My mother asked that this be played at her funeral. We had a string quartet play it in a venue with vaulted ceilings. This is her transition song; ascending to Heaven. RIP over beautiful fields and oceans, Mommy. You chose well.
Life is such a struggle for most in the world.... every animal that eats to just survive to the next day...I listen to this piece of Heaven and pray for everyone and everything that they can find the strength to go on... as I too weaken and struggle in old age.
Christmas Eve 2022, sat listening to this great piece, on my own, Infront of open fire , with a cup of tea, thinking of past Christmases and lost loved ones, miss them all so much, meanwhile my mum and brother are in other room watching Christmas telly, I do feel we are from different worlds, wish my grandmother was still alive, she was the only one I had in this family like myself,
That's so special. I would have loved to have had a special relationship with a grandparent. One of my grandfathers died before I was born, and the other (who lived over 100 miles away and whom I rarely saw) died when I was 7. I would have loved to have had a non-judgemental, non-authoritarian adult in my life. Your gran is waiting for you in paradise, and when you meet again it will be forever.
Often our family members who are managing their 70s+ have more time and energy to sit, reflect and think of their lives, their transgressions and joys, the strong convictions which they hold - but now doubt creeps in, and a new clarity evolves; the empowerment of forgiveness of others, but more importantly, of themselves. This may allow a place for calmness and love to sit.
My godmother asked for this at her funeral , she was a 101 and loved to walk around the fields and woods around her home town Bath in the UK . Just lovely piece of music for a lovely person .
When we were kids, mum took us climbing the huge grassy hill behind Streatley. Told not to look back until the top , we turned to see the village below, a passing GWR steam train and the Thames flowing beyond. After some roly-poly, she spread a blanket for some lunch. Then, lying on our backs, as if on cue, mum pointed out a lark rising above our heads. She made out as if it kept going until out of sight, heavenward. Thanks, Anthony for the reminder.
The best things in life are inexpensive to free, like your mother taking lunch out to a hill to show her kids a moment like that. She gave you a precious lesson in enjoying the little moments, among other things. If she'd had a million dollars to spend on you that day she couldn't have done better. There's no price to affix to a life's moment like that one. God bless her.
When I first heard the London Symphony, with its evocation of the beloved home of my earlier years, I fell in love with the folk-inspired music of that wonderful composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Many people here recount how this piece, The Lark Ascending, reminds them of their childhood. I think we were all blessed due to being brought up in an age where music of such sensitivity and indescribable beauty were often heard and there was more peace and quiet where we could reflect on such things. Now, with constant noise, aggression, and almost constant unease, times have changed. I hope this piece remains a refuge of peace and joyful memories for us all.
Most people go with their Beethovens, Mozarts, Bachs, and things of that nature. That's all well and good. But give me Vaughn Williams all day. The stuff he has written, the pastoral in particular, have a sort of beautiful, fantasy-like, far away quality to them. To me his best is and has always been Lark Ascending. Not only that but this exact version. Sixteen minutes of pure mind's eye stimulating beauty. I'm usually open to other interpretations of songs. But with this song, only the Sir Marriner and Iona Brown version will do. It never feels rushed, and the sense of emotion and imagination is a thing to behold. Thanks for helping find this Williams classic again (and this version also).
This was the very first recording I heard of the lark and has always stuck with me. This along with “Linden Lea” transports us to a different world. The one we were meant to live in “the meek will possess the earth and they will find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” Psalm 37 v 11
I am in my mother,s womb and listening to this song . With the beating of my mother,s heart , my heart is quivered by this song . I will be able to meet my mother someday . In memory of late my mother
@Susan Moran ありがとう‼️Arigato ！ ( Japanese thanks ) Thank-you so much to your wonderful reply ！ In capital area , the cherry blossoms in full bloom have already been scattered , all cherry trees become only green leaves . But in northern Japanese prefecture , the cherry blossoms in full bloom . In Japan , the cherry blossoms in full bloom will continue throughout Japan from March to May . Last cherry blossoms in full bloom is Hokkaido Prefecture (Japanese most northern prefecture ) At present , Japan , especially Tokyo is cruel ， severe and not good ， and worst situations by Coronavirus infection . All most stores and shops ( bar , snack , karaoke shop , amusement shop , night club , department store , etc. ) are closed . The unnecessary and non - sudden outings are self - restraint . There are no pedestrians in the main streets in capital area . But sadly , many people ,dubbed 「 self - restraint fatigue 」 are relaxing in parks ， seashore ， riverside on Sunday . Shopping districts are deserted on weekdays ， but on Sunday they become very crowded . Even though there are many cases of infection every day ， many people have an easy ， childish idea that they are less at risk of crisis and that they will not be infected by themselves . According to the infected causes coughs that make them unable to breathe , and the sense of smell obstacle is talking place , the sense of smell and taste are completely lost , and the lassitude that a heavy stone gets on the body comes out . Coronavirus is very dangerous and overwhelming strong . Just talking or touching are infected . Don't be careless Be on the alert for Coronavirus infection . Take care of yourself Good luck ！
I tried to send you a reply about my late father who wrote haiku, but likely I didn't get it to you correctly. He very much admired that Japanese form of poetry that rejoiced in Nature's beauty, and he gave his kids an appreciation of both Nature and the capturing of beautiful moments in haiku. We found some of his haiku in his desk after his death, and one of my daughters pens an occasional haiku as she studies the waysof songbirds. We're 21st-century Americans; hardly Basho, but we commit beautiful natural moments to haiku as best we can, and we are thankful to the Japanese culture that provided us the form. It's so easy to lose ourselves in the noise & confusion of the human-made world, and so restful to find our real selves again in the natural world.
