Vaughan Williams
A Sea Symphony
Elgar Enigma Variations
Saturday 24 June 2017 7.30pm
Canterbury Choral Society
Richard Cooke conductor
Katherine Crompton Soprano
Edward Grint Bass
VENUE: Canterbury Cathedral
Sponsored by Wendi and Maurice Atherton and
further supported by the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust
Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony and Elgar Enigma Variations
Two of the most voluptuous English 20th century compositions come together to bathe the Cathedral in glorious sounds. Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony captures the differing moods of the sea with the text of Walt Whitman. It brings heart-rending intensity to the image of Earth the ‘vast rondure swimming in space’. Elgar’s Enigma Variations, perhaps the finest ever written for orchestra, capture in turn the characteristics of his friends (and a lively dog!). Elgar’s closest friend is depicted most deeply in the Nimrod variation.
This is an opportunity to hear two grand-scale works in the great setting of Canterbury Cathedral.
Online resources
Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony
Ralph Vaughan Williams worked on A Sea Symphony from 1903 to 1909.
Elgar Enigma Variations
Edward Elgar composed Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36 (popularly known as the Enigma Variations) between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations.
