Iphigenia in Tauris by Ralph Vaughan Williams by Promethean Editions

ISMN 979-0-67452-291-5

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Incidental music to Iphigenia in Tauris

Study Score

P R O ME T HEAN EDIT IO NS WELLINGTON

Vaughan Williams Collection Volume 1 (PEV01) Incidental music to Iphigenia in Tauris (1912/2019) ÂŠ Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust Published exclusively by Promethean Editions Limited First edition ÂŠ 2019 Promethean Editions Limited Music Editor and Arranger: Alan Tongue Publisher: Ross Hendy Founding Series Editor: Robert Hoskins Series Editor: Allan Badley Music Typesetter: Ben Woods Cover Image: Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams by Evelyn Page, 1950. Oil on canvas 500 mm x 41 mm. Courtesy of the Page Estate. ISBN 978-1-77660-701-3 (print) ISBN 978-1-77660-711-2 (ebook) ISMN 979-0-67452-291-5 Promethean Editions Limited PO Box 10-143 Wellington NEW ZEALAND http://www.prometheaneditions.com No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Publisher. Promethean Editions would like to thank The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust for a grant made toward the publication of this volume.

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Incidental music to Iphigenia in Tauris

FOREWORD Introduction to the series........................................... iv Vaughan Williams biography ..................................... v Editor’s introduction ................................................... vii Performance note ....................................................... viii Text ...................................................................................... x MUSIC Incidental music to Iphigenia in Tauris .................... 1 1. Prelude ..........................................................................1 2. Dark of the Sea............................................................7 3. Bird of the Sea Rocks............................................. 30 4. Oh, Fair the Fruits of Leto Blow......................... 54 5. Go Forth in Bliss...................................................... 77

PEV01 – iii

FOREWORD Introduction to the series Discussions between the Vaughan Williams estate and Promethean Editions began in 2004 about the possibility of the New Zealand company issuing hitherto unpublished works by Ralph Vaughan Williams in a series based at Massey University, Wellington, and under the general editorship of Robert Hoskins. The first fruit of this co-operation was Nathaniel Lew’s edition of music written by Vaughan Williams for a drama based on John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, which was performed at Reigate in 1906. Since then, incidental music has become the keynote of the series, which went on to make available the composer’s scores for radio productions of The Mayor of Casterbridge, Richard II (in the event never broadcast) and, most recently, three Greek plays: Electra, The Bacchae and Iphigenia in Tauris. All these works are not only mature in themselves but also signposts to aspects of the composer’s future development. Pilgrim’s Progress became a sort of leitmotif throughout his life, for his Reigate music led to the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains, the Fifth Symphony, music for a radio production in 1942, and finally his great opera The Pilgrim’s Progress of 1951. His adeptness in writing incidental music for plays led eventually, in the later part of his long life, to his exploring music for cinema, a new and enriching creative experience exemplified in his film-score for Scott of the Antarctic and its elaboration as the Sinfonia Antartica. The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust is immensely grateful to Promethean Editions for establishing this important series, and to the editors who have been involved, Nathaniel Lew and Alan Tongue. We will watch the further growth of the series with close interest. Hugh Cobbe, Director, March 2019

Publisher’s note The Publisher gratefully acknowledges the assistance from the Vaughan Williams Chartiable Trust, Dr Robert Hoskins and Dr Allan Badley in the publication of this edition. We are also very grateful to the executors of the Evelyn Page Estate who have granted us permission to use Evelyn Page’s wonderful 1950 portrait of RVW. Promethean Editions, Wellington, 2019

