Vaughan Williams | Romance & Pastorale (Violin & Piano)

These two brief, lyrical pieces were first published in 1923, but it is probable that they were written before 1914. Several works in this style, such as The Lark Ascending  and Hugh the Drover, composed in the years just before the First World War, were held over by Vaughan Williams until he was demobilised from the army. The two pieces are dedicated to 'D.M.L.' (the initials of Dorothy Longman, née Fletcher), wife of the publisher Robert Longman and an accomplished violinist. She was introduced to her future husband in 1912 by Vaughan Williams when she played in outdoor performances of plays based on folk-songs at the composer's family home, Leith Hill Place. These pieces may be memories of those occasions.