The liturgical canticle settings for chorus and organ of Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Abstract

Within the sacred choral music of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, little is known regarding his subset of works intended for liturgical use. This study focuses on the canticle settings for choir and organ, written by Ralph Vaughan Williams for use in Anglican Worship. The compositions in this study include: Magnificat and Nunc dimittis (Village Service), Te Deum in G, Service in D Minor and Te Deum and Benedictus. This study provides a discussion of the structure and history of the Anglican service and a description of how canticle settings traditionally function in liturgical worship. Each work in this study is analyzed with particular attention given to form and structure, harmonic language, text derivation and declamation, melodic tendencies and the role of the organ accompaniment. Evidence gathered from this study demonstrates that, although the liturgical canticle settings for choir and organ are diverse in function and style, they contain many common characteristics in such compositional areas as: structural form, voicings, consistent use of thematic material, and the effective application of text to music. Suggestions for performance options of the settings are also included in the results of this study. It is hoped that, through differentiating between these works with regard to function and style, this study will help close the lacuna in the choral literature concerning Vaughan Williams' smaller liturgical works and serve as an introduction to modern choral conductors.