PEV01 – iv

Vaughan Williams Biography Ralph Vaughan Williams, a descendant of the Darwins and Wedgwoods, was born in Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, on 12 October 1872. He was educated at Charterhouse, the Royal College of Music and Trinity College, Cambridge. His composition teachers included Hubert Parry, Charles Wood and Charles Villiers Stanford. He also studied with Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel, and enjoyed inspirational musical friendships with Gustav Holst and George Butterworth. He married Adeline Fisher in 1897 and, after her death, married Ursula Wood in 1953. Vaughan Williams began his career as a folk song collector, music editor of The English Hymnal (1906) and founding conductor of the Leith Hill Festival—a post he maintained for over fifty years. His reputation as a composer was established in 1910 with performances of A Sea Symphony (1909) and the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (1910). After the premiere of A London Symphony (1913), Vaughan Williams enlisted with the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving in France as a wagon orderly. In 1919 he was appointed to the staff of the Royal College of Music and in 1921 became conductor of the Bach Choir. He was awarded the Order of Merit in 1935 and was recognized, even revered, as the major musical figure of his time. He died on 26 August 1958. His ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey. Vaughan Williams’ vast musical output includes song settings of Housman, Stevenson and Whitman; The Lark Ascending (1920), an iridescent orchestral miniature where the solo violin evokes a trilling lark rising above flat fields of ripening corn; Sancta Civitas (1923-25), an oratorio remarkable for the visionary precision of its expression; the opera, The Pilgrim’s Progress (1951), the last of several Bunyan-based settings (the first of which is published as PME14); and Riders to the Sea (1925-32), an operatic rendition of J.M. Synge’s play set against the unforgiving landscape of the Aran Islands. At the heart of his creativity lies a sequence of nine symphonies that move from the meditative pastoralism of the Third (1921) and Fifth (1938-43) to the louring existential dramas of the Fourth (1931-34), Sixth (1944-47) and Seventh (1949-52); the Ninth (1956-57) is played against the tragic backdrop of Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. At the centre of all Vaughan Williams’ work is a robust delight in expressing his country, past and present, as a means of perpetually renewing himself and of discovering his own potential humanity. In a valedictory broadcast (27 August 1958) following the news of Vaughan Williams’ death, the New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn (a former student of RVW) spoke of his music as sown in soil and reaped in wisdom: It speaks honestly and directly, and is not afraid sometimes to speak with affirmation. It draws into itself the whole rediscovered heritage of English sixteenth-century music, folk song and hymn tune, love of countryside and traditional ways. It always seems right for its purpose, for the particular truth that it wants to convey, and it seems to me one of the things we best learn from him—that greatness in art springs finally from conviction. Robert Hoskins, Founding Series Editor

PEV01 – v

Introduction Ralph Vaughan Williams’ first musical foray into Greek plays was his incidental music to Aristophanes’ The Wasps, presented by Cambridge University in 1909. The production used the original Greek text, as is still the tradition there, though English translations of the plays were becoming popular at the time, amongst them those by Gilbert Murray, the Oxford University Professor of Greek. In 1911 the dancer Isadora Duncan asked Murray for permission to mount three of his versions of Greek plays, with her brother Augustin directing. Murray had been advised by his friend Herbert Fisher that “my brother-in-law Ralph Vaughan Williams (who is a musical composer and therefore prejudiced) would like to see a big orchestra and some frankly modern music.” 1 Vaughan Williams in his late thirties had actually previously written to Murray: “May I say how much it has distressed me to hear those wonderful lines in Elektra [sic] and your other plays mauled about by (as it seems to me) quite the wrong kind of musical setting.” 2 The musicologist Henry Hadow had also recommended Vaughan Williams: “a very good musician—also keen on poetry and full of understanding.” 3 When Isadora Duncan finally met Vaughan Williams and danced for him, he immediately found “the melting beauty of her phrasing” 4 exactly the sort of movement for which he could write. As he began work on the plays, Vaughan Williams wrote to Murray, stating: “there is nothing I should like better than to be associated in such a production as you foreshadow—however problematical it may be. I have had several shots at some Electra music and have found the task much harder than I thought—I cannot make up my mind what sort of music would be best and naturally until I can do that the music itself refuses to come. However your letter has excited me so that I believe my imagination is beginning to work.” 5 In a later letter he becomes more specific: ...the problem gets more insoluble the more I work at it. I tried setting them in the way I suggested to you—a sort of chant without any accompaniment—but it did not seem to work altogether—I have tried other parts in a more operatic method—the result is rather a mixture—the only way I think will be a sort of trial performance of some of the music when it is ready. I can’t hope to satisfy you and Miss Duncan and Augustin (who wants the choruses spoken!). I want to ask you a lot about the Bacchae choruses—whether all the big choruses should be sung throughout—or whether parts spoken—and what bits should be murmured and what parts declaimed.6 The trial performance of the three scores finally happened, with a subsequent public performance of the music taking place at London’s Royal Court Theatre on Friday 31 May, 1 Herbert Fisher to Gilbert Murray, 5 November 1907. 2 Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray, October 1911. 3 Henry Hadow to Gilbert Murray, 2 October 1909 cited in Duncan Wilson, Gilbert Murray, OM, 1866-1957, (Oxford: OUP, 1987). 4 Ursula Vaughan Williams, R.V.W. A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Oxford: OUP, 1964). 5 Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray, 12 October 1911. 6 Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray, 6 November 1911. PEV01 – vi

