Sinfonia antartica ("Antarctic Symphony") is the Italian title given by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams to his seventh symphony.
Contents
History
Vaughan Williams provided the music for the film Scott of the Antarctic in 1947, and was so inspired by the subject that he incorporated much of the music into a symphony. The piece was begun in 1949, and composition completed in 1952, with a dedication to Ernest Irving. The first performance took place on 14 January 1953 in Manchester with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé Orchestra; the soprano soloist was Margaret Ritchie. The first American performance was given by Rafael Kubelík and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on 2 April 1953.
Mechanics of the composition
A typical performance lasts around 45 minutes. There are five movements. The composer specified that the third movement lead directly into the fourth. The score includes a brief literary quotation at the start of each movement. They are sometimes declaimed in performance (and recordings), although the composer did not say that they were intended to form part of a performance of the work.
1. Prelude: Andante maestoso (quotation from Shelley, Prometheus Unbound)
2. Scherzo: Moderato (quotation from Psalm 104, Verse 26)
3. Landscape: Lento (quotation from Coleridge, Hymn before Sunrise, in the vale of Chamouni)
4. Intermezzo: Andante sostenuto (quotation from Donne, The Sun Rising)
5. Epilogue: Alla marcia, moderato (non troppo allegro) (quotation from Captain Scott's Last Journal)
Occasionally in performance and recordings the preceding quotations are recited before each movement - notably Sir Adrian Boult's first recording for Decca with Sir John Gielgud (supervised by the composer) in 1954, and André Previn's for RCA with Sir Ralph Richardson. However, care must be taken, because the composer instructed that the third movement must lead directly into the fourth without a pause. The final notes of the third movement can be sustained as the superscription to the fourth movement is read, thereby ensuring no interruption to the music. The effect is particularly notable - and presumably intentionally so - since the other four movements each have their superscriptions read prior to the beginning of each movement. The horrific grandeur of the third movement is thereby held over into the bittersweet intermezzo. Previn's recording is the most accurate in this regard. The quotations were not recited at the premiere, at which Vaughan Williams was present, or in the subsequent recording made by the same forces.