Fantasia on "Greensleeves"

Fantasia on “Greensleeves”, for flute, harp and strings, is regarded as one of Vaughan Williams’ evergreen small-scale works; but this version of the English traditional melody was in fact not made by him. Ralph Greaves arranged the Fantasia from the tune’s occurrence in Vaughan Williams’ opera Sir John in Love (1924-28), which was based on Shakespeare’s play The Merry Wives of Windsor. “Greensleeves” dates from the 16th century, and scholars continue to debate whether it was or (more likely) was not composed by King Henry VIII, who was an accomplished musician. The Fantasia begins with a short introduction for flute and harp; then the strings present the famous tune, with the first violins adding a graceful countermelody. The middle section is a set of variations on “Lovely Joan”, which Vaughan Williams had discovered while a folk-song collector; then “Greensleeves” returns to round out the work. Vaughan Williams himself conducted the premiere of the Fantasia in 1934.