ABSTRACT
The composer's contemporaries to these cinema-inspired concert works, most of this essay will investigate exactly how Vaughan Williams's music interacts with the visual imagery and the dramatic narrative contained in the films he scored. Mathieson recalled recruiting Vaughan Williams as follows: Vaughan Williams eventually wrote his first score, for 49th Parallel, without any apparent training or instruction in the nuances of film composition. Irving was to preserving Vaughan Williams's artistic integrity when the authors look at Scott of the Antarctic. It addressed the larger question of "what we are fighting for" and in so doing very carefully and conscientiously set out the advantages of adhering to democratic ideals'. Part of the 'grandeur of the main theme', as Irving described it, comes from Vaughan Williams's choice to score for a large ensemble, which allowed him to create a dense, rich texture with ease.
