Serenade to Music – Ralph Vaughan Williams (arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams)

Serenade to Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams (arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams)

British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams composed this serenade in 1938 as a tribute to the conductor Sir Henry Wood. 1938 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the first concert Wood conducted. This first version of the serenade was for 16 vocal soloists and orchestra, with text adapted from Act V, Scene 1 of the Shakespeare play “The Merchant of Venice”.

The premiere of this work was given at the jubilee concert for Wood in October of 1938 with Wood conducting. Another composer who performed at this jubilee concert was Sergi Rachmaninoff (playing his piano concerto No. 2), who is said to have wept when he heard the serenade being played.

Vaughan Williams adapted the work multiple times for different ensemble for ease of performance. The version you are listening to is for violin and orchestra which was premiered in 1940. Vaughan Williams donated the copyright fees from the work to the Henry Wood Jubilee Fund, assisting London hospitals acquire beds.

This serenade is comprised of a single movement.