Ralph Vaughan Williams Letter

I wrote this to the Editor of RVW Society Magazine in the first rush of enthusiasm for the DVD: "O Thou Transcendent" produced by Tony Palmer. I have since had more reservations.......I don't much care for his "Ken Russel" type superficial approach which seems more blantant on more viewings . But the contributions of those who knew RVW well are invaluable and moving, and the music is fine.

Dear Editor,

“O Thou Transcendent”

I ordered my copy of the Tony Palmer DVD as soon as it became available, and waited eagerly for it to arrive. When it finally came, I loaded it into my computer immediately. After a struggle to get out of the introductory loop which endlessly repeated the first few bars of the Sea Symphony ( I’m now very familiar with those bars), I was finally able, after much clicking of the mouse, to progress into the main film. I was not disappointed. It was everything I had hoped for. How marvelous to get all that splendid testimony from those who were closest to RVW! How wonderful to hear those consistently excellent performances of his music! Palmer is to be congratulated for assembling all these elements to produce such a rounded portrait of the composer. Perhaps he lingers a little on the dark side, but his expressed intention is to move beyond the image of cuddly old “Uncle Ralph” and he has certainly achieved that purpose. However, the grim images of war in the trenches, etc, are tempered by the light in other places and the obvious deep affection shown by all those who knew the composer. I found myself close to tears at several points, most notably at the noble image of Adrian Boult conducting the Romanza from the 5th Symphony. Absolutely no histrionics. Surely, of all conductors, Boult remains the one most perfectly suited to perform Vaughan Williams’ music.

I think Palmer also gets the disputed question of RVW’s religious views exactly right. He ses him as a lifelong pilgrim who had looked into the abyss and preserved some hope but also plenty of doubt. The Archbishop of Canterbury, surely an authority on the subject, appears in the film to say: “Vaughan Williams wouldn’t have thanked us for pretending he was an orthodox believer. He recognized that the English music tradition couldn’t be understood without the Christian Church in it, and also that religious music articulated things that couldn’t be understood anywhere else”. I hope this will finally silence those who persist in seeing the composer as some sort of closet Christian, but I doubt it.

Nothing’s perfect, and I have a few small gripes. Although the music is splendid, Palmer’s choice of it to illustrate certain actions seems to me to have an unwelcome touch of Ken Russell, particularly in the more intimate scenes. I would have liked to have had fewer repeats, making way for music that wasn’t included. Why wasn’t the Pastoral Symphony used to accompany some of the war scenes? Why not also include the Piano Concerto, a much underrated work? Biggest gripe of all: the person chosen to speak RVW’s own words had a rather smug intonation that is totally uncharacteristic.

But having got those off my chest, this is truly something to treasure; a penetrating portrait of RVW the human being, by those who knew and loved him, accompanied by
some of the music that we love, that never fails to take us beyond ourselves. The best Christmas present I’ve ever received. Thank you, Tony Palmer.

Michael Farman
Palestine, Texas.

Sowing a seed

One of the greatest pleasures a writer can have is when one of his/her works triggers the imagination of another. I was lucky enough to have this happen with my translation from the Chinese of Qin Guan's lyric for: "Partridge Sky". Qin wrote this after he had been banished from his post as a government official and went into exile in the countryside. I ashould add that he had a reputation as a womanizer.

Here is my translation, published in the 2002 issue of "Rhino":

To the Tune: “Partridge Sky” Qin Guan

the treetop cadence of an oriole
has me in tears
there’s a new note there
among the old notes

throughout the spring
fish and geese have brought no news
in dreams my spirit labored
endless miles across the mountain pass

lifting the fragrant cup in silence
I bear this sorrow through the sunset
while my lamplight burns the river bank

I close the door on rain
pounding into peach-tree blossoms

This evoked the following response from Susan Baller Shepard, a splendidly witty villanelle:

“Northern Song”
by Susan Baller Shepard

Homage to Qin Guan's "Partridge Sky" as translated by Mike Farman (RHINO 2002)

There's a new note there among the old notes,
Qin Guan's in exile, life torn asunder.
Geese harbingers honk news from slender throats,

the emperor is not amused, he gloat
spoetry, to him, a fruitless blunder.
There's a new note there. Among the old notes,

Qin Guan lost favor, his words live in quotes.
How I lost your favor? Still I ponder...
geese. Harbingers honk news from slender throats

along the Pearl River. He'd watch the boats,
Jiangsu to Guangdong, all over yonder.
There's a new note. There among the old notes

you say, "I'm not done sowing my wild oats.
"I say, "This passion aches. No wonder!"
Geese harbingers honk news. From slender throats

our desire, heavy-laden, rises and floats.
What strikes, sinks us, with echoing thunder--
there's a new note there? Among the old notes
geese harbingers honk? News? From slender throats?