In a troubled world, thank God for exquisite, soulful musical experiences like this. Goes to many's a 'Desert Island', and without doubt, the definitive version . .
Always takes me to a golden summer’s afternoon rolling through dappled oak shadows on winding lanes through the Santa Cruz mountains, high above the Pacific, after a long hike with our beautiful now since passed Aussie shepherd collie…such poignant bittersweet exuberance as ever any language struggled to find the words to express.
Dearest Nina........your Friend is waiting for you.......not a sparrow falls but The Lord 🦁 does not know of it......🕊️...just ask Him. 🙏🙏🙋..Much love from Scotland
Every time I listen to this, I feel the tears down my face. In my very difficult and sad world right now, I need music to help me through and peaceful pieces like this help the most. I love your story, the poem and the pictures. I will be listening to this often. I hope one day to attend a concert and listen to this played live. Thank you again. PS I echo the comment of Niccole Evans.
This recording was my first intro to RWV and frankly cannot be not surpassed 30 years later. How I remember the car casette at full volume, driving over the South Downs, enraptured, so inspired, weeping, and finally reaching Chichester. Profound memories.
Whenever I listen to this masterpiece , I remember the nostalgic Japanese coutryside when I was little . There were landscapes everywhere that were unthinkable and blessed with nature At that time, as a matter of course, a surprising number of fireflies were flying blinking. It was a fantastically beautiful sight. This masterpiece brings back memories of a time long long ago I am ７２years old . I deeply love this masterpiece Japanese Association of 「 the Ascending Lark 」 From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
Remarkable. I've lived in Japan and fully appreciate what you're saying. I grew up in England and though the big city of London was not far away, the countryside and fields were in the other direction, also not far away... and there my fondest memories still are. A spiritual experience of natural landscapes and where wild things fly free, seem part of the essence.
@@stephendouglas4870 Thank you so much to your wonderful and moving and attractive comment Take care of yourself Good luck Go for It Tokyo is autumn , and 15℃ See you again
@@stephendouglas4870 It's the blessed soul who has country in their upbringing to remember. I grew up in a small city where the country was right outside the city limits - cow pastures; frogs; fireflies. Yes, this music reminds me of simpler, innocent times. And I thank God I have some to remember.
My father wrote haikus as long as he could hold a pen - he was a poet and knew haiku as a Japanese form of poetry celebrating natural beauty. Although I lost him many years ago, my daughters found some of his haiku after his death. My second daughter sends me the occasional haiku she is moved to write in her study of songbirds in their natural settings. I try to imagine the Japanese landscapes of your childhood. As little as I know of it, still Japan strikes me as having a wonderful artistic heritage. The focus on Nature's beauty is inescapable.
@@spraguesprague Indeed: I came across a discussion recently about the book Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee, which was required reading when I was at school. Some of the respondents (to be fair, not all of them British), did not seem to know why this book of recollections meant so much to some people: 'After all, there's not really a story in it...' was one reaction. My response was immediate: because it recalls the very last moment in England's social history when the motor car hadn't yet impinged on what was left of a properly unspoilt 'rural' countryside, and this is what makes the heart ache when I re-read it now. The chapter about Granny Wallon, whose home made wines from wild flowers were apparently extraordinary, but whose secret recipes died with her, before anyone could break their 'codes' ...
There are very few things that move me to tears but I am happy to say that this piece has them streaming. I see myself a child again, frolicking and playing without a care in the world. Fresh air, sunlight, laughter and joy. What a pleasure to revisit these memories. Words do not describe how glorious this piece is - Ethereal! Thank you for sharing :)
You've put it exactly; and just to add, this recording by Iona Brown is my favorite, perhaps because it was the first one I listened to properly, and bought. With that violin, I'm on a hill of wild flowers and above me the blue sky... it's overwhelming.
lark Ascending has been a musical piece that has followed me as a spiritual awakening since my early 20s.... I literally go on flight, experience all of life, and return home, but never the same after quieting the spirit and traveling with Williams. I don't know how he did this but the Lark brings me, and I am sure others, high above the mundane world to other worlds, yet unknown or long forgotten. And, yes,...many tears.
Wonderful memories of lying in a field as this iconic bird would soar upwards into the sky until only a young pair of eyes could make out the tiny speck in the pale blueness of infinity. let us hope that there is still a place in the countryside for it in the years to come....to lose the Skylark would be like losing a part of what Britain is meant to be about. The countryside would be all the poorer if it was to become extinct....and we with it.
As a child I would walk through the field accompanied by the Skylarks song. I would raise my eyes and See them hovering. Not just a single bird but many. Then, I didn't know their name but my minds eye and ears have never forgotten them. Sadly they no longer hover over those field today.
It is bliss itself to fall asleep while listening to this magnificent performance in my comfortable to sleep. This masterpiece is the humanity's lullaby
Not long after this recording Iona developed Arthritis . She was never to play the violin again . This is said to be be the best recording and performance of this melodic piece of music . As a person with Arthritis I can admire this and reflect.
I don't think I've ever heard a recording of this piece where the violin had such clarity and sweetness while simultaneously having such a full sound, almost having a hint of reverb. I was not surprised when I read the comment about the venue and the placement of microphones. A truly glorious recording. It's criminal that it has so few views!
Absolutely right. Any other version that I have heard feels rushed. This version breathes with real life and real respect for the emotions that the piece is intended to engender.