1912. In its 25 May Musical Gossip column, English newspaper The Globe included a preview of the performance, with the prescient remarks: In connection with Mr Vaughan Williams’ musical setting of choruses from Euripides, to be given at the Court Theatre next Friday, we are informed that “they are an attempt at something new, and something which is neither German nor French. This music is no experiment in style. It would seem, rather, as though the composer had disclaimed all styles and all schools, and found direct inspiration in the material of the poet’s inspiration, and the result is something of undeniable beauty.” A chorus from ‘The Electra’ and from ‘The Bacchae’ and four from ‘Iphigenia in Tauris’ should make up a programme of interest.7 Iphigenia is more of a romantic or escape play than a tragedy. It begins with a tragic atmosphere, but arrives at a happy ending. Iphigenia is exiled, with an intense longing for home and a bitter rage over her circumstances. The mezzo-soprano soloist takes Iphigenia’s part, with the chorus taking the part of the Greek chorus commenting on the action. Some lines are set as solos for members of the chorus. The bare bones of the work were completed by 4 January 1912, when the composer wrote to Murray: “I have now sketched out the music for your “Iphigenia” for the Liverpool people – there has not been time to do anything very distinguished—but I have made it very simple & tried to get the declamation right.” 8 However, having already worked on two of the plays, The Bacchae (PEV02) and Electra (PEV03), and experimented musically with regard to the declamation, Vaughan Williams was by now very confident in his setting. No full score has ever been found, but the score was definitely intended for a staged performance of the entire play, as textual cues are given before the four musical numbers that follow the prelude, which itself contains the direction ‘Curtain rises’. However, the projected Liverpool performance never took place. There exists a short score—merely a piano accompaniment with the vocal parts—though it does list the instruments in the orchestra. Occasionally the composer gives indications for desired orchestration (as detailed below) but the only parts that have survived are vocal parts. Tempo directions, metronome marks and rehearsal marks are all the composer’s. On this short score various conducting indications in the composer’s hand are written in blue pencil, e.g. “slightly slower”, which I have included in the printed score. Alan Tongue, Editor

Editorial notes The source for this edition is the short score manuscript (ms) held in the British Library under the call number 71483. It is complete, in so far as short scores can be, and is continuous from start to finish with only the occasional bar or page crossed out and rewritten for visual clarity. No significant revision appears to have occured. Aside from the vocal parts, which only offer little additional information, there are no known other sources for this work. 7 The Globe, 25 May 1912. 8 Vaughan Williams to Gilbert Murray, 4 January 1912. PEV01 – vii

The arrangement has been as faithful to the source material as possible with only the occasional creative liberty taken. Additional research during the preparation of this edition has led to a few differences between this score and the recording (ALBCD033) but this edition should be considered the definitive version. Notation of rhythms has been silently updated to conform with modern convention, except within senza misura sections where the beaming of the ms has been retained where possible. Time signatures and a tempo markings and have been added after senza misura sections as necessary. Fermatas have been added to all parts when appearing in only one staff in the ms. Rehearsal mark locations have been retained from the ms, except for the removal of the final mark originally at m520. Rehearsal marks have been resequenced to be continuous throughout. Occasional expression and articulation inconsistencies have been discreetly amended by the editor and only notable changes are listed below. Several tempi markings are written in blue pencil by RVW which have been included in this edition. The editor has added a tempo markings and time signatures as required following senza misura sections. 8

Harp RH, beat 3. ms has C but this has been corrected by the editor to B-flat.

161

ms has a G minor chord in the LH which has been omitted by the editor.

203

Harp LH, ms has chord change to C major on beat 3 which has been deemed incorrect and has been omitted by the editor. The previous chord has been carried through instead.

219

Harp LH, ms has G minor chord on beat 2, however the editor has changed this to A minor.

227

Harp LH, ms has D major chord however this does not match the other notation and has been corrected down to C major

322

Chorus. This rhythm was originally notated as a minim duplet. This is now notated as two dotted crotchets throughout this work.

330

ms beat 2 has no natural symbol on the A in the RH but it is clearly implied and has been added.

353

ms has rests for the first half of m.353. The chord from the previous bar has been carried over by the editor.

358

Originally written as a separate anacrusis, we have incorporated this upbeat into m.358 for simplicity.

462

Allegro at the start of this tempo mark is not found in the ms, but was added to one of the voice parts in RVWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand.

Performance note If the spoken texts are omitted, for example in a performance of the music as a suite, then the fermatas at these points are to be ignored.

PEV01 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; viii

The following note appeared on the first page of the score: These choruses must be sung throughout with due regard to the true declamation of the words, and the nature of the poetry. The note values of the voice parts are, for the most part, approximate. The solos may be divided among the members of the chorus according to the compass and nature of the voices.

