🤓 For The John Powell Fans...

This track was on repeat when I first heard it. 🔄

Vaughan Williams’ “Five Variants of ‘Dives and Lazarus’” is a gorgeous example of effective string writing, and to me, is highly reminiscent of some of Powell’s work in ‘How to Train Your Dragon’:

One of the things that strikes me about this piece is how Williams distributes the melody and harmony in the opening.

Violins 1 and 2 carry the melody alone, Viola plays two-part harmony in divisi, Cello carries 1/2 melody and 1/2 two-part harmony, and Bass alternates between pizzicato and arco for emphasis.

It’s a beautiful example of taking a simple idea and orchestrating it with grace.

The above video has score included, but I was so in love with this piece that I got the physical score—attaching that below for my fellow book lovers 📚

​https://amzn.to/3orXHdP​

💡 Challenge: Make a piano reduction of any 4-8 measures in this piece. Note how complex Williams’ score looks on paper, but how simple the arrangement actually is when reduced.