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Tonight we begin with Vaughan William’s Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis, followed by Tallis’s setting of Te lucis ante terminum (To Thee before the close of day): two composers at the heart of English hymn creation. Elgar’s Prelude to the Dream of Gerontius, from the work that contemplates the end of life, recognises one of the great concerts of the 20th century. On 6th September 1910 in Gloucester Cathedral, Vaughan Williams conducted the first performance of his Tallis Fantasia in the same concert that included Elgar conducting The Dream of Gerontius. Britten’s setting of the Lincolnshire Poacher, and Richard Miller’s setting of The Leaving of Liverpool pay homage to Vaughan Williams’ prodigious settings of folk-song, and leaving Liverpool we cross the sea to the Isle of Man and the traditional Manx tune, Mylecharaine's March, the Isle of Man being one of the many places in the UK that folk-song collectors visited, so inspiring Vaughan Williams.

Producer: Richard Denison