PEV01 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ix

TEXT 1. PRELUDE Iphigenia - Spoken Child of the man of torment and of pride Tantalid Pelops bore a royal bride On flying steeds from Pisa. Thence did spring Atreus: from Atreus, linked king with king, Menelaus, Agamemnon. 2. DARK OF THE SEA Iphigenia Dark of the sea, dark of the sea, Gates of the warring water, One, in the old time, conquered you, A winged passion that burst the blue, When the West was shut and the Dawn lay free To the pain of Inachus’ daughter. Chorus But who be these, from where the rushes blow On pale Eurotas, from pure Dirce’s flow, That turn not neither falter, Seeking Her land, where no man breaketh bread, Her without pity, round whose virgin head Blood on the pillars rusts from long ago, Blood on the ancient altar. Iphigenia A flash of the foam, a flash of the foam, A wave on the oarblade welling, And out they passed to the heart of the blue: A chariot shell that the wild winds drew. Is it for passion of gold they come, Or pride to make great their dwelling? Chorus For sweet is Hope, yea, to much mortal woe So sweet that none may turn from it nor go, Whom once the far voice calleth, To wander through fierce peoples and the gleam Of desolate seas, in every heart a dream:

PEV01 – x

And these she maketh empty die, and, lo, To that man’s hand she falleth. Iphigenia Through the Clashing Rocks they burst: They passed by the Cape unsleeping Of Phineus’ sons accurst: They ran by the star-lit bay Upon magic surges sweeping, Where folk on the waves astray Have seen, through the gleaming grey, Ring behind ring, men say, The dance of the old Sea’s daughters. Chorus The guiding oar abaft It rippled and it dinned, And now the west wind laughed And now the south-west wind; And the sail was full in flight, And they passed by the Island White: Birds, birds, everywhere, White as the foam, light as the air; And ghostly Achilles raceth there, Far in the Friendless Waters. Spoken Ah, would that Leda’s child ... (So prayeth the priestess maiden) From Troy, that she beguiled, Hither were borne, to know What sin on her soul is laden! Hair twisted, throat held low, Head back for the blood to flow, To die by the sword. ... Ah no! One hope my soul yet hideth. Chorus O for a sail from Greece Fearless to cross the sea, With ransom and with peace To my sick captivity. O home, to see thee still, And the old walls on the hill! PEV01 – xi

Iphigenia: Dreams, dreams, gather to me! Bear me on wings over the sea; O joy of the night, to slave and free, One good thing that abideth! 3. BIRD OF THE SEA ROCKS Iphigenia Bird of the sea rocks, of the bursting spray, O halcyon bird, That wheelest crying, crying, on thy way; Who knoweth grief can read the tale of thee: One love long lost, one song for ever heard And wings that sweep the sea. Chorus Sister, I too beside the sea complain, A bird that hath no wing. Oh, for a kind Greek market-place again, For Artemis that healeth womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pain; Here I stand hungering. Iphigenia Give me the little hill above the sea, The palm of Delos fringed delicately, The young sweet laurel and the olive-tree Grey-leaved and glimmering; Chorus O Isle of Leto, Isle of pain and love; The Orbed Water and the spell thereof; Where still the Swan, minstrel of things to be, Doth serve the Muse and sing! Spoken Ah, the old tears, the old and blinding tears I gave God then, When my town fell, and noise was in mine ears Of crashing towers, and forth they guided me Through spears and lifted oars and angry men Out to an unknown sea.

PEV01 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; xii

They bought my flesh with gold, and sore afraid I came to this dark East To serve, in thrall to Agamemnon’s maid, This Huntress Artemis, to whom is paid The blood of no slain beast; Yet all is bloody where I dwell, Ah me! Envying, envying that misery That through all life hath endured changelessly. For hard things borne from birth Make iron of man’s heart, and hurt the less. ‘Tis change that paineth; and the bitterness Of life’s decay when joy hath ceased to be That makes dark all the earth. Chorus Behold, two score and ten there be Rowers that row for thee, And a wild hill air, as if Pan were there, Shall sound on the Argive sea, Piping to set thee free. Or is it the stricken string Of Apollo’s lyre doth sing Joyously, as he guideth thee To Athens, the land of spring; While I wait wearying? Oh, the wind and the oar, When the great sail swells before, With sheets astrain, like a horse on the rein; And on, through the race and roar, She feels for the farther shore. Iphigenia Ah me, To rise upon wings and hold Straight upon the steeps of gold Where the joyous Sun in fire doth run, Till the wings should faint and fold O’er the house that was mine of old: Or watch where the glade below With a marriage dance doth glow, And a child will glide from her mother’s side Out, out, where the dancers flow: As I did, long ago.

