ABSTRACT
Vaughan Williams was, however, far too great an artist to be reduced to simple formulae, and his relationship with nature was much more complex. The story of Scott's doomed expedition provided the inspiration for music that vividly portrays one man's heroic (but futile) attempts to wrest glory from nature. The examination of Riders to the Sea, with particular emphasis on the advanced harmonic idiom that lies at the heart of the work's disturbing affective power. Vaughan Williams deletes the second statement, thereby excluding any chance for parallel phrasing in the music. Before pursuing the octatonic connection further, let us recapitulate the main features of this opening, perhaps the most remarkable 44 measures of music composed by Vaughan Williams. The suggestion of an 'amateurish technique' (which Vaughan Williams once imputed to his early work) and reveals that he was fully in command of a wide range of harmonic resources when it suited his aesthetic purposes.