A wonderful music and beautiful video composition of nature photos. May the love for nature wake up inside of our hearts, fly high as the lark to guide us into a peaceful, enjoyable and healthy future for all of us.
Like you, in those balmy days of childhood when we were despatched out of the house to go wherever and do whatever; I used to lie down in the cornfields not far from where we lived and then watch a lark gaining height because I had disturbed her from her nest. My interest in photography came later. It is my favourite piece and if ever God called my soul to heaven, I would want someone to play this as I rose from this mad earth in which we live.
This is the best ever interpretation of this wonderful piece of music i have ever heard. Until now i thought the music lives from the brilliance of the violonist alone....but as i heard this version, i knew, the balance between soloist and orchestra makes this music even better, than a first class violonist alone....Thank you.
I want to finish my last life while listening to this song under the cherry blossoms in full bloom and wrapped in the storm of the falling cherry,s petals at the shining night of the fullmoon . 🍎 From effulgent Tokyo in profound Japan Which national are you watching this video ？
This recording is just exquisite. It has so much richness and depth. Iona Brown's performance has this beautiful tone and is both passionate and technically flawless. The warm and richness is strengthened by the somewhat slower tempo. This recording soothes and inspires my soul.
you can almost hear iona's celtic roots in her playing. That's why I'm almost addicted to classical, the artists can blend their own colour into it. a subtle hint of the caelidh in an english tune, enchanting and worth a listen.
Have just been listening to this emotionally beautiful piece of music Anthony. I can still remember when I first heard this piece on (now) Radio 3 in November 1981. I was returning by car from a hospital visit in Leeds & I was already in deep thought from what I had been told about our first born child. Listening to this piece of music whilst driving, I had to stop, park the car & I wept & wept. That recollection has remained with me ever since. I now live abroad & so it is wonderful for me to see your fotos which bring back many memories. Thankyou for this excellent video presentation & belated best New Year Wishes for 2022.
I play this beautiful piece of music to my 4 year old as she drifts into sleep she calls it the bird song and we imagine the lark flying hopefully will sink into her subconscious and dreams thank you RVW
Well said all... I heard this in the 1993 , I think, and Sir Nev and Iona Brown pull the heart out my body.. It reminds me of lying on the cliffs where I live and hearing the Larks. I have a recording of this very piece with Christopher Good reading the poem.. Sometimes I just can't listen to it. It's too emotional, too much like my younger years.. To sail along those same cliffs and headlands, early morning and perfect weather, is beyond any description I could write.. (Mercifully I'm sure most will think) !
The surging spirit of the lark lingers long in the ears after the music dies so gently at the end of this piece. There is a Van Gogh painting that is the visual equivalent of this 1914 piece. Irony is that it was written just before the outbreak of WW1.
There are many sad and unreasonable things in this human world , and in most cases , people are devastated . The soulful works of genius composers like this incomparable work will heal our mind . 🍎 Other than this song and the performance , there were no songs and performances that conveyed the waves of excitement and impression to the depths of my heart . 🍎 From effulgent Tokyo in profound Japan Which national are you watching this video ？
I am from England, but presently living in Prague, Czech Republic, where some of the countryside of southern Bohemia reminds me of parts of England. This piece of music - and especially this particular recording - captivated me long ago, and has never let me go. I know that Japanese also feel this long cultural connection with the natural world, and appreciate this. Thank you for posting.
@@StephenSeabird Thank-you so much to your wonderful reply ！ At present , in capital area , the cherry blossoms in full bloom have already been scattered , all cherry trees become only green leaves But in northern prefectures , the cherry blossoms in full bloom . However , All famous parks are closed by Coronavirus infection problem . There are no pedestrians and sightseeing people . Someday please come to Japan of the luscious and transient spring where all Japanese people are making merry and floating under the cherry blossoms in full bloom having gorgeous Bento , delicious foods , treats and drinks while dancing , eating , singing and drinking . Japanese spring banquet is really 「 the Rite of Spring 」 of Stravinsky . Take care of yourself Good luck ！ Be on the alert for Coronavirus infection . Coronavirus is scary and cruel . Just talking or touching are infected . So long
This is truly evocative. I use it for meditation and mental imaging. The beauty and gentle relaxing mood it puts me in, simply has no equal anywhere, musically. I am healed, calmed and enriched by these lovely sounds..
This has always made me cry. Obviously amazingly beautiful. But also, my grand parents used to blast this on a great sound system. My grandma though also had a music/ jewelry box that played this. An engagement present as well As "that bloody XXX dog". Wooing 1920s style. Also, from a vaguely recent retrospective: WHERE ARE THE BIRDS???!??? Xxxx
Also pls listen to Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. Ethereal, spiritual, stunning. Someone on here has posted a live recording inside Gloucester Cathedral both video and audio. Please listen to it - any recording - and tell anyone you know.
This great masterpiece and the magnificent performance are universal , and transcend the times. The greatness of V . Williams is immeasurable , unfathomable and beyond description This Williams' masterpiece is inspirational , specutacular , and full of admiration , acclaim and deep emotion , and comfortable to the ear and the mind I'm just intoxicated with this fabulous performance in Japan From Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun
This is a Wonderful, marvellous piece of music. The soloist violin is an evocative atmosphere of peace in the nature. Iona Brown and Neville Marriner, superb, magnificent
Thank you Ant. This is by far the most outstanding and definite recording of this most complete and perfect piece from RVW. I read where the singing of larks heard during long walks influenced the way Iona played it.
