Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis
Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1910

Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14
Samuel Barber, 1939
Darren Tidwell, soloist

Symphony No. 8 in F major, Op. 93
Ludwig von Beethoven, 1812

Ralph Vaughan Williams, a major English composer of the twentieth century, was fascinated by a melody of Thomas Tallis, one of the great English composers of the English Renaissance. That brief melody inspired him to write one of his finest orchestral compositions, appropriately named Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

Vaughan Williams came upon this theme while (grudgingly) editing a new edition of the English Hymnal. In choosing new melodies to add to the Hymnal, Vaughan Williams researched old English folk and religious tunes. Thus he came upon nine melodies that had been contributed by Thomas Tallis in 1567 to the English Psalter of Archbishop Matthew Parker. Vaughan William's liked particularly the third of these melodies, which was written in the Phrygian mode (E,F,G,A,B,C,D,E), and he proceeded to compose a Fantasia for strings based on it. That composition is perhaps the best known of his works.

Vaughan Williams conducted the first performance of his Fantasia two months after it was finished, on September 6, 1910, at the Gloucester Cathedral. It was performed as part of the week-long Three Choirs Festival which is being held annually by the cathedrals of Gloucester, Worcester and Herford in the month of September. The festival is obviously featuring mostly religious music performed by the three choirs in their respective cathedrals in a rotation.

Vaughan Williams was inspired by the idea of Three Choirs, and he wrote his Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis for three string groups: a quartet of solos, a smaller group of nine players called Orchestra II and the main body of strings, or Orchestra I. Over the years, the practice has been to have two separate or Real groups and a Virtual group of soloists who perform their music while leading their respective groups. The score calls for separating the two main orchestra groups and this practice will be followed by the Sinfonietta.

The original Theme by Tallis is first introduced by the cellos, violas and second violins in unison at a slow Largo Sostenuto. This is followed by a more passionate version in the higher range of the strings. After a brief section in which the two orchestras are answering each other back and forth,the viola presents a solo variation,rubato and quasi improvisatory in character. The solo violin picks up the theme with further variations, and the piece proceeds to a climactic section followed by a quiet conclusion. It all ends in a simple and satisfactory G-major chord dying away, in the manner of a chord reverberating in an old cathedral until it dies way somewhere high in the dome.

We trust that the beautiful and holy space of the St. Michael's sanctuary will provide the perfect venue for the performance and enjoyment of the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.

Notes by George Blytas

Samuel Barber was born in the year that the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis was composed by Vaughan Williams.

Barber was a precocious musician. He started studying music at six and at thirteen he was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music. Before graduating he earned a prize for the Overture to the School for Scandal, and eventually he also earned the American Prix of Rome.

The Violin Concerto Op. 14 was commissioned by a wealthy businessman for a protégé violinist. It was the summer of 1931. With the money from the commission in his pocket, Barber settled in a small village in Switzerland and completed the first two movements. In August he moved to Paris to write the third movement, when the American Embassy there asked all Americans in Paris to return to the safety of USA. In Europe, Armageddon was raising his ugly head. On his way back across the Atlantic, Barber heard the BBC announcing that Hitler had invaded Poland.

In the USA Barber joined the Curtis Institute of Music as an instructor of Orchestration and made an appointment with the sponsor of the concerto and his protégé violinist to show them the first two movements. When he saw the music, the rather vacuous young violinist complained that the first two movements were not flashy enough for his virtuosity. Barber promised to give the young violinist the opportunity to show his brilliant technique in the third movement.

In a few weeks, when the violinist saw the last movement, he declared that it was unplayable. The sponsor demanded the return of his commission. But Barber had already spent it in Europe, and besides, he did not believe that his concerto was unplayable. To prove his point he marched into professor Joseph Hoffman's studio and asked for a capable young violinist. Hoffman summoned Herbert Baumel, who happened to be practicing in one of the practice rooms at the time, and gave him the last movement, suggesting that he try to have it ready by the next morning. Baumel obliged by giving a satisfactory performance of the movement on the next day. Barber had made his point. He did return half of the commission however, and had a different violinist, Albert Spalding, present it with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra on February 7, 1941.

The Violin Concerto Op. 14 has three movements. The Allegro begins with a graceful main theme, twenty seven bars long, on the solo violin. This is followed by a lively tune, called the "Scotch snapp", in the clarinet. This tune is developed by the orchestra and returns to the violin. The second movement, an Andante, is even more songfull, with the oboe bringing in the first theme. This melody has a strong rhythmic profile with shifting rhythms. After a contrasting middle section the opening melody returns rises to a great climax, and concludes with the return of the opening theme in a quiet mood.

The third movement is a brilliant Presto moto perpetuo. Unlike the first two movements, the third is incisive and energetic rather than expansive, and spicy to say the least. In addition to being fast-paced, the last movement contains irregular rhythms and meters which pose unique technical challenges. Its exuberant agitated pace may reflect the war mood prevailing in the USA before the Pearl Harbor attack. It also coincides with a change in Barber's own musical style, from one of almost pure romanticism, to truly contemporary music writing.

Notes by George Blytas