Vaughan Williams: Romance for viola and piano | Jordan Bak | Richard Uttley

Little is known about the origins of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Romance for viola and piano. Its manuscript was discovered in the composer’s library after his death in 1958, and the piece was put into print by Oxford University Press three years later. Romance opens with a series of lilting piano chords, based on a pentatonic scale, above which the viola unfurls an imagined folk melody that becomes more impassioned, more urgent as it climbs towards a double-stopped elaboration of the tune and a heart-melting passage of descending octaves. The work earns its title in the turbulent central section, a triple-time outpouring of what could be unbridled grief or yearning for a lost way of life. Order is restored with the return of a modified version of the work’s melancholy opening and a final, muted statement of the viola’s folksong.
Filmed during recording sessions for Jordan Bak and Richard Uttley's debut duo album 'Cantabile: Anthems for Viola', released on Delphian Records and available to stream worldwide.
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film by foxbrush.co.uk
Delphian Records Ltd.