Thank you for posting this, but also for your astute comments on the recording, so that I now understand why I like this one more than any other! I bought it on vinyl years ago, and it remains at the top of my list. The photographs are perfect, and the poem I appreciate as well.. Thanks!
Thank you Stephen. When I was a very young boy, I used to lie down in my local meadows in Derbyshire and listen to skylarks as they hovered high above in full song. It was a perfect reverie - a transcendent experience which has stayed with me my whole life. I wanted to recall those experiences in my low, ultra-wide angle photography. I regret very much their decline in numbers at the hands of hostile agriculture.
The Legend of Christ and the Skylark On the morning of the Resurrection of Christ, at early dawn, near the cave where the Savior’s Body was laid, a little gray skylark slept in the grass. In the pre-dawn cold he slept so sweetly ... The lark dreamt that he was flying over the northern countries, lying at the bottom of the field, covered with snow in some places, there are still bare trees, and only willow velvet balls. The sky dragged on with mist, and the dim sun barely shines through; but the lark is happy to fly home, he knows that soon everything will turn green and bloom in the lovely north. Suddenly, the skylark woke up. A bright, blindingly bright light illuminated him, and the skylark agitated, sees: Christ is shining with the heavenly light standing over him. The skylark was not afraid, but only fluttered and spun, enchanted, over the head of the Savior. And the skylark heard gentle heavenly singing - the angels sang about the Resurrection of Christ. And Christ raised His head to the skylark and said: - Fly to the distant cold north and sing a song about My Resurrection there. And the skylark soared into the blue height of the sky, and the skylark gathered thousands of other skylarks, and they flew to their distant gloomy homeland. And there, over the fields, still covered here and there with snow, over bare trees with still undeveloped buds, over willows with cute velvet balls, - they sang a song about the Resurrection of Christ in the cold sky. - Christ is Risen! - the larks sang. Death conquered death and gave life to those who died! And the children shouted, clapping their hands: - Skylarks, skylarks have arrived! And the adults congratulated each other jumping with joy and said: - They don’t care, these larks. Let the harsh wind blow down the snow. They will still sing their song. And adults remembered their distant best years when they were young, and even earlier when they were children, and thought: “They gave us joy, these larks! They can make a miracle their song! They sing, and we are young again! Resurrected, how everything was resurrected - both forests and fields! " At this time, one of the children said: - They sing "Christ is risen" ... You just listen carefully! And the adults smiled at the boy and listened. - Christ is Risen! - the skylarks sang. - He conquered death by death! Lev Zilov
Often I want to escape the problems of the world .I find that music like this helps a little.
My mother asked that this be played at her funeral. We had a string quartet play it in a venue with vaulted ceilings. This is her transition song; ascending to Heaven. RIP over beautiful fields and oceans, Mommy. You chose well.
A most profound, poignant choice. I can think of no other piece of music more apt in expressing the release of life spirit.
❤️🙏
Life is such a struggle for most in the world.... every animal that eats to just survive to the next day...I listen to this piece of Heaven and pray for everyone and everything that they can find the strength to go on... as I too weaken and struggle in old age.
This masterpiece evokes everything that England is.
Christmas Eve 2022, sat listening to this great piece, on my own, Infront of open fire , with a cup of tea, thinking of past Christmases and lost loved ones, miss them all so much, meanwhile my mum and brother are in other room watching Christmas telly, I do feel we are from different worlds, wish my grandmother was still alive, she was the only one I had in this family like myself,
That's so special. I would have loved to have had a special relationship with a grandparent. One of my grandfathers died before I was born, and the other (who lived over 100 miles away and whom I rarely saw) died when I was 7. I would have loved to have had a non-judgemental, non-authoritarian adult in my life. Your gran is waiting for you in paradise, and when you meet again it will be forever.
The above is from today's New York Times and mentions "The Lark Ascending."
Often our family members who are managing their 70s+ have more time and energy to sit, reflect and think of their lives, their transgressions and joys, the strong convictions which they hold - but now doubt creeps in, and a new clarity evolves; the empowerment of forgiveness of others, but more importantly, of themselves. This may allow a place for calmness and love to sit.
So beautiful and a source of comfort in these challenging times we are living through
My godmother asked for this at her funeral , she was a 101 and loved to walk around the fields and woods around her home town Bath in the UK . Just lovely piece of music for a lovely person .
When we were kids, mum took us climbing the huge grassy hill behind Streatley. Told not to look back until the top , we turned to see the village below, a passing GWR steam train and the Thames flowing beyond. After some roly-poly, she spread a blanket for some lunch. Then, lying on our backs, as if on cue, mum pointed out a lark rising above our heads. She made out as if it kept going until out of sight, heavenward. Thanks, Anthony for the reminder.
The best things in life are inexpensive to free, like your mother taking lunch out to a hill to show her kids a moment like that. She gave you a precious lesson in enjoying the little moments, among other things. If she'd had a million dollars to spend on you that day she couldn't have done better. There's no price to affix to a life's moment like that one. God bless her.
Beautiful memory.
Beautiful mother.
❤❤
.
Thank you Iona Brown, Sir Neville Marriner and Ant PDC. As a 73 yr. young man of few words, BEAUTIFUL. There's nothing else to say.
When I first heard the London Symphony, with its evocation of the beloved home of my earlier years, I fell in love with the folk-inspired music of that wonderful composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. Many people here recount how this piece, The Lark Ascending, reminds them of their childhood. I think we were all blessed due to being brought up in an age where music of such sensitivity and indescribable beauty were often heard and there was more peace and quiet where we could reflect on such things. Now, with constant noise, aggression, and almost constant unease, times have changed. I hope this piece remains a refuge of peace and joyful memories for us all.
