0:00:02 > 0:00:04SHE PLAYS "The Lark Ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams
0:00:15 > 0:00:19You've only got to listen to it and you're listening to England.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27You've got to maintain this control over your bow at a point
0:00:27 > 0:00:32when you're feeling really quite moved by everything.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42It is, I think, the most wonderful piece of music I've ever heard
0:00:42 > 0:00:46in my life and I doubt if I'll hear anything better.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58The Lark ascending, an iconic piece of music that appeals
0:00:58 > 0:01:01to myriads of people of every walk of life.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04What's its secret?
0:01:20 > 0:01:22MUSIC: "Desert Island Discs" THEME
0:01:27 > 0:01:29For 70 years,
0:01:29 > 0:01:35the BBC has invited castaways to choose their desert island discs.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The Lark Ascending, by Ralph Vaughan Williams,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42has been chosen by a surprisingly eclectic group,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46from the late Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie,
0:01:46 > 0:01:51to Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts and comedian Vic Reeves,
0:01:51 > 0:01:54who liked it so much, he chose to play it at his wedding.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Well, when I first heard The Lark Ascending, it sent shivers...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01It still does send shivers through me.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04I'm having a shiver now, even thinking about it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07There are two points in it, there are the two big crescendos
0:02:07 > 0:02:10and that was the first time, I think, I got a physical feeling
0:02:10 > 0:02:13from a bit of music.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16'Today is the day when the nation is castaway.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18'This is your Desert Island Discs...'
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Recently, the Radio Four programme invited its audience
0:02:22 > 0:02:24to make their own choice.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26And top of the listeners' list...
0:02:26 > 0:02:30'At number one, the Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams.'
0:02:30 > 0:02:33I once saw the man who wrote it.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37I just stared at him and I thought, "Yes,
0:02:37 > 0:02:46"this man has written one piece of music called the Lark Ascending.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52"And that piece of music... speaks for England."
0:02:52 > 0:02:57And when I'm buried, if they'd like to bury me with a copy
0:02:57 > 0:03:04of The Lark Ascending, I could play it all the time and really have a good time.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Despite its quintessential Englishness, Vaughan Williams'
0:03:09 > 0:03:13most popular work has transcended any nationalistic overtones.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17For the 10th anniversary of 9/11, for instance,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20New York Public Radio listeners chose the Lark
0:03:20 > 0:03:24as one of the pieces of music to commemorate the day.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Although probably less well known than his contemporaries,
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Elgar and Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams is for many
0:03:48 > 0:03:52one of the greatest English composers.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55MUSIC: "Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis"
0:03:55 > 0:03:57In a career that spanned two world wars,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00he produced a prolific canon of work,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03from nine symphonies, including the Tallis Fantasia,
0:04:03 > 0:04:08to countless choral pieces and his legendary hymn tunes.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12In much of his music, his influences are clear.
0:04:12 > 0:04:18Vaughan Williams had a special fascination with traditional English folk songs.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21One of his great interpreters,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25the British violinist, Tasmin Little,
0:04:25 > 0:04:29says it's the echoes of these old country tunes which imbue his work
0:04:29 > 0:04:32with the essence of Englishness.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Vaughan Williams was very interested in folk music.
0:04:35 > 0:04:40Is there anywhere in this piece where you're aware
0:04:40 > 0:04:41of that influence?
0:04:41 > 0:04:47Yes, a lot of old folk music you get a lot of parallel fifths. So...
0:04:47 > 0:04:49SHE PLAYS PARALLEL FIFTHS
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Things like that and even the opening,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55he chooses to choose these fifths in the opening.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59SHE PLAYS OPENING CHORDS
0:04:59 > 0:05:04In a lot of very ancient music that monks used to chant,
0:05:04 > 0:05:08it uses again these parallel motions.
