Five Mystical Songs

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) set four poems from George Herbert’s (1593-1633) collection The Temple: Sacred Poems in 1911 to music for solo baritone in a work titled Five Mystical Songs. The solo vocalist has several accompaniment choices: piano; piano and string quintet; wind ensemble; and orchestra with optional SATB chorus. It is the last option that Vaughan Williams selected for the work’s premiere which took place on September 14, 1911, at the Three Choirs Festival in Worcester, with the composer conducting. The five movements are: 1. Easter (from Herbert’s Easter); 2. I Got Me Flowers (from Herbert’s Easter); 3. Love Bade Me Welcome (from Herbert’s Love [III]); 4. The Call (from Herbert’s The Call); and 5. Antiphon (from Herbert’s Antiphon [I]). The final movement can be performed by chorus alone or by the soloist alone, with two version in the score and parts to accommodate the preferred approach.