the lark ascending

He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound,
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake.

For singing till his heaven fills,
‘Tis love of earth that he instils,
And ever winging up and up,
Our valley is his golden cup
And he the wine which overflows
to lift us with him as he goes.

Till lost on his aerial rings
In light, and then the fancy sings.

the above is an excerpt from the poem “the lark ascending” by english poet george meredith (1828-1909). in 1920, ralph vaughan williams unleashed unto the world a piece for violin solo and piano (later premiered for violin and orchestra in 1921) that is quite possibly one of the most beautiful things i’ve ever heard. i was first introduced to the work in high school when the youth orchestra i was in performed it (the solo played by the then-concertmaster of the arkansas symphony orchestra), and i immediately fell in love with it. if this was the only thing vaughan williams ever wrote, i would consider him a genius. i could go on about how gorgeous and lush the orchestra sounds, playing back and forth with the nimble, fluid arpeggios in the solo violin (the lark), or the beautifully intricate and introspective melodies…but it’s really quite pointless to write words about such a thing. instead, take 15 minutes to stop and listen: here. that’s hilary hahn playing with the london symphony orchestra, so it’s also a ridiculously great recording. and if you don’t like it…well, you may not have a soul, cause i just don’t believe anyone can honestly say anything negative about this masterpiece. i mean, really, it’s amazing. i also wish i was good enough to take on the piece myself…but sadly, i’m not. that’s all i got. listen to it.