Bucolic Songs

I’ve always been fascinated with Vaughan Williams’ music; everything from his symphonies and his wind band pieces to Lark Ascending and Six Studies in English Folk Song have been some of my largest influences as a composer. So in an effort to learn more about these amazing pieces, I wrote Bucolic Songs to better understand the style of Vaughan Williams. While it is not a facsimile of Vaughan William’s style, I hope it captures some of the essence of his works.

The opening Bucolic Songs itself is inspired by Lark Ascending with the violin solo that floats atop a rich background in the other instruments. Later in the piece, a more march-like section approaches which itself is reminiscent of the march of English Folk Song Suite. The other portions of the piece are all based on melodies that could potentially be folk songs themselves to allude to Vaughan Williams’ prevalent use of folk tunes in his works.

The title "Bucolic Songs" refers to the landscape I kept thinking of while writing this piece: the countryside. Folk songs are generally associated with more pastoral and country settings which is why I believe the title fits the piece well. Overall, I had lots of fun writing this piece and I hope many will find it enjoyable to listen to.