Flos Campi
Encyclopedia
Flos Campi: suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
, completed in 1925. Its title is Latin for "flower of the field". It is neither a concerto nor a choral piece, although it prominently features the viola
and a wordless choir
. The piece is divided into six movements, played without pause, each headed by a verse from the Song of Solomon
:
As in his Sinfonia antartica, the quotations are intended to be read by the listener, and are not intended to be part of the performance. The quotations are:
In addition to the solo viola, the score calls for flute
(doubling piccolo
), oboe
, clarinet
, bassoon
, horn
, trumpet
, percussion (bass
drum, tabor
, cymbal
s, and triangle
), harp
, celesta
, and strings (not to number more than 6 first violin
s, 5 second violins, 4 viola
s, 3 cello
s, and 2 double bass
es). The eight-part chorus
should consist of 20 to 26 singers (six to eight each of sopranos and altos plus four or five each of tenors and basses). The work lasts approximately 20 minutes.
The opening bars of the piece, which consist of a duet between the solo viola and the oboe, are well known as a classic example of bitonality.
The first performance of Flos Campi, on October 10th, 1925, was conducted by Sir Henry Wood
, with the Queen's Hall
Orchestra, violist Lionel Tertis
, and voices from the Royal College of Music
. Initial reactions to the piece were mixed; Gustav Holst
, a fellow composer and close friend of Vaughan Williams, said he "couldn't get hold of it", for which he was disappointed more with himself than with the work. Over time, however, it has become an accepted part of the musical canon even if infrequently performed.
In a program note for a 1927 performance, Vaughan Williams admitted that "The title Flos Campi was taken by some to connote an atmosphere of 'buttercups and daisies....'" In reality, the piece is unabashedly sensual and lushly orchestrated, which is quite appropriate considering its subject matter.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, completed in 1925. Its title is Latin for "flower of the field". It is neither a concerto nor a choral piece, although it prominently features the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and a wordless choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. The piece is divided into six movements, played without pause, each headed by a verse from the Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
:
- Sicut Lilium in spinas (Lento)
- Jam enim hiems transiit (Andante con moto)
- Quaesivi quem diligit anima mea (Lento - Allegro moderato)
- Et lectulum Salomonis (Moderato alla marcia)
- Revertere, revertere Sulamitis! (Andante quasi lento)
- Pone me ut signaculum (Moderato tranquillo)
As in his Sinfonia antartica, the quotations are intended to be read by the listener, and are not intended to be part of the performance. The quotations are:
- Sicut Lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias . . . Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis, quia amore langueo. ("As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. . . Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples; for I am sick with love.")
- Jam enim hiems transiit; imber abiit, et recessit; Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra, Tempus putationis advenit; Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra. ("For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.")
- Quaesivi quem diligit anima mea; quaesivi illum, et non inveni . . . 'Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, si inveneritis dilectum meum, ut nuntietis et quia amore langueo' . . . Quo abiit dilectus tuus, O pulcherrima mulierum? Quo declinavit dilectus tuus? et quaeremus eum tecum. ("I sought him whom my soul loveth, but I found him not . . . 'I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him I am sick with love' . . . Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.")
- En lectulum Salomonis sexaginta fortes ambiunt . . . omnes tenentes gladios, et ad bella doctissimi. ("Behold his bed [palanquin], which is Solomon's, three score valiant men are about it . . . They all hold swords, being expert in war.")
- Revertere, revertere Sulamitis! Revertere, revertere ut intueamur te . . . Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui in calceamentis, filia principis. ("Return, return, O Shulamite! Return, return, that we may look upon thee . . . How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O Prince's daughter.")
- Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum. ("Set me as a seal upon thine heart.")
In addition to the solo viola, the score calls for flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
(doubling piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
, horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, percussion (bass
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
drum, tabor
Tabor (instrument)
Tabor, or tabret, refers to a portable snare drum played with one hand. The word "tabor" is simply an English variant of a Latin-derived word meaning "drum" - cf. tambour , tamburo...
, cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, and triangle
Triangle (instrument)
The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
), harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, and strings (not to number more than 6 first violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, 5 second violins, 4 viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, 3 cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, and 2 double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es). The eight-part chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
should consist of 20 to 26 singers (six to eight each of sopranos and altos plus four or five each of tenors and basses). The work lasts approximately 20 minutes.
The opening bars of the piece, which consist of a duet between the solo viola and the oboe, are well known as a classic example of bitonality.
The first performance of Flos Campi, on October 10th, 1925, was conducted by Sir Henry Wood
Henry Wood (conductor)
Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences...
, with the Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
Orchestra, violist Lionel Tertis
Lionel Tertis
Lionel Tertis, CBE was an English violist and one of the first viola players to find international fame.Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigrants, and initially studied the violin in Leipzig and at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
, and voices from the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
. Initial reactions to the piece were mixed; Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....
, a fellow composer and close friend of Vaughan Williams, said he "couldn't get hold of it", for which he was disappointed more with himself than with the work. Over time, however, it has become an accepted part of the musical canon even if infrequently performed.
In a program note for a 1927 performance, Vaughan Williams admitted that "The title Flos Campi was taken by some to connote an atmosphere of 'buttercups and daisies....'" In reality, the piece is unabashedly sensual and lushly orchestrated, which is quite appropriate considering its subject matter.