Simple yet tricky! FANTASIA ON GREENSLEEVES by Ralph Vaughan Williams (Pianist Duane Hulbert)

Greensleeves is an old English folk song that has been around since at least 1580. The tune is also used for the Christmas hymn "What Child Is This." The English composer Ralph (pronounced "Rafe") Vaughan Williams arranged this melody with 20th Century harmonies. (He first used this piece in his 1929 opera "Sir John in Love" based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.)
Notes from pianist Duane Hulbert: "I've long admired Ralph Vaughan Williams's arrangement of Greensleeves. It starts out in a simple way and also ends simply. The middle, though, is challenging. Here are some things to pay attention to as you listen to this piece.
1) Listen for the rising harp-like arpeggios in the opening measures. (0:02) The familiar Greensleeves melody appears at the Lento moderato marking (0:24), first in the left hand, then in the right hand in the dark key of F minor. An extension of the theme moves to the bright key of A-flat major, first in the left hand at (0:46), then to the right hand at (1:08).
The middle section is the tricky part to play. At (1:29), this section begins a new A minor theme in the left hand bass, accompanied by the right hand tremolo shimmering above. At (1:46), the right hand takes over the melody while the left hand punches out a staccato accompaniment. Yet another variation appears at (2:01), where the right hand sings out the melody and the left hand provides a sharp dotted rhythmic accompaniment played pianissimo .
After a long fermata at (2:21), a short cadenza is heard. At (2:31) the opening arpeggios in F minor return (which is called recapitulation). At (2:52) the Greensleeves theme comes back in the left hand. At (3:37) the melody is heard in the right hand an octave higher, giving it an angelic, heavenly color. The final cadence (3:54) is in the key of F major. This changing from minor to major at the end of a piece (or section) is referred to as the picardy third and here, gives a beautiful surprise ending to this work that up until then has been mostly in the minor key.
This is a rich, warm version of a classical old English tune, arranged by a master. I hope you enjoy it."

If you value classical music, please subscribe to our channel.

Thanks for watching!

Видео Simple yet tricky! FANTASIA ON GREENSLEEVES by Ralph Vaughan Williams (Pianist Duane Hulbert) канала Learn & Love Music