Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was an influential British composer and folk-song collector. His powerful and expressive orchestral music is notable for its very “English” sound. His early adventures collecting folk songs in the English countryside profoundly influenced his later compositions. Along with Gustav Holst and Percy Grainger, his works for wind band form a foundation for the serious literature in that medium.
Vaughan Williams wrote Flourish for Wind Band in 1939 as the opening to the pageant Music and the People in the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was subsequently lost, only to be rediscovered and finally published in 1971. Arranger Roy Douglas created versions of the piece for brass band and for symphony orchestra, but it has become part of the basic literature of the wind band for which it was created. It opens with a simple brass fanfare. This gives way to a lyrical melody before the fanfare returns to end the piece. At just under 2 minutes long, Flourish for Wind Band is a concise gem of Vaughan Williams’s output. I like to pair it with his Toccata Marziale, with which it shares the key of B-flat and some motivic material, in a prelude and fugue sort of arrangement.
Flourish for Wind Band at the Wind Repertory Project and a detailed music analysis of the piece in the form of a master’s thesis (not for the faint of heart).
A chapter on British wind band music from an online History of the Wind Band by Dr. Stephen L. Rhodes. Vaughan Williams features prominently.
Flourish played by the University of North Texas.
The Ralph Vaughan Williams Society – the source for anything you might ever possibly want to know about the composer.
I suppose it might be heresy, but would anyone play Vaughan Williams’ Flourish in a slow one? It seems dull and plodding to me, very unflourish-like, to pound out 3 equal beats rather than emphasize the first beat, ever so slightly in this case, just to keep it alive and moving and not to turn it into a waltz! Just quickly thinking, I can’t recall anything written in 3/4 that is directed in 3. I agree that the North Texas band recording is best, having searched through YouTube, and the slightly faster tempo also helps to give forward motion, with the first 3 notes spaced. So many of the recordings seemed so dull and lifeless to me. Would anyone agree with me?
This is an absolute jewel for winds, especially one that evokes beauty and virtuousness. I have used it all over the wind world from China to South America. It is a “must” for anyone selecting works for winds especially on an easier level. Thanks for reminding me of it. Yes, the recordings is a bit deliberate sounding, not (imho) in the British character. Remember, the Queen does not rush, nor should her music. Having lived and taught in England for 17 years has left me with a sensibility for these matters.