Hardback-Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 8 for Orchestra. Full score. Orchestration: 2 fl 2 ob 2 cl 2 bn(opt 3rd) 2 hn 2 tpt 3 tbn timp 4 perc [opt 5th] 2 hp cel str. Vaughan Williams wrote Symphony No. 8 between 1953 and 1955 while in his eighties. It is his shortest symphony and considered by many to be his least serious. Aside from a few sombre moments the symphony is optimistic in mood and displays Vaughan Williams' love for exotic and colourful combinations of instruments with a percussion section that he said employs 'all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer'. Forthis newly engraved edition editor David Lloyd-Jones has consulted all extant sources and materials to create a score matching the composer's intentions. The full score is completed with Textual Notes and Preface and accompanying orchestral parts are available on hire.
