‘Nation shall not lift up sword against nation’
An evening of expectation, harmonic beauty and reflection in a programme which comprises a world premiere, Tasmin Little - one of the country’s best-loved violinists, the world-renowned English Chamber Orchestra and Canterbury Choral Society.
Teacher (Stanford) and pupil (Vaughan Williams) share the programme though, in truth, their relationship was far from harmonious. Vaughan Williams claimed to have been more influenced by his fellow pupil Gustav Holst, than by Stanford, who criticised him for his ‘modalism’ while appreciating his talent.
In this season of Remembrance, a favourite work of Vaughan Williams, The Lark Ascending, is paired with his own ‘war requiem’ Dona nobis pacem, evocatively set to texts from Walt Whitman and the Bible.
You will hear the first performance of Stanford’s Variations for Violin Solo and Orchestra, written in 1921 and orchestrated recently by the Stanford scholar and biographer Jeremy Dibble who also edited his Song to the Soul. This was written in 1913 for a planned trip to America that was cancelled following the outbreak of the First World War. The work was eventually given its first performance in Dublin in May of 2015 . This is its Canterbury premier.
A highlight of the Festival’s celebration of Sir Charles Villiers Stanford.