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A compendium of vocal works representing the first appearance on CD of these recordings and the only CD recording of Serenade to Music conducted by the composer with many of the original named soloists.

Vaughan Williams may not have had a conventional conducting technique, but he achieved remarkable results. Just a few broadcast recordings conducted by Vaughan Williams have come to light. Now for the first time we can hear the gorgeous Serenade to Music conducted by the composer from a performance in 1951. It is a deeply expressive and romantic interpretation, using eleven of the sixteen singers involved in the original 1938 performance.

The Pilgrim's Journey is a cantata for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, choir and orchestra (or organ as in this recording), derived by Christopher Morris and Roy Douglas from Vaughan Williams' opera The Pilgrim's Progress. Vaughan Williams: Serenade to Music Sopranos: Stiles Allen*, Isobel Baillie*, Ena Mitchell, Elsie Suddaby* Contraltos: Muriel Brunskill*, Astra Desmond*, Mary Jarred*, Gladys Ripley Tenors: William Herbert, Richard Lewis, Stephen Manton, Heddle Nash* Baritone/Bass: Norman Allin*, Robert Easton*, Roy Henderson*, Harold Williams* * indicates the soloists in the first performance under Sir Henry Wood in 1938 Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Ralph Vaughan Williams (Recorded live at the Royal Concert on 22 November 1951 in the Royal Festival Hall, London) Vaughan Williams: The Pilgrim's Journey (arranged by Roy Douglas) Louis Bové (soprano), Clifford Scott (tenor), John Peck (baritone), Arnold Ostlund Jr. (organ), Plymouth Choir, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn, New York City, Henry Pfohl (Recorded live in the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims on Sunday April 4th, 1965) Bonus disc: The teachings of Parry and Stanford - a talk by RVW (Edited from a broadcast on 17 November 1955) Excerpt from the Funeral Service of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Westminster Abbey, Friday September 19th, 1958 at 11.30am)

Press Quotes

An immensely spirited live recording of the cantata 'The Pilgrim's Journey' eloquently given here in its alternative guise with organ accompaniment.

     —Gramophone, November 2008

The exquisite centrepiece here is Vaughan Williams' own performance of the 'Serenade to Music' from 1951 the sense of freedom as though the singers and players were floating around the beat rather than following it rigidly is spellbinding.

     —BBC Music Magazine

This music and performance are truly reflective of the authentic RVW spirit that intensity of delight once described as 'notable ecstasy'.

     —Rob Barnett, Musicweb International