Christmas Carols and Their Stories
Puzzle 31 · Collectors and the Carol Revival · Page 49 in print
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams was born in 1872 at Down Ampney, where his father was vicar. As music editor of The English Hymnal he wrote tunes still sung, among them Sine Nomine, his setting of “For All the Saints.”
Jump to a word
The words
Charterhouse
The school where Vaughan Williams was educated.
Cheyne Walk
The Chelsea street where he lived from 1905 for 24 years.
Cotswold
The Cotswold hills, where his birthplace, the village of Down Ampney, lies.
Ella Leather
The Herefordshire folklorist with whom he collected carols in 1909.
Internet Archive: Fantasia on Christmas (opens a new tab) · Ralph Vaughan Williams Society (opens a new tab)
English Hymnal
The 1906 hymn book of which he was music editor.
Ralph Vaughan Williams Society (opens a new tab) · Ralph Vaughan Williams Society (2) (opens a new tab)
Hereford
The cathedral city where the Fantasia was first performed in 1912.
Ralph Vaughan Williams Society (opens a new tab) · Interlude: Celebrate Christmas With Ralph (opens a new tab)
Lark Ascending
His piece for violin and orchestra, first heard in 1920.
Leith Hill
Leith Hill Place in Surrey, his childhood home.
Martin Shaw
His fellow editor of The Oxford Book of Carols (1928).
Percy Dearmer
The editor with whom he began The English Hymnal in 1904.
Sea Symphony
His choral symphony first performed at Leeds in 1910.
Sine Nomine
His hymn tune for For All the Saints.
Three Choirs
The Three Choirs Festival, at which the Fantasia was first heard.
Ralph Vaughan Williams Society (opens a new tab) · Interlude: Celebrate Christmas With Ralph (opens a new tab)
Wedgwood
The pottery family among his ancestors.
Weobley
The Herefordshire village where he collected with Ella Leather in 1909.
Sources
- Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, ‘A Short Biography’rvwsociety.com
- Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, ‘A Timeline’rvwsociety.com
- Fantasia on Christmas carols : for baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra : Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 1872-1958R. Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on Christmas Carols, vocal score (London: Stainer & Bell, 1912); Internet Archive scan
- Ralph Vaughan Williams Society, ‘Ralph Vaughan Williams Places’ by Graham Muncy (PDF leaflet)rvwsociety.com
- Celebrate Christmas With Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols!Interlude (classical music magazine), ‘Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Christmas Carols’ by Maureen Buja (2023)