''Flos Campi'': suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, 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 The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

and a wordless

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

. The piece is divided into six movements, played without pause, each headed by a verse from the Song of Solomon: #''Sicut Lilium inter spinas'' (Lento) #''Jam enim hiems transiit'' (Andante con moto - quarter note = 104) #''Quaesivi quem diligit anima mea'' (Lento - Allegro moderato) #''En lectulum Salomonis'' (Moderato alla marcia - quarter note = 90) #''Revertere, revertere Sulamitis!'' (Andante quasi lento) #''Pone me ut signaculum'' (Moderato tranquillo) As in his ''

Sinfonia antartica ''Sinfonia antartica'' ("Antarctic Symphony") is the Italian title given by Ralph Vaughan Williams to his seventh symphony, first performed in 1953. It drew on incidental music the composer had written for the 1948 film ''Scott of the Antarctic' ...

'', 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 pruning has come, and the voice of the turtle dove 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 alanquin 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 The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

(doubling

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

( bass drum,

tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galilee ...

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

s, and

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

, and strings (not to number more than: 6 first

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s, 6 second violins, 4

s, 4

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s, and 2

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

es). The eight-part

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

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 Polytonality (also polyharmony) is the musical use of more than one key simultaneously. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time. Polyvalence or polyvalency is the use of more than one harmonic function, from the same key, a ...

. The first performance of ''Flos Campi'', on 10 October 1925, was conducted by

Sir Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

, with the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...

Orchestra, violist

Lionel Tertis Lionel Tertis, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame and a noted teacher. Career Tertis was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Polish-Jewish immigra ...

(the dedicatee), and voices from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. Initial reactions to the piece were mixed;

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

, 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....'"quoted in ''ibid'', p. 107 In reality, the piece is unabashedly sensual and lushly orchestrated, which is quite appropriate considering its subject matter.

References

External links

British Choirs Programme Notes
{{Authority control Compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams Compositions for viola and orchestra Choral compositions 1925 compositions