PEV01 – xiii

Chorus Oh, battles of gold and rare Raiment and starred hair, And bright veils crossed amid tresses tossed In a dusk of dancing air! Iphigenia O Youth and the days that were! 4. OH, FAIR THE FRUITS OF LETO BLOW Iphigenia Oh, fair the fruits of Leto blow: A Virgin, one, with joyous bow, And one a lord of flashing locks, Wise in the harp, Apollo: She bore them amid the Delian rocks, Hid in a fruited hollow. Chorus But forth she fared from that low reef, Sea-cradle of her joy and grief. A crag she knew more near the skies And lit with wilder water, That leaps with joy of Dionyse: There brought she son and daughter. And there, behold, an ancient Snake, Wine-eyed, bronze-gleaming in the brake Of deep-leaved laurel, ruled the dell, Sent by old Earth from under Strange caves to guard her oracleA thing of fear and wonder. Iphigenia Thou, Phoebus, still a new-born thing, Meet in thy mother’s arms to lie, Didst kill the Snake and crown thee king, In Pytho’s land of prophecy: Thine was the tripod and the chair Of golden truth; and throned there, Hard by the streams of Castaly,

PEV01 – xiv

Beneath the untrodden portal Of Earth’s mid stone there flows from thee Wisdom for all things mortal. Chorus He slew the Snake; he cast, men say, Themis, the child of Earth, away From Pytho and her hallowed stream; Then Earth, in dark derision, Brought forth the Peoples of the Dream And all the tribes of Vision. And men besought them; and from deep Confused underworlds of sleep They showed blind things that erst had been And are and yet shall follow So did avenge that old Earth Queen Her child’s wrong on Apollo. Then swiftly flew that conquering one To Zeus on high, and round the throne Twining a small indignant hand, Prayed him to send redeeming To Pytho from that troublous band Sprung from the darks of dreaming. Iphigenia Zeus laughed to see the babe, I trow, So swift to claim his golden rite; He laughed and bowed his head, in vow To still those voices of the night. And so from out the eyes of men That dark dream-truth was lost again; Chorus And Phoebus, throned where the throng Prays at the golden portal, Again doth shed in sunlit song Hope unto all things mortal. 5. GO FORTH IN BLISS ‘Some women’ – Chorus Go forth in bliss, O ye whose lot God shieldeth, that ye perish not!

PEV01 – xv

‘Others’ – Chorus O great in our dull world of clay, And great in heaven’s undying gleam, Pallas, thy bidding we obey: And bless thee, for mine ears have heard The joy and wonder of a word Beyond my dream, beyond my dream.

PEV01 – xvi

PEV01 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; xvii

Instrumentation Flute Oboe Clarinet in BÏ Bassoon Horn in F Cymbals Harp Mezzo-soprano Chorus (SSA) Strings Transposed Score

PEV01 – xviii

Incidental music to Iphigenia in Tauris

Ralph Vaughan Williams

1. Prelude

Andante sostenuto

Flute

Oboe

Clarinet in B b

Bassoon

b 3 &bb 2 Ó b 3 &bb 2 Ó

3 &b 2 œ œ ˙ f solenne ? b b 32 b œ œ ˙ f solenne

h = 60

4 4

q =q

œ œ ˙

œ œ w.

œ œ ˙

œ œ w.

4 4 4 4 44

Horn in F

32 Ó

Cymbals

32 Ó

b 3 &bb 2 Ó

Harp

Solo

Chorus (SSA)

f œ 44 œœ œ œœ

? b b 32 Ó b b 3 &bb 2 Ó

b 3 &bb 2 Ó

Violin I

Violin II

Viola

Violoncello

Double Bass

f solenne B b b b 32 œ œ ˙ f solenne ? b b 32 b œ œ ˙ f solenne ? b b 32 b œ œ ˙ f solenne

˙˙ ˙

œœœ

˙˙˙ œ œ ˙ ˙˙ ˙

Andante sostenuto

b 3 &bb 2 œ œ ˙ f solenne b 3 &bb 2 œ œ ˙

˙˙˙ œ œ ˙

h = 60

œ œ ˙

œ œ w.

œ œ ˙

œ œ w.

œ œ ˙

œ œ w.

œ œ ˙

œ œ w.

q =q

44 44 44 44

PEV01 – 1

ISMN: 979-0-67452-291-5

Fl.

b &bb

3 2

Ob.

b &bb

3 2

Cl.

3 2

? bb

Cym.

