Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) was an English composer, one of the chief creators of the 20th-century English musical revival. He set himself the goal of reviving a national musical style by turning to forgotten treasures — old English folk song and the music of the Elizabethan age.
The composer personally collected and notated folk melodies in the villages, and it is these that nourish his work. Among his most famous pieces are the pastoral poem for violin and orchestra “The Lark Ascending,” the “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” and nine symphonies. His music combines lyrical contemplation, a deep love of the native land, and noble simplicity. Ralph Vaughan Williams became for English music what Smetana was for Czech — the founder of a modern national school.
