The significance of selected compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams which feature the viola

The main body of this document includes discussion of the background, analysis, and significance of eight compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams which feature the viola. These works were selected from those which give the viola unusual prominence. Solo works include Flos Campi, Suite for viola and small orchestra, and Romance for viola and piano. Two transcriptions for viola and piano, Six Studies in English Folk Song and Fantasia on Greensleeves, are also discussed. The remaining works are Four Hymns for tenor, string orchestra or piano, and viola obbligato, the String Quartet in A Minor in which the viola leads, and the Phantasy Ouintet which uses two violas and evolves from a viola melody.Chapters two through eight discuss each work. Chapters two through four cover Flos Campi, the Suite, and the quartet. Chapter two includes additional sections about problems resulting from the extra-musical associations in Flos Campi and various theories as to how they are reflected in the music. The next three chapters discuss Romance, Four Hymns, and the quintet. Chapter eight discusses the transcriptions.Musical analyses were completed for each composition by the author. Theirdepth was determined by the overall importance of each work. The most detailed analyses are for Flos Campi, the Suite,and the quartet; the briefest are for the transcriptions.A section discussing pedagogical significance follows the discussion of each composition. This includes information regarding the difficulty of each work and its value as teaching material.The introductory chapter addresses Vaughan Williams' love for the viola, his partiality to it in compositions, and the problem of limited research in light of the seeming significance of this music.The conclusion reviews the significance of each composition. Flos Campi was found to be the most significant historically and musically; the Suite has the most pedagogical value. A need to study a variety of these works was discovered due to their diversity of style and value. The conclusion is followed by an appendix of the author's performance suggestions for selected passages from each composition.School of MusicThesis (D.A.