3 2

bbb

? bb

œ œ ˙ f œ œ ˙ f

œœ

œ œœœ

˙˙˙ œ œ ˙ ˙˙ ˙

œœ

œœœ

œœ œ œ œœ œœ œ

œœ œœ œœ œœ

˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙

n www ... w.

n ww .. 32 ww ..

Solo

b &bb

Chor.

b &bb

7 Vn I

b &bb

Vn II

b &bb

B bbb

Vc.

? bb

D.B.

? bb

32 PEV01 – 2

www w ww ww

œ œ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙ f

œ œ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ˙ f

œ œ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ˙ f

œ œ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ˙ f

œ œ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ˙ f

œ œ ˙

œ œ

Ó Ó

Fl.

bbb

A 4 4

3 2

Ob.

b &bb

4 4

3 2

Cl.

4 4

3 2

? bb

4 4

3 2

Cym.

32 ˙˙ ˙˙

œ œ f

œ œ ˙

b œ œ ˙

˙ 44 Œ œ œ ˙˙˙ œ œ f ˙˙˙ 44 œ œ œ Œ œ

b &bb ? bb

Œ œ

œ œœ Œ

˙ œ ˙˙˙ œ œ ˙˙ ˙˙

˙˙˙ ˙ ˙˙ ˙˙

œœ œœ œœ œœ

œœœ œœœ 3 www .... œ œ 2 w œœ œœ

œœ œœ 3 www ... 2 w.

˙˙ ˙˙

Solo

b &bb

Chor.

b &bb

Vn I

b &bb œ œ ˙

A Ó 44

Vn II

b &bb œ œ ˙

B bbb œ œ ˙

Vc.

? bb œ b œ ˙

D.B.

? bb œ b œ ˙

PEV01 – 3

œ œ f œ œ f

œ œ f œ œ f œ œ f œ œ f

Fl.

b &bb

4 4

Ob.

b &bb

4 4

Cl.

& b œ œ ˙.

œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ

œ œ ˙. œ œ ˙.

œ œ ˙

4 œ 4 ˙

? bb œ œ ˙ . b

Cym.

b &bb

44 Ó

? bb

44 Ó

œ œ ˙

œ 44 w

Solo

b &bb

Chor.

b &bb

b œ ˙. &bb œ

21 Vn I

Vn II

b œ ˙. &bb œ

B bbb œ œ ˙ .

Vc.

? bb œ œ ˙ . b

D.B.

? bb œ œ ˙ . b

œ œ ˙ œ œ œ

œ œ ˙.

˙˙˙ ˙ f ˙˙ ˙

œ œ ˙

œ 44 ˙

Ó Ó

œ œ ˙.

œ œ ˙ œ œ œ

œ œ ˙.

œ œ ˙ œ œ œ

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

œ 44 ˙

œ œ ˙

œ 44 w

œ œ ˙.

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙ œ œ œ

PEV01 – 4

œ 44 w

˙˙˙ ˙ ˙˙ ˙

œœœ œ

œœ œœ

œœ œœœ œ

bbb

3 2

Curtain rises

Fl.

Ob.

b &bb

3 2

Cl.

3 2

? bb

Cym.

b w

3 œ œ 2 ˙ f

32 w . f

˙ bb b ˙˙˙ & ? bb

˙˙˙

˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙ ˙

œœœ œ

˙˙ ˙

œœ œœ œœ œœ œ œ œ œ

˙˙ ˙

˙˙ ˙ ˙˙ ˙

32 ˙˙ ˙ ˙ 32 ˙˙

Solo

b &bb

Chor.

b &bb

28 Vn I

Vn II

Vc.

D.B.

bbb

b &bb

B bbb

? bb

b w

? bb

b w

32 ˙ œ œ f 32 ˙ œ œ f 3 ˙ œ œ 2 f 3 œ œ 2 ˙ f 3 œ œ 2 ˙ f

PEV01 – 5

œ œ dim.

dim.

œ œ

dim.

œ œ dim.

œ œ

dim.

œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ

œ œ w

œ œ œ œ

35 Fl.

Ob.

b &bb

Cl.

? bb

Cym.

Solo

Chor.

b œ œ ˙ p

? bb

œ œ ˙

˙ œ

Œ Ó

U w. U

U U

b &bb

bbb

Vn II

b &bb

IPHIGENIA (spoken)

Child of the man of torment and of pride Tantalid Pelops bore a royal bride On flying steeds from Pisa. Thence did spring Atreus: from Atreus, linked king with king, Menelaus, Agamemnon.

b &bb &

D.B.

w. p

Vn I

Vc.

b &bb

molto rall.

bbb

molto rall.

œ œ ˙ p

B bbb œ œ ˙ p ? bb b œ œ ˙ p ? bb b œ œ ˙ p

w. p

œ œ ˙ w.

