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Article: MUSIC IS FOREVER ENGLAND; Ralph Vaughan Williams, (below) who died 40 years ago was the quintesse ntial English composer. But Little Englanders should be wary of claiming him as one of their own, argues Terry Grimley.
- Article from:
- The Birmingham Post (England)
- Article date:
- April 18, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Birmingham Post & Mail Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When a television producer wants to trigger that love of the English countryside which is one of our national characteristics, he or she is likely to reach for a recording of Vaughan Williams's The Lark Ascending .
Juxtapose this lovely music with a lark's-eye view of the English landscape in glorious summer - not just any English landscape, but the undulating patchwork of the South Midlands, say Oxfordshire - and you have heart-stoppingly distilled what for many o f us is still the essence of England.
"Magical" is an overworked word when applied to art, ...