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The Lark Ascending

With flourishes of the violin, we imagine the lark rising...
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Sky Lark in flight
© Pete Walkden

In “The Lark Ascending,” composer Ralph Vaughan Williams conjures up a bucolic vision of pastoral England. Small fields, hedgerows, an early summer’s morning. And the display flight of a Eurasian Skylark: Alauda arvensis. The lark — not much bigger than a swallow — has been severely affected by changes in farming practices during the past 40 years. Attempts to preserve its remaining habitat are ongoing. It's strange to think the lark’s display flight may one day exist only in the lines of music written to describe its high, airy patterns.   

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BirdNote®

The Lark Ascending

Written By Dominic Black

This is BirdNote. 

[Music] 

In his piece The Lark Ascending, English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams seemed to conjure up a bucolic vision of pastoral England. Small fields, hedgerows, an early summer's morning. And the display flight of a lark - Alauda arvensis. [Music] 

Vaughan Williams wrote The Lark Ascending in 1914, but only orchestrated it in 1919 after returning from World War I. Its lush orchestration is heavy with nostalgia for a time gone by and a landscape that was disappearing, even then. [Music]

In the flourishes of the violin, we imagine the lark rising almost out of sight against the sky. In reality, the Skylark - not much bigger than a swallow - has been severely affected by changes in farming practices over the past forty years. Attempts to preserve its few remaining areas of habitat are ongoing.

It's strange to think that this imaginary version of an English pastoral scene would come to be the last remaining habitat of the Skylark. And that its display flight may one day exist only in the lines of music written to describe its high, airy patterns.  [Music]

For BirdNote, I'm Mary McCann. 

###

Music from album: Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Vernon Hadley & the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, 2001 EMI
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Dominic Black
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org   April 2018 / 2020   Narrator: Mary McCann

ID #: larkascending-01-2015-04-05 larkascending-01

Dominic Black
Writer
Mary McCann
Narrator
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Tagsbreeding display habitat protection human disturbance music Europe

Related Resources

Learn about “The Lark Ascending” and its popularity in EnglandEurasian Skylark – More at BirdLife International

More About These Birds

Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis)

Alauda arvensis

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Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

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