We find here two of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ little-known and little-played masterpieces. Up first is Songs of Travel, a cycle of nine melodies based on poems by Robert Louis Stevenson composed in 1904. We are then treated to Job, a work composed between 1927 and 1930. Subtitled “A Masque for Dancing”, it is a sort of ballet organized into nine scenes. The English composer honed his skills on Job, often using a rather economical style. The modern influences are sometimes more noticeable than others and Job almost foreshadows Bartok’s influence (especially pieces such as Introduction and Job’s Dream) on his Finale from Symphony No.6. At the end of the day, Job is a rather strange score. It’s reminiscent of Stravinsky’s compositional study from the same period with his “white” ballet Apollon musaget, a work for strings only (1928). And yet it retains all of Vaughan Williams’ contemplative tone. The sound is at times quite resigned, despite the orchestral fullness and belching brass - an idea that Bernard Herrmann uses. In the Dance of the Three Messengers, RVW even sketches a theme that sounds like the stringed theme of his majestic Symphony No. 5. The ballet Job seems like a reservoir of Vaughan Williams’ entire post-1930 period. Sir Mark Elder knows this, detailing everything from the orchestra to the thematic structure of the work.
The baritone Neal Davies tackles the Songs of Travel in a rare version completed by Roy Douglas, the composer’s assistant, since Vaughan Williams had only orchestrated the first, third, fifth and eighth “songs”. A wonderful discovery! © Pierre-Yves Lascar/Qobuz