War and conflict formed a backdrop to much of Vaughan Williams’s life and career. His military service in the Great War and his contributions to life on the home front during World War II inspired both immediate creative responses—in works such as the Pastoral and Fifth Symphonies, the chamber opera The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains, and Thanksgiving for Victory—and later ones powerfully informed by his experiences, including the oratorio Sancta Civitas, the cantata Dona Nobis Pacem, the Sixth Symphony, and Job: A Masque for Dancing. This presentation will explore the nature of Vaughan Williams’s service at the front and at home, and the ways in which his experience with and understanding of conflict shaped his musical and expressive idioms.

Friday, April 22 at 6:00 PM
Room 218, Davidson Music Center, Cal Poly