cl]

Thanks for your kind comment and I very glad you enjoyed it.

[@MusicalYoshi]

No problem. Please continue posting. Thanks!

[@jamesbutler2564]

@@271250cl First time I've heard this...but it won't be the last!! Lovely!!

[@bayponds]

That's just so good ... just sit, ..and listen, ...what a lovely way to spend 12 minutes.

[@31Alden]

Thank you, Colin … this is a real heart balm.

[@loge10]

I just read that this 1913 recording is the world premiere recording of this piece as well as the two other pieces of the set, "Three Impressions for Orchestra". How they took so long to be recorded is beyond me.

[@terrygrimley9650]

As Colin points out above, VW withdrew a number of early works which were consequently never published and have only started to emerge in recent years. In the very entertaining programme note he wrote near the end of his life for the first performance of his Ninth Symphony (1958), he mentions that the main theme of the slow movement "is taken from an early work of the composer, fortunately long-since scrapped". Although he does not name the piece concerned, he was referring to The Solent. It does seem that he was haunted by this theme, which turns up in his first symphony (A Sea Symphony) as well as his last, written half a century later. However, I think VW might have been surprised by the suggestion that The Solent has been unfairly neglected, given his unsentimental discarding of it as a piece of apprentice work.

[@danielweatherford9902]

Colin - Thanks for your rapid response! I appreciate any efforts toward this end. You have stunning taste, especially in conjunction with your splendid taste in music! =]

[@271250cl]

Daniel Weatherford Thanks, Daniel! I'm finding it much harder to do rapid responses these days because, for some reason, KZbin has stopped sending me alerts when I rfeceive messages about my videos and I cannot for the life of me work out why!

[@danielweatherford9902]

It's all good, Colin. No worries!

[@271250cl]

Thanks Peter.

[@chenderhan]

Thank you so much for sharing this!

[@steveblack3010]

What a piece!

[@ruramikael]

Splendid!

[@alanhodge8200]

a dream ... with a smile upon awakening

[@Londonfogey]

Great pictures to go with it.

[@donaldbarrett4454]

I can only add my thanks to the thread. Wonderful RVW.

[@septicaluk]

Goodness Colin, where do you find them? I have been in love with RVW's music since the 1960's, and this is the first time I have heard this. Four years after you posted it to YT. I have been down to the Solent many times, and this music is so reminiscent that I can close my eyes and am back there. Norman Wilkinson's beautiful paintings accompany RVW's stark chords perfectly.

[@michellegeraci8224]

Tom... well said. RVW is both an oasis and sanctuary for the soul.

[@galas062]

thank you!!!

[@yamanaksu3758]

Brilliant music!

[@mitchellwhite9920]

Listening to genuine talent like this just makes me grateful that god saw fit to bequeath gift of his genius for our ears.

[@forumknight]

In this time of discord and strife .... we can always rely on England’s beauty to pull us through ... and RVW’s soundtrack to complement it.

[@nickchamberlin8325]

Vhvlcrhsdtusuauesrtijrsehfxgghrsxxxxxxxxxxxs atv48whyhuets8ktr8sf76raux579hd4yd6cy6thq3ivhe5e4hkekje75j7kw7t88m85e5jkktydhffdjkkyfgiutfc 'cbgdc ccx V ZzXxxxxxzxzxx xxxxxxxxxx xxx

[@marccesar1]

RVW compôs sob inspiração de Deus. Amo suas obras, parecem músicas do Paraíso.

[@robertpeters2676]

Someone wrote of Housman that Shropshire was the landscape of his heart. The landscape of my heart is in RVW's music.

[@271250cl]

Thanks for your comment and glad you like it.

[@Valhalla1937]

Norman Wilkinson, 'Yachts off the Needles Isle of Wight.'

[@BillMcFadden]

I like the choice of paintings and the zooming effect you used as well as your choice of composer 🙂

[@271250cl]

Thank you so much Bill.

[@FranciscoFerrerGaliana1930]

Sjmplemente maravilloso.¡¡

[@gergelybakos2159]

Dear Colin, Thanks for the wonderful music and the images. They go well together in your videos. They communicate a lot what has been true, beautiful and of lasting value in English culture. Or should I perhaps say "British"? Cheers from an anthusiastic and critical Anglophile in Hungary

[@271250cl]

Thank you Gergely! RVW definitely saw himself as an English composer rather than British. Glad you like my uploads. Good luck and stay safe.