Most people go with their Beethovens, Mozarts, Bachs, and things of that nature. That's all well and good. But give me Vaughn Williams all day. The stuff he has written, the pastoral in particular, have a sort of beautiful, fantasy-like, far away quality to them. To me his best is and has always been Lark Ascending. Not only that but this exact version. Sixteen minutes of pure mind's eye stimulating beauty. I'm usually open to other interpretations of songs. But with this song, only the Sir Marriner and Iona Brown version will do. It never feels rushed, and the sense of emotion and imagination is a thing to behold. Thanks for helping find this Williams classic again (and this version also).
This was the very first recording I heard of the lark and has always stuck with me. This along with “Linden Lea” transports us to a different world. The one we were meant to live in “the meek will possess the earth and they will find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” Psalm 37 v 11
Divine, light, pure.
Absolutely...
Absolutely...
Well said, and I fully agree.
Oh that our souls could ascend as those of our dear little brothers and sisters of the animal kingdom.....❤❤❤ straight to The Heavenly Kingdom...!
One of my favorite pieces of music. Brings back so many beautiful memories of hiking through the English countryside...
Touches your soul then brings you back
I am in my mother,s womb and listening to this song .
With the beating of my mother,s heart , my heart is quivered by this song .
I will be able to meet my mother someday .
In memory of late my mother
How very touching. Thank you.
@Susan Moran
ありがとう‼️Arigato ！ ( Japanese thanks )
Thank-you so much to your wonderful reply ！
In capital area , the cherry blossoms in full bloom have already been scattered , all cherry trees become only green leaves .
But in northern Japanese prefecture , the cherry blossoms in full bloom .
In Japan ,
the cherry blossoms in full bloom will continue throughout Japan from March to May .
Last cherry blossoms in full bloom is Hokkaido Prefecture (Japanese most northern prefecture )
At present ,
Japan , especially Tokyo is cruel ， severe and not good ， and worst situations by Coronavirus infection .
All most stores and shops ( bar , snack , karaoke shop , amusement shop , night club , department store , etc. ) are closed .
The unnecessary and non - sudden outings are self - restraint .
There are no pedestrians in the main streets in capital area .
But sadly , many people ,dubbed 「 self - restraint fatigue 」 are relaxing in parks ， seashore ， riverside on Sunday .
Shopping districts are deserted on weekdays ， but on Sunday they become very crowded .
Even though there are many cases of infection every day ， many people have an easy ， childish idea that they are less at risk of crisis and
that they will not be infected by themselves .
According to the infected causes coughs that make them unable to breathe , and the sense of smell obstacle is talking place , the sense of smell and taste are completely lost , and the lassitude that a heavy stone gets on the body comes out .
Coronavirus is very dangerous and overwhelming strong .
Just talking or touching are infected .
Don't be careless
Be on the alert for Coronavirus infection .
Take care of yourself
Good luck ！
What a lovely poem and tribute to your mother
I tried to send you a reply about my late father who wrote haiku, but likely I didn't get it to you correctly. He very much admired that Japanese form of poetry that rejoiced in Nature's beauty, and he gave his kids an appreciation of both Nature and the capturing of beautiful moments in haiku. We found some of his haiku in his desk after his death, and one of my daughters pens an occasional haiku as she studies the waysof songbirds. We're 21st-century Americans; hardly Basho, but we commit beautiful natural moments to haiku as best we can, and we are thankful to the Japanese culture that provided us the form. It's so easy to lose ourselves in the noise & confusion of the human-made world, and so restful to find our real selves again in the natural world.
In a troubled world, thank God for exquisite, soulful musical experiences like this. Goes to many's a 'Desert Island', and without doubt, the definitive version . .
So well said
Always takes me to a golden summer’s afternoon rolling through dappled oak shadows on winding lanes through the Santa Cruz mountains, high above the Pacific, after a long hike with our beautiful now since passed Aussie shepherd collie…such poignant bittersweet exuberance as ever any language struggled to find the words to express.
Dearest Nina........your Friend is waiting for you.......not a sparrow falls but The Lord 🦁 does not know of it......🕊️...just ask Him. 🙏🙏🙋..Much love from Scotland
The most beautiful rendition I've heard. "The last notes a Soul hears as they part the veil." The Lark--the Spirit soaring to Heaven.
Every time I listen to this, I feel the tears down my face. In my very difficult and sad world right now, I need music to help me through and peaceful pieces like this help the most. I love your story, the poem and the pictures. I will be listening to this often. I hope one day to attend a concert and listen to this played live. Thank you again. PS I echo the comment of Niccole Evans.
so much better than MY WAY
This recording was my first intro to RWV and frankly cannot be not surpassed 30 years later. How I remember the car casette at full volume, driving over the South Downs, enraptured, so inspired, weeping, and finally reaching Chichester. Profound memories.
I agree Michael. And yes, I can well imagine your experience in the South Downs.
What did Chichester make of you? :)
Whenever I listen to this masterpiece , I remember the nostalgic Japanese coutryside when I was little .
There were landscapes everywhere that were unthinkable and blessed with nature
At that time,
as a matter of course,
a surprising number of fireflies were flying blinking.
It was a fantastically beautiful sight.
This masterpiece brings back memories of a time long long ago
I am ７２years old .
