RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872–1958) : Flourish for Glorious John (1957) ; Fantasia for piano and orchestra (1896–1902 rev 1904) - Edited by Graham Parlett (2011); The Steersman (1906) - Words by Walt Whitman (1819–1892) - Realised and orchestrated by Martin Yates (2022). The Future (ca. 1908) - Words by Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) - Completed and orchestrated by Martin Yates (2019). World Premiere Recordings [The Future, The Steersman]. Lucy Crowe, soprano [The Future]; Jacques Imbrailo, baritone [The Steersman]; Andrew Von Oeyen, piano [Fantasia]; BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus | Neil Ferris, chorusmaster [The Future, The Steersman]; conducted by Martin Yates. Thomas Payne (assistant conductor).
Catalogue Number: 04Z009
Label: Dutton Epoch
Reference: CDLX7411
Format: CD
Price: $19.98
Description: As well as leaving behind finished pieces, Vaughan Williams worked on other major scores which, however, he abandoned. Luckily, after giving up on them, the composer did not discard his sketches and drafts, but retained them with his other manuscripts in a collection which in 1971 was presented by Ursula Vaughan Williams to the British Museum (now the British Library). Martin Yates examined these works to see which might be rescued for performance, and this disc contains two of them, The Future and The Steersman, of which he has completed published editions. They both stem from the period 1906–1908 and have close similarities to the choral works which were written at this time, Toward the Unknown Region and A Sea Symphony. The third item on the disc, the Fantasia for piano and orchestra, was written somewhat earlier and, though never performed until recent years, helps to illuminate the path of Vaughan Williams’s development. The final work, Flourish for Glorious John (i.e. Barbirolli), comes from the end of the composer’s life and is appropriate for inclusion in this collection.