5 Variants of 'Dives and Lazarus'

Although only a short work lasting about 12 minutes, Five Variants of “Dives and Lazarus”, for string orchestra and harp, is one of the finest products of Vaughan Williams’ interest in English folksong. He composed it in response to a commission from the British Council, for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. During his years as a folk music collector, Vaughan Williams had come across different versions of the song “Dives and Lazarus”. The title Five Variants relates to his assembly of some of these, and also to his individual idea of classical variation technique, which derived from the free-fantasy forms of England’s Tudor composers. After the tune’s extended opening statement, the music proceeds without a break through its sequence of variants. The third of these is beautifully introduced by a solo violin with a flowing harp accompaniment; and the last, with its serene conclusion featuring a solo cello, uses a version of the song that Vaughan Williams had heard in Norfolk in 1905.