In Terra Pax: On England’s Green Pastures

In our spring concert, we take you on a journey to “England’s Green Pastures,” where G.F. Handel became—and has remained—so famous and beloved. The distinctive tone colors, harmonies, and rhythmic nuances of four English composers from different periods come together to form a harmonious whole.

We begin with a traditional song about Dives and Lazarus, the biblical parable of poverty, wealth, and justice. This is developed in *Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus* by Ralph Vaughan Williams, the influential English composer who combined classical traditions with folk music and Tudor influences. Although he came from a privileged family (he was a great-nephew of Charles Darwin), he firmly believed that music should be accessible to everyone, not just the elite.

The motifs from this work reappear in *In terra pax*, written by the prematurely deceased Gerald Finzi, who was deeply influenced by Vaughan Williams. Finzi spent much of his life in the Hampshire countryside and described the work as a Christmas landscape where peace reigns on earth. “The Nativity becomes a vision seen by a wanderer in our own familiar landscape,” as Finzi put it. This idea connects naturally with *Dona Nobis Pacem*, written by Vaughan Williams during the interwar period.

We conclude with *Jerusalem*, composed during the First World War by Sir Hubert Parry and now regarded as England’s unofficial national anthem, sung with great enthusiasm during the annual “Last Night of the Proms.” The text, a poem by William Blake from 1804, was added only later. Here too, there is a reference to “our own familiar landscape.” The circle is complete.

**N.B.:** The soloists will be announced at a later date.