I deeply love this masterpiece
Japanese Association of 「 the Ascending Lark 」
From
Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun 🇯🇵
Remarkable. I've lived in Japan and fully appreciate what you're saying. I grew up in England and though the big city of London was not far away, the countryside and fields were in the other direction, also not far away... and there my fondest memories still are. A spiritual experience of natural landscapes and where wild things fly free, seem part of the essence.
@@stephendouglas4870
Thank you so much to your wonderful and moving and attractive comment
Take care of yourself
Good luck
Go for It
Tokyo is autumn , and 15℃
See you again
@@stephendouglas4870 It's the blessed soul who has country in their upbringing to remember. I grew up in a small city where the country was right outside the city limits - cow pastures; frogs; fireflies. Yes, this music reminds me of simpler, innocent times. And I thank God I have some to remember.
My father wrote haikus as long as he could hold a pen - he was a poet and knew haiku as a Japanese form of poetry celebrating natural beauty. Although I lost him many years ago, my daughters found some of his haiku after his death. My second daughter sends me the occasional haiku she is moved to write in her study of songbirds in their natural settings. I try to imagine the Japanese landscapes of your childhood. As little as I know of it, still Japan strikes me as having a wonderful artistic heritage. The focus on Nature's beauty is inescapable.
@@spraguesprague Indeed: I came across a discussion recently about the book Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee, which was required reading when I was at school. Some of the respondents (to be fair, not all of them British), did not seem to know why this book of recollections meant so much to some people: 'After all, there's not really a story in it...' was one reaction. My response was immediate: because it recalls the very last moment in England's social history when the motor car hadn't yet impinged on what was left of a properly unspoilt 'rural' countryside, and this is what makes the heart ache when I re-read it now. The chapter about Granny Wallon, whose home made wines from wild flowers were apparently extraordinary, but whose secret recipes died with her, before anyone could break their 'codes' ...
There are very few things that move me to tears but I am happy to say that this piece has them streaming. I see myself a child again, frolicking and playing without a care in the world. Fresh air, sunlight, laughter and joy. What a pleasure to revisit these memories. Words do not describe how glorious this piece is - Ethereal! Thank you for sharing :)
In that case Niccole, I'm glad it moved you so - in a good way. Thank you and best wishes.
@Susan Moran thank you kindly 🤗
You've put it exactly; and just to add, this recording by Iona Brown is my favorite, perhaps because it was the first one I listened to properly, and bought. With that violin, I'm on a hill of wild flowers and above me the blue sky... it's overwhelming.
True...the balance between the solo violine and the orchstra is perfect.
lark Ascending has been a musical piece that has followed me as a spiritual awakening since my early 20s.... I literally go on flight, experience all of life, and return home, but never the same after quieting the spirit and traveling with Williams. I don't know how he did this but the Lark brings me, and I am sure others, high above the mundane world to other worlds, yet unknown or long forgotten. And, yes,...many tears.
If someone asked me what it is to be English? I would say listen to this.
I love England!!!
Wonderful memories of lying in a field as this iconic bird would soar upwards into the sky until only a young pair of eyes could make out the tiny speck in the pale blueness of infinity. let us hope that there is still a place in the countryside for it in the years to come....to lose the Skylark would be like losing a part of what Britain is meant to be about. The countryside would be all the poorer if it was to become extinct....and we with it.
You caused a lump in my throat paul. Thank you for that piece of beautiful prose.
As a child I would walk through the field accompanied by the Skylarks song. I would raise my eyes and See them hovering. Not just a single bird but many. Then, I didn't know their name but my minds eye and ears have never forgotten them. Sadly they no longer hover over those field today.
It is bliss itself to fall asleep while listening to this magnificent performance in my comfortable to sleep.
This masterpiece is the humanity's lullaby
Not long after this recording Iona developed Arthritis . She was never to play the violin again . This is said to be be the best recording and performance of this melodic piece of music . As a person with Arthritis I can admire this and reflect.
peace be with all who journey this way x
I don't think I've ever heard a recording of this piece where the violin had such clarity and sweetness while simultaneously having such a full sound, almost having a hint of reverb. I was not surprised when I read the comment about the venue and the placement of microphones. A truly glorious recording. It's criminal that it has so few views!
It's music like this that makes me feel so grateful to be alive.
Absolutely right. Any other version that I have heard feels rushed. This version breathes with real life and real respect for the emotions that the piece is intended to engender.
This has to be the absolutely most painfully beautiful pieces on God's Green Earth.......... Profoundly moving
A close second is Babrer's Adagio for Strings
@@sierrasix2003 Agreed!
This was played at my grandads funeral it was so moving❤
A wonderful music and beautiful video composition of nature photos. May the love for nature wake up inside of our hearts, fly high as the lark to guide us into a peaceful, enjoyable and healthy future for all of us.
Like you, in those balmy days of childhood when we were despatched out of the house to go wherever and do whatever; I used to lie down in the cornfields not far from where we lived and then watch a lark gaining height because I had disturbed her from her nest. My interest in photography came later. It is my favourite piece and if ever God called my soul to heaven, I would want someone to play this as I rose from this mad earth in which we live.
I'd like this played at my funeral, as I slip the surly bonds of earth...
„The Lark Ascending“
Für mich ein wunderbares, sensibles und beeindruckendes Werk dieses großartigen englischen Meisters.
Arguably the greatest English composer since Purcell.
This is the best ever interpretation of this wonderful piece of music i have ever heard. Until now i thought the music lives from the brilliance of the violonist alone....but as i heard this version, i knew, the balance between soloist and orchestra makes this music even better, than a first class violonist alone....Thank you.