œ œ ˙

˙ pp

PEV01 – 6

w. w.

w. ppp U w. ppp U w. ppp U w. ppp U w. ppp

2. Dark of the Sea Con moto q = 80

2 &b 4

Oboe

2 &b 4

Clarinet in B b

# & 42

Bassoon

? 2 b 4

Horn in F

& 42

Cymbals

Harp

freely

j œœœ œ œ œ pp 3

j‰ œ œœœ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ. 3

j œ œœœ

U œ œœœ œœ ˙

U U U U

& b 42 ? b 42 & b 42

Chorus (SSA)

2 &b 4

u U U

Con moto q = 80

2 ˙ &b 4 pp

Violin II

Solo

Violin I

Cue: evil dwelleth not in heaven

Flute

& b 42 ˙ pp

Viola

B b 42

Violoncello

? b 42

Double Bass

? b 42

˙ ˙

œ œ

˙ ˙

U ˙

U U U

PEV01 – 7

∑

Fl.

Ob.

Cl.

Cym.

Solo

# j ‰ œ

freely declaimed (not too slow)

& b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 3

Dark of the sea, dark of the sea, gates of the war - ring

∑

C œ b & J

‰

Vn II

j &b œ ‰

Vc.

D.B.

Chor.

j œ ⇥ œr œ œ œ œ œ œ . œ

wat - er, one in the old time con - quered you,

a wing - ed pas - sion that burst the

∑

52 Vn I

PEV01 – 8

59 Fl.

Ob.

&b &

Cym.

Solo

u œ

U 3 œ œ n œ n œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œœ

shut and the dawn lay free to the pain of

Vn II

Vc.

D.B.

In - a - chus' daugh-ter.

U U U U PEV01 – 9

4 4

œ œ œ

&b œ

Slightly slower

n# # 4 4

Vn I

blue, when the West was

Chor.

Cl.

q =q

n n n n n

Slightly slower

44 ˙ . p 44 ˙ p 44 ˙ p

œ ˙.

œ œ ˙

œ œ

44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ p [arco]

44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ p pizz.

rit. in tempo primo

œ œ

œ. œ ˙ J

œ œ

? bb w b

œ œ

œ. œ ˙ J

œ ‰Œ Ó J

œ œ bw

˙˙

œœ œœ

Fl.

œ œ

Ob.

b &bb w

Cl.

&b w

Cym.

486

bbb

? bb

j œ ‰Œ Ó œ ‰Œ Ó J œ ‰Œ Ó J

ff b b ˙˙ ˙˙ b & &

bbb

bless

thee,

for mine

œ œ

for mine

Vn I

bbb w

œ œ

Vn II

b &bb w

œ œ

w B bbb

œ œ

Vc.

? bb w b

œ œ

? bb w b

œ œ

486

D.B.

œ . œJ ˙

œ J ‰Œ Ó

b &bb

bless

œ. œ ˙ J

ffœ . œ . œJ ˙

ears have heard

œ œ œ œ j œ. œ œ œ ˙.

ears have heard

œ œ œ œ j œ. œ œ œ ˙.

ff œ . œJ ˙

œ. œ ˙ J œ. œ ˙ J œ. œ ˙ J j œ. œ ˙ j œ. œ ˙

the joy and won - der of

word

rit. in tempo primo

œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ ˙.

be - yond

œ ˙.

be - yond

œ ˙

Œ œ

œ ˙

Œ œ

œ œ

my dream,

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

œ ˙

œœœ ˙

be -

œœœ ˙

œ œ

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ

œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ

PEV01 – 80

œ ˙

495 Fl.

bbb

b &bb

Cl.

? bb

Cym.

b & b b ˙˙ .. f ˙ ? b b ˙˙ ... b

b & b b ˙.

- yond

Vn I

Vn II

˙ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ. j œ ˙

˙ œ œ ˙

˙ œ œ ff

˙ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

b˙ . ff

˙.

b˙

œœ œ

˙˙ .. ˙˙ ..

˙˙ .. ˙.

˙.

j œ‰

˙.

j œ‰

b & b b ˙.

rit.

b & b b ˙.

495

˙ œ œ ff ˙ œ œ ff

- yond

˙ œ œ ˙

a tempo

Ob.

W1 ˙ œ œ œ œ œ. œ ˙ J

˙ œ œ

rit.

œœ œ

b &bb w

B bbb w

Vc.

? bb ˙ . b

D.B.

