Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Ivor Gurney
Join Southampton Concert Orchestra in an evening of reflection, beauty, and timeless English music. Starting with the rarely performed A Gloucestershire Rhapsody by Ivor Gurney, whose music captures both the pastoral charm and the poignant yearning of a soul shaped by war and poetry. Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations — a deeply personal masterpiece that transforms portraits of the composer’s friends into one of the most enduring orchestral works ever written. Finally, the concert soars to radiant heights with Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, a luminous meditation on nature and transcendence, where the solo violin rises skyward in song, embodying pure freedom and serenity.
Turner Sims, Southampton
Saturday 28th November 2026 - 7:30pm
Ticket Prices: £19
Under 18s - £15
The Programme
Ivor Gurney
A Gloucestershire Rhapsody
The concert opens with Ivor Gurney’s rarely performed A Gloucestershire Rhapsody, a work that sings with pastoral innocence and quiet emotional sincerity. Gurney, poet, soldier, and composer, poured his love of his native Gloucestershire into music filled with gentle lyricism and heartfelt longing.
Composed in the shadow of the First World War, this rhapsody carries both sunlight and sorrow: a tender evocation of the English countryside, shaped by the reflections of a soul touched by conflict. It is a moving glimpse into a remarkable creative spirit whose voice, though often overlooked, remains deeply affecting.
Edward Elgar
Enigma Variations
Elgar’s Enigma Variations stands as one of the great icons of English music, a warm, affectionate musical portrait gallery in which the composer celebrates his friends and loved ones. Each variation paints a character with vivid musical brushstrokes, from playful humour to noble grandeur, culminating in the majestic finale Nimrod, a timeless meditation on friendship, admiration, and the human spirit.
Full of emotion and proud English character, the work reveals Elgar at his most personal, inviting us into the world behind the music and the people who inspired him.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Lark Ascending
The evening concludes with Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, a piece that has captivated audiences for generations with its stillness, purity and luminous beauty. Inspired by George Meredith’s poem, the solo violin becomes the song of a skylark in open sky, soaring freely above a serene orchestral landscape.
Evoking the gentle contours of the English countryside and the promise of open air and light, this beloved work is an ode to peace and the quiet wonder of nature. Its closing moments, fading into silence, leave us suspended in a moment of tranquillity and uplift.