Since very young I Love This Music , it is so soft and so captivating 🤗 💖 ✨ 🎶 🎼 🎵 👋
REDFLOWER same i always listened to it
No one understood this piece better than the wonderful Iona Brown
Just beautiful. And the photographs of rural Britain ... perfect.
For me this always takes me back to the Sussex Downs in the 1950's when I was a child.
I give exuberant compliments. This play leaves me spellbound. Standing ovationaly ！素晴らしい❗
One word sums it up ... Wonderful ! Oh ~ two more ... Thank You!
Beautiful, thank you. This defines Pastoral Music for me
I just melt in calmness with those opening notes.....
Music like this lifts your soul..
Nature is a great healer.
Agreed Martin.
This has got to be the best recording of this piece.
I want to finish my last life while listening to this song under the cherry blossoms in full bloom and wrapped in the storm of the falling cherry,s petals at the shining night of the fullmoon . 🍎
From effulgent Tokyo in profound Japan
Which national are you watching this video ？
I am from USA.
That closing sequence with the lark making its final ascent is very moving.
Days in the countryside with my father..
I miss those days with you Dad..wish you were with me now ..❤xx
Timeless Music of the Spring Season! Bless You RVW!
Beautiful. Good to hear something so lovely in this difficult time.
It reminds am summer I once spend in Hampshire in West Wordham STUNNING music captivated by Mr Vaughan Williams. Brilliant
This recording is just exquisite. It has so much richness and depth. Iona Brown's performance has this beautiful tone and is both passionate and technically flawless. The warm and richness is strengthened by the somewhat slower tempo. This recording soothes and inspires my soul.
you can almost hear iona's celtic roots in her playing.
That's why I'm almost addicted to classical, the artists can blend their own colour into it.
a subtle hint of the caelidh in an english tune, enchanting and worth a listen.
@@petemason3336 Absolutely Pete .
If I am right this was the very last piece she played as professional violinist. Mind you it was not this recording. Because this is from the 1990s
Touches your soul then brings you back
Our heritage ..the wonder and beauty of it...so happy i was born here.
I’m so glad I found this version. It’s a beautiful rendition and so relaxing ☺️
Have just been listening to this emotionally beautiful piece of music Anthony. I can still remember when I first heard this piece on (now) Radio 3 in November 1981. I was returning by car from a hospital visit in Leeds & I was already in deep thought from what I had been told about our first born child. Listening to this piece of music whilst driving, I had to stop, park the car & I wept & wept. That recollection has remained with me ever since.
I now live abroad & so it is wonderful for me to see your fotos which bring back many memories. Thankyou for this excellent video presentation & belated best New Year Wishes for 2022.
Beautiful . Just beautiful.
Priceless .........................and with the ending, the Lark fades away.......
I play this beautiful piece of music to my 4 year old as she drifts into sleep she calls it the bird song and we imagine the lark flying hopefully will sink into her subconscious and dreams thank you RVW
Well said all...
I heard this in the 1993 , I think, and Sir Nev and Iona Brown pull the heart out my body..
It reminds me of lying on the cliffs where I live and hearing the Larks.
I have a recording of this very piece with Christopher Good reading the poem..
Sometimes I just can't listen to it. It's too emotional, too much like my younger years..
To sail along those same cliffs and headlands, early morning and perfect weather, is beyond any description I could write..
(Mercifully I'm sure most will think) !
The surging spirit of the lark lingers long in the ears after the music dies so gently at the end of this piece. There is a Van Gogh painting that is the visual equivalent of this 1914 piece. Irony is that it was written just before the outbreak of WW1.
This song gives comfort and solace , and melts person,s anxiety and suffering , and purifies person,s stray mind .
I assume that many, like myself, had an epiphanal moment hearing this piece for the first time, during a dark or hopeless period...
There are many sad and unreasonable things in this human world , and in most cases , people are devastated .
The soulful works of genius composers like this incomparable work will heal our mind . 🍎
Other than this song and the performance , there were no songs and performances that conveyed the waves of excitement and impression to the depths of my heart . 🍎
From effulgent Tokyo in profound Japan
Which national are you watching this video ？
I am from England, but presently living in Prague, Czech Republic, where some of the countryside of southern Bohemia reminds me of parts of England. This piece of music - and especially this particular recording - captivated me long ago, and has never let me go. I know that Japanese also feel this long cultural connection with the natural world, and appreciate this. Thank you for posting.
@@StephenSeabird
Thank-you so much to your wonderful reply ！
At present , in capital area , the cherry blossoms in full bloom have already been scattered , all cherry trees become only green leaves
But in northern prefectures ,
the cherry blossoms in full bloom .
However ,
All famous parks are closed by Coronavirus infection problem .
There are no pedestrians and sightseeing people .
Someday please come to Japan of the luscious and transient spring where all Japanese people are making merry and floating under the cherry blossoms in full bloom having gorgeous Bento , delicious foods , treats and drinks while dancing , eating , singing and drinking .
Japanese spring banquet is really 「 the Rite of Spring 」 of Stravinsky .
Take care of yourself
Good luck ！
Be on the alert for Coronavirus infection .
Coronavirus is scary and cruel .
Just talking or touching are infected .
So long
Thank you. This is my song and my most favourite county in the world.
This is truly evocative. I use it for meditation and mental imaging. The beauty and gentle relaxing mood it puts me in, simply has no equal anywhere, musically. I am healed, calmed and enriched by these lovely sounds..
This is amazing- pure heaven. Thanks for posting this version.
I've listened to many versions of this piece, but this is the one I always go back to...
This has always made me cry.
