Study Of Vaughan Williams’Orchestra"Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis"

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), who is known as a composer, a conductor and a famous organ player, was one of the most representative English composers in the20th century. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Fantasia Tallis), as his representative work for string orchestra, has using a plain but creative music, artful arrangement and a great English style. This paper does a comprehensive study on Fantasia Tallis through five different aspects. First, through a research of the environment and story of the composition of Fantasia Tallis, the paper gives a more detailed understanding of its social background, composition and revision. Second, the paper analyzes the musical form, the theme and the mode of Fantasia Tallis. Third, the characteristics of the work are studied. Then, the paper generalizes from this work to understand Williams’s musical thoughts. At last, the paper summarizes the value of the work through investigating the historical and aesthetical values.