? bb ˙ . b

dream.

a tempo

œ ˙

˙ œ œ ˙

˙ œ œ ff

˙ œ œ ˙

˙ œ œ ff

˙ œ œ ˙

˙ œ œ ff

˙ œ œ ˙

˙ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ . œj ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

PEV01 – 81

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più

X1 ˙ œ œ œ œ

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f

œ œ œ œ

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f

b˙ .

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f

œ ˙.

œ ˙

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f

œ œ œ œ œ

X1 ˙ œ œ œ œ

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f ˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f

˙ œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ più f

˙ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

b œ. œ ˙ J &bb

505 Fl.

Ob.

b & b b œ . œj ˙

Cl.

& b œ . œj ˙

? bb

Cym.

j b œ. œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙. mf

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙ mf

n˙ .

˙ f

poco animato

˙.

b &bb ? bb

b &bb

505

bbb

œ . œj ˙

Vn I

Vn II

b & b b œ . œj ˙

j B bbb œ . œ ˙

Vc.

? bb

D.B.

? bb

j b œ. œ ˙ j b œ. œ ˙

poco animato

˙. mf

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙. mf

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

n˙ .

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

œ œ œ œ œ ˙

˙.

˙. mf ˙. mf ˙. mf

œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ PEV01 – 82

514 Fl.

bbb

Y1 ˙

œ œ œ. œ ˙ J ff œ œ œ. œ ˙ J ff œ œ œ. œ ˙ J

Ob.

b ˙ &bb

Cl.

&b ˙

? bb ˙ b

œ œ œ . Jœ ˙

Cym.

œ œ œ œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ œ œ bœ œ

molto rall.

œ œ ˙.

œœœ ˙ œœœ ˙ 3

œ œ œ b˙ 3

œ œ ˙.

U w

fff U w fff U w fff U w fff U w fff

w f

ww ww ff ww w

bbb

? bb

˙˙ ˙˙ ˙˙ ˙

œœ œœ

˙˙˙ ... ˙.

˙˙ .. œœ œœ ˙ . œ œ

U ggg www ggg w ggg fff gg œœ gggg w œ ggg ww u œœ œœ

b &bb

514 Vn I

b ˙ &bb

Y1 ˙ ˙

Vn II

b &bb ˙

˙ B bbb

Vc.

? bb ˙ b

D.B.

œ œ œ. œ ˙ J ff œ œ œ. œ ˙ J œ œ œ. œ ˙ J œ œ œ . Jœ ˙ œ œ œ . Jœ ˙

œ J ‰Œ Ó j œ ‰Œ Ó j œ ‰Œ Ó œ ‰Œ Ó J œ ‰Œ Ó J

clashed

ã &

œ . œj ˙

rall. al fine

molto rall.

rall. al fine

œ œ œ œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

œ œ ˙.

˙ œ œ .

œ œ ˙.

œœœ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

œœœ ˙

œ œ œ œ ˙

œœœ ˙

PEV01 – 83

U w fff U w fff U w fff U w fff U w fff

œœ œœ ‰ Œ Ó J j œœ ‰ Œ Ó œ

j œ ‰Œ Ó j œ ‰Œ Ó j œ ‰Œ Ó œ ‰Œ Ó J œ ‰Œ Ó J

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The Vaughan Williams Collection™ brings together a series of newly-edited editions of his incidental music published by Promethean Editions. Recognised as one of the major musical figures of his time, Ralph Vaughan Williams began his career as a folk song collector, music editor of The English Hymnal and founding conductor of the Leith Hill Festival, and went on to generate a vast musical output that includes song settings, symphonies, chamber music, opera and choral music. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ incidental music for Gilbert Murray’s English translation of Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris is edited and arranged for orchestra by Alan Tongue. Vaughan Williams was brought into the production of three Greek plays by the dancer Isadora Duncan, with the public performance taking place at London’s Royal Court Theatre on Friday 31 May 1912. A preview of the production, appearing in The Globe, remarked of Vaughan Williams’ musical settings: “they are an attempt at something new, and something which is neither German nor French. This music is no experiment in style. It would seem, rather, as though the composer had disclaimed all styles and all schools, and found direct inspiration in the material of the poet’s inspiration, and the result is something of undeniable beauty.”

Ralph Vaughan Williams Iphigenia in Tauris

THE VAUGHAN WILLIAMS COLLECTION™

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of The Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust in the publication of this edition. ISMN 979-0-67452-291-5

Promethean Editions Limited PO Box 10-143 Wellington 6143 www.prometheaneditions.com

Printed in New Zealand • PEV01 • PNY PREPEV01

PEV01

New Zealand

Incidental music to Iphigenia in Tauris

Iphigenia in Tauris by Ralph Vaughan Williams

Articles inside

Introduction