[@gergelybakos2159]

All right Colin! Then I haven't been so far off the mark this time. Some of Williams's music and the pictures make me think of J.R.R. Tolkien, his love of the Enlish countryside and his dear hobbits... From the little what I happen to hear the epidemic seems to be more critical in your country. So thank you again and stay safe you too!

[@MJHarrold57]

Anglo-Welsh... He made extensive use of Welsh material, and was very proud of his partly Welsh ancestry.

[@gergelybakos2159]

@@MJHarrold57 Thank you! I'm glad that now I know.

[@timh.7283]

Many thanks, Colin. I do so enjoy the paintings you choose to accompany these pieces. Is it me or can I hear, in the violins, shades of the Fifth Symphony's epic third movement?

[@shin-i-chikozima]

Walking at the nostalgic countryside , I feel this atmosphere of this melody

[@bobgreene2892]

The artistry is almost as arresting as the music. I subscribed.

[@Gusrikh1]

.... beautiful......

[@Mersenne100]

Thanks, Colin, for continuing to bless us with the music of RVW. Almost unparalleled. BTW, what does the name "Solent" signify? Is it related to "solus" (only) in Latin? (BTW, I named my son Colin so the name is dear to me).

[@271250cl]

Sorry I didn't respond to your comment Kenneth; somehow it got overlooked. I think Andrew Glover has told you what the Solent is so there isn't much I can add, except to say that it is a stretch of water I have to cross (at huge expense on the car ferry) every time I visit my mother-in-law, who lives there! :)

[@danjaywight]

There, being the Isle of Wight! Thanks Colin, I really should have known about this piece. What a wonderful surprise and as usual superb

[@Meller571]

Love the music and the paintings. Well done.

[@pierluigigregori7051]

fantastico...grande Vaughan Williams Pier Luigi Gregori Roma

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

I have been striving to absorb a number of R Vaughan Williams pieces on You Tube that I never have heard on any classical station. (The Solent, Household Music, Three Impressions, etc). In delight. Wish I could hear these in my ride...but can't afford Sirius XM. I sense I am utilizing their algorithms by impressing/reinforcing repeated use of given items, thereby emulating David Brin's "Practice Effect", IRL. Ha HAAAA!!!

[@271250cl]

CDs of these pieces are available from Amazon and other outlets as are downloads of course.

[@calypsowhiteheart7807]

His music delightfully fits Proust's prose. They would have been good friends I think. :)

[@mrbennetts]

You probably realise this, Colin, that the first few bars of this piece are exactly the same tune as in the third movement of VW’s ninth symphony, composed about fifty-five years later. It must’ve been in his head all that time.

[@nullgravity2583]

I'm about to go sailing on the Solent.

[@dbtrains172]

This early tone poem was, I believe, later withdrawn by RVW as not being a fully mature work. It is great to be able to hear it, however, because its main melody resurfaced at the end of his life in the second movement of his Ninth Symphony, where it is played on a Fluegelhorn (!). Here it is, and please don't miss the astoundingly beautiful passage from 3:04-5:25. The cool, visionary sound of his final period. --> kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJatfYp4pbWBqqM

[@duncangough5552]

Such a beautiful piece. Thank you Colin. Who is the artist?

[@271250cl]

Details are in my description of the video.

[@duncangough5552]

@@271250cl Sorry meant the painter around 1:40. Many thanks.

[@devindevon]

Totally unfamiliar with this one, it's nice stuff.

[@TheVaughan5]

At times RVW can seem very dull but at other times he is utterly inspired and infused with musical genius.

[@billaitken2989]

He never seems dull to me.

[@kateconway-hickman5945]

Tak skal du have

[@NostromoJames]

Fantastic music. And, nice images. Any body now the name of the artist/s? Thank you.

[@271250cl]

The artists are listed in my Introduction to the music.

[@guilianirios5032]

Is it me or at min like 2:30 it sounds like one piece , to the grand line theme