0:05:08 > 0:05:15I am wondering if there is something that evokes spiritual
0:05:15 > 0:05:17or religious feelings within us
0:05:17 > 0:05:22when we get taken back to that ancient form of music making.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27The deep connection with traditional folk music certainly resonates
0:05:27 > 0:05:31with the time the Lark Ascending was written.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35It was 1914, the war was just beginning and the threat loomed
0:05:35 > 0:05:39that the old ways of England might change for ever.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44The story goes that Vaughan Williams was composing whilst looking out
0:05:44 > 0:05:48over the Channel where the English fleet was gathering.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52A boy scout, suspecting he was spying for the enemy, arrested him,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56leading to a caution from the local police.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Work on the piece, however, was soon curtailed.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Vaughan Williams went off to war as an ambulance driver.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09It would be six years before he picked up the music again.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17In 1920, Vaughan Williams was invited to a house party here,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20at Kings Weston in Bristol.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Among the guests was a woman to whom he dedicated the Lark,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27violinist Marie Hall.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Marie was from a very poor but musical family.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Spotted busking on the streets,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39their talents later brought her worldwide acclaim.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Here, at Kings Weston,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46she worked with Vaughan Williams on the score of the Lark.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Together, they prepared for its first public performance
0:06:49 > 0:06:53in the local hall at Shirehampton on the outskirts of Bristol.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Just how much influence did such an extraordinary woman
0:07:00 > 0:07:02bring to bear on this iconic music?
0:07:02 > 0:07:07I've come to the British library to see the original handwritten score.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Sandra, it's always a pleasure to meet experts in a field that
0:07:13 > 0:07:16I'm not very knowledgeable about.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20You're the curator of music here at the British Library.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23You have, wonder of wonders, the original manuscript.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Yes, this is the original of Vaughan Williams' the Lark Ascending.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31He dedicated it to Marie Hall. You see her name at the top here.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35There's a poem here, the Lark Ascending, words by George Meredith,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38which he used as the inspiration for his piece.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41You can see that it's written for violin and piano.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44This was the version that was performed first.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47And he met Marie Hall and they went through the score together
0:07:47 > 0:07:50and made quite a lot of changes
0:07:50 > 0:07:54so that it really showed off her talents to best advantage.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57- Do you think he accepted her suggestions?- I think he did.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02I think they worked together on it so it was designed to fit her talents
0:08:02 > 0:08:05and you can see here, whole sections have been rewritten
0:08:05 > 0:08:10and new bits of paper have been pasted over the top of the originals.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14- And there are lots of crossings out. - My goodness.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16He was quite adamant about this, wasn't he?
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Absolutely, that bit had to go.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22And right at the end here, you can see that he's completely
0:08:22 > 0:08:25rewritten the end, pasted another piece of paper on with a very
0:08:25 > 0:08:30extravagant flourish for the violinist to finish on.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35Has anybody tried to find out what he wrote under that?
0:08:35 > 0:08:39Unfortunately we can't take that off without damaging it
0:08:39 > 0:08:42and so we haven't as yet been able to study what was underneath.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45It would be very interesting to see his original thoughts
0:08:45 > 0:08:48before Marie Hall started having an influence on it.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Because she had must of had ideas of her own
0:08:50 > 0:08:54and decided that she wanted it this way or that way.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58It would be nice to see what his first thoughts were.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01The enormous influence exerted by Marie Hall
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and her prodigious talents has created a work loved
0:09:04 > 0:09:10and found challenging in equal measure by her counterparts today.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12SHE PLAYS THE CADENZA
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I'm just going to stop there because what I want
0:09:31 > 0:09:37to draw your attention to is the way that we've gone from the lower
0:09:37 > 0:09:41area of the instrument, almost as low as you can go on the violin,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45and certainly very low chords in the harmony.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50And he's taken us bit by bit, gradually,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54it's almost as if the bird has gradually opened the wings
0:09:54 > 0:09:59and expanded and expanded so I've gone right from here... to up here,
0:09:59 > 0:10:03which is pretty much the length and breadth of the scope of the violin as well.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07The funny thing is that it sounds like it's so easy
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and it's one of the hardest pieces to play
0:10:10 > 0:10:14because it calls for the most immense amount of control.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I've got lots of notes to do, string crossings, all sorts of things
0:10:20 > 0:10:25and yet it's just got to feel like the bird is just swooping down and up again.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28And it's just got to feel incredibly natural
0:10:28 > 0:10:31but that's actually really difficult.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32When you're playing,
0:10:32 > 0:10:35are you aware of the effect that it has on the audience?