Obviously amazingly beautiful. But also, my grand parents used to blast this on a great sound system. My grandma though also had a music/ jewelry box that played this. An engagement present as well
As "that bloody XXX dog". Wooing 1920s style.
Also, from a vaguely recent retrospective: WHERE ARE THE BIRDS???!???
Xxxx
...of all the recordings of this piece this recording is boy far the very most beautiful..
Very moving...
Thank you for uploading this; and in particular, thank you for the excellent notes and lovely pictures too.
My pleasure David, and my best wishes to you and yours in these trying times.
Remarkable recording.Thank you for uploading it.
Great background on this piece. Really appreciate it. If there is one piece I'd liked played at my funeral, this would be it...
Also pls listen to Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. Ethereal, spiritual, stunning. Someone on here has posted a live recording inside Gloucester Cathedral both video and audio. Please listen to it - any recording - and tell anyone you know.
The definitive version? I think so. Thanks!
So beautiful
I hear skylarks when out and about near home in Sussex, and think of this piece
A wonderful Reference Video in all characteristics. A art of its own; BRAVO.
This great masterpiece and the magnificent performance are universal , and transcend the times.
The greatness of V . Williams is immeasurable , unfathomable and beyond description
This Williams' masterpiece is inspirational , specutacular , and full of admiration , acclaim and deep emotion , and comfortable to the ear and the mind
I'm just intoxicated with this fabulous performance in Japan
From
Tokyo of the Land of the Rising Sun
Absolutely beautiful. Thanks ant for that lovely torsion of RVW's Lark Ascending
should have been version not as above.
This is a Wonderful, marvellous piece of music. The soloist violin is an evocative atmosphere of peace in the nature. Iona Brown and Neville Marriner, superb, magnificent
Thank you Ant. This is by far the most outstanding and definite recording of this most complete and perfect piece from RVW. I read where the singing of larks heard during long walks influenced the way Iona played it.
I very much agree with you Richard. belated thanks.
A gorgeous post: thank you!
The Universe is Music, vibration rhythm, poetry... sheer beauty/what a contrast with the horrors we live nowadays
This performance is the most inspirational Lark Ascending
Wonderful. I also really appreciated your description.
Absolutely beautiful!
moving and soulful
My fave classical work! :)
Beautiful share 🌤 Thank you
The only comment I can make is THANK YOU Ant PDC
The foal at 7:00 looks just like the plastic model I adored when I was little - a much-loved Christmas gift!
Thank you for posting this, but also for your astute comments on the recording, so that I now understand why I like this one more than any other! I bought it on vinyl years ago, and it remains at the top of my list. The photographs are perfect, and the poem I appreciate as well.. Thanks!
Thank you Stephen. When I was a very young boy, I used to lie down in my local meadows in Derbyshire and listen to skylarks as they hovered high above in full song. It was a perfect reverie - a transcendent experience which has stayed with me my whole life. I wanted to recall those experiences in my low, ultra-wide angle photography. I regret very much their decline in numbers at the hands of hostile agriculture.
I've heard/watched several versions but keep returning to this one.
The best version, beautiful.
Hermoso...Gracias
The first video of yours that I found, and still a favourite!
Thank you Molly. It is a gorgeous thing.
❤Yes...a glimmer of Heaven on earth...❤
Favourite, photographs are fine and beautiful. AntPDC, you are our fantastic artist.
I blushed :)
I enjoy your channel always. A thousand thanks. Gerald Finz, R.B. Willams and other are caim and heartwarming lineup with pics.
Inspirational. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
The Legend of Christ and the Skylark
On the morning of the Resurrection of Christ, at early dawn, near the cave where the Savior’s Body was laid, a little gray skylark slept in the grass. In the pre-dawn cold he slept so sweetly ... The lark dreamt that he was flying over the northern countries, lying at the bottom of the field, covered with snow in some places, there are still bare trees, and only willow velvet balls. The sky dragged on with mist, and the dim sun barely shines through; but the lark is happy to fly home, he knows that soon everything will turn green and bloom in the lovely north.
Suddenly, the skylark woke up. A bright, blindingly bright light illuminated him, and the skylark agitated, sees: Christ is shining with the heavenly light standing over him.
The skylark was not afraid, but only fluttered and spun, enchanted, over the head of the Savior. And the skylark heard gentle heavenly singing - the angels sang about the Resurrection of Christ.
And Christ raised His head to the skylark and said:
- Fly to the distant cold north and sing a song about My Resurrection there.
And the skylark soared into the blue height of the sky, and the skylark gathered thousands of other skylarks, and they flew to their distant gloomy homeland.
And there, over the fields, still covered here and there with snow, over bare trees with still undeveloped buds, over willows with cute velvet balls, - they sang a song about the Resurrection of Christ in the cold sky.
- Christ is Risen! - the larks sang. Death conquered death and gave life to those who died!
And the children shouted, clapping their hands:
- Skylarks, skylarks have arrived!
And the adults congratulated each other jumping with joy and said:
- They don’t care, these larks. Let the harsh wind blow down the snow. They will still sing their song.
And adults remembered their distant best years when they were young, and even earlier when they were children, and thought: “They gave us joy, these larks! They can make a miracle their song! They sing, and we are young again! Resurrected, how everything was resurrected - both forests and fields! "
At this time, one of the children said:
- They sing "Christ is risen" ... You just listen carefully!
And the adults smiled at the boy and listened.
- Christ is Risen! - the skylarks sang. - He conquered death by death!
Lev Zilov
There is another 1080p upload of Brown & Marriner on RUclips but this one sounds much better.