Ralph Vaughan Williams was born early enough to grow up listening to Wagner and Brahms. Yet he lived long enough to witness a complete upheaval in the musical world (not to mention both World Wars): the exploration of entirely new tonal systems, led by Arnold Schoenberg; a revolution in the approach to rhythm, triggered by Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring;" and, later, an avant-garde movement, led by composers like John Cage (who studied for two years at Pomona), which called into question what was meant by the word "music" in the first place. Rather than retreat into inactivity, as Finland's Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) did, Vaughan Williams kept writing, completing five of his nine symphonies after the age of seventy. And, although his style did evolve throughout the years, he maintained his distinctive voice. Compositions from any point of his career have the characteristic Vaughan Williams sound: a clear folk influence, traditional tonal and harmonic language with a slight modal tint, and lush, straightforward orchestration.
Toward the end of his life, Vaughan Williams found a market for his works in the film studios, most notably the score for Scott of the Antarctic, music from which the composer would later reorganize into his Seventh Symphony (the "Sinfonia Antartica"). But he is best known for works written relatively early in his career, such as the "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" for string orchestra and "The Lark Ascending" for violin and orchestra, which is heard frequently on programs of light classics. In 1909, Vaughan Williams was asked to write incidental music for a performance of Aristophanes' great satire "The Wasps" at Cambridge. He composed an entire suite, but only a few numbers are heard today, with this overture the best known among them. Full of good spirit and catchy tunes, the overture avoids taking itself too seriously, and clears the air for an evening of serious entertainment.