0:10:35 > 0:10:38It does have an immensely strong effect.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Actually it has quite a strong effect on me.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43In fact I can't probably think of a single time
0:10:43 > 0:10:45when I haven't felt very moved at the end
0:10:45 > 0:10:50and that's one of the hardest places to play as well because it gets
0:10:50 > 0:10:55higher and higher, yet the challenge is just to keep it getting softer
0:10:55 > 0:11:00and softer until literally it just vanishes into thin air.
0:11:04 > 0:11:10There are so many times when music is such a force to elevate people
0:11:10 > 0:11:16and The Lark Ascending is definitely one of the most supreme examples
0:11:16 > 0:11:20of a piece of music that can really draw people together.
0:11:33 > 0:11:39I wonder what the great man himself would have made of the Lark's current popularity.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42I've arranged to meet someone who knew him well.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46As a young music critic, Michael Kennedy wrote a fan letter
0:11:46 > 0:11:50to the composer which sparked a warm friendship.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53What do you think made this piece so very popular?
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Probably the advent of a lot of rather good young soloists
0:11:57 > 0:12:01like Tasmin Little, Nicola Benedetti and others, who've picked it up,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04then people realise what a beautiful work it is.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08I've always thought that it was a masterpiece because it says
0:12:08 > 0:12:11so much with so little.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15What do you think Vaughan Williams would have made of the popularity of this piece?
0:12:15 > 0:12:19I think he'd have been slightly amazed, very pleased, why not?
0:12:19 > 0:12:22He'd properly have said, "What, that old thing?"
0:12:22 > 0:12:26He always used to say that he didn't like his own music.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30When his Fourth Symphony and the piano concerto came out
0:12:30 > 0:12:35he said, "I wish I liked my stuff more than I do."
0:12:35 > 0:12:38How fascinating. That wasn't modesty?
0:12:38 > 0:12:40No, it wasn't modesty at all.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44He was the despair of his publishers because he wouldn't push anything.
0:12:44 > 0:12:45He said once he had written it,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49it had to make its own way in the world like a child.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54So, time for the Lark to stand on its own merits.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58It was here, in the Shirehampton Public Hall close to Bristol,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02that the Lark Ascending was first performed to the public.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07Tonight, we're recreating that first performance by Marie Hall,
0:13:07 > 0:13:12not with a full orchestra, but as it was originally heard,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14for violin and piano.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16APPLAUSE
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Performing tonight are pianist Charles Matthews
0:13:19 > 0:13:22and rising star, 15-year-old Julia Hwang.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30Was Vaughan Williams here to witness the birth of this music
0:13:30 > 0:13:33that would come to symbolise all he loved about his country?
0:13:33 > 0:13:35We don't know.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38But he did usually attend his premieres,
0:13:38 > 0:13:41so I'd rather like to think he was.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45MUSIC: "The Lark Ascending" by Ralph Vaughan Williams
0:15:28 > 0:15:30PIANO JOINS IN
0:28:04 > 0:28:07Listening to that performance, I've decided
0:28:07 > 0:28:11what makes this piece of music so universally loved.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14In a world that's riven with discord -
0:28:14 > 0:28:17wars across the globe and violence in our streets -
0:28:17 > 0:28:21for the 14 minutes that this piece lasts,
0:28:21 > 0:28:27Vaughan Williams has given us a world of perfect simplicity and harmony.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:44 > 0:28:47E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk