Sinfonia antartica ("Antarctic Symphony") is the Italian title given by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams to his seventh Symphony.
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Vaughan Williams provided the music for the film Scott of the Antarctic in 1947, and was so inspired by the subject that he incorporated much of the music into a symphony. The piece was begun in 1949, and composition completed in 1952, with a dedication to Ernest Irving.[1] The first performance took place on January 14, 1953 in Manchester with Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Hallé Orchestra The soprano soloist was Margaret Ritchie. The first American performance was given by Rafael Kubelik and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on April 2, 1953.
The work is scored for a large orchestra including three flutes doubling piccolos, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, four percussionists (playing side drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, gong, bells, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, and wind machine), celesta, harp, piano, organ (used quite startlingly and effectively in a spot towards the end of the third movement) and strings.
There is also a wordless three-part women's chorus and solo soprano, which sing only in the first and last movements.
A typical performance lasts around 45 minutes. There are five movements. The composer specified that the third movement lead directly into the fourth. The score includes a brief literary quotation at the start of each movement. They are sometimes declaimed in performance (and recordings), although the composer did not say that they were intended to form part of a performance of the work.
Occasionally in performance and recordings the preceding quotations are recited before each movement - notably Sir Adrian Boult's first recording for Decca with Sir John Gielgud (supervised by the composer), and Andre Previn's for RCA with Sir Ralph Richardson. However, care must be taken, because the composer instructed that the third movement must lead directly into the fourth without a pause. The final notes of the third movement can be sustained as the superscription to the fourth movement is read, thereby ensuring no interruption to the music. The effect is particularly notable - and presumably intentionally so - since the other four movements each have their superscriptions read prior to the beginning of each movement. The horrific grandeur of the third movement is thereby held over into the bittersweet intermezzo. Previn's recording is the most accurate in this regard.
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