Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus

Composer: VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, Ralph
  • Written in 1929, Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus is a work for harp and strings comprising an introduction and theme, plus five variants.
    • The piece was written for the 1939 New York Worlds Fair and premiered at Carnegie Hall, performed by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Sir Adrian Boult.1
  • The theme is based on the folksong, “Dives and Lazarus.” Vaughan Williams said the following about the song:
    • “I had the sense of recognition—here’s something which I have known all my life, only I didn’t know it!”
    • The composer also noted that the five variants are “not exact replicas of traditional tunes but rather reminiscences of various versions in my own collection and those of others.”2
  • The story of the folksong, “Dives and Lazarus,” is based on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke.

Sources

  1. “5 Variants of ‘Dives and Lazarus’ (Vaughan Williams, Ralph),” IMSLP, accessed February 18, 2025, https://imslp.org/wiki/5_Variants_of_%E2%80%98Dives_and_Lazarus%E2%80%99_(Vaughan_Williams%2C_Ralph).
  2. Michael Kennedy, Notes in accompanying booklet, Vaughan Williams: Pastoral Symphony & other works performed by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder, Hallé 7540, 2014, compact disc.

Cut IDs

17735 41481 43545 43719