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The best of me...? 

Religion in the life and music of

Elgar and Vaughan Williams  

A Symposium

at the Angel Hotel and the Spread Eagle Hotel, Midhurst,

24^th – 26^th November 2006  

The Programme

Friday 24^th November

   5.00 pm        Assemble and welcome

   7.00 pm        Dinner

   8.30 pm        Discussion: The Christian influences on Elgar and RVW

Saturday 25^th November

   8.15 am         Breakfast

   9.30 am         RVW and the English Hymnal  

                        (Revd. John Calvert, All Saints, Down Ampney)

10.30  am         Coffee                                                       

11.00  am         The Dream of Gerontius   (Diana McVeagh)

12.30  pm        Lunch

  2.00  pm        Mass in G minor and Sancta Civitas   (James Day)

  3.00  pm        The Light of Life and Te Deum & Benedictus  (Geoffrey Hodgkins)

  4.00  pm        Tea

  4.30  pm        Job  (Terry Barfoot)

  5.30  pm        Break

  7.00  pm        Dinner

  8.30  pm        Elgar & Vaughan Williams: 

The impact of religion on their lives and music  (Michael Kennedy)

Sunday 26^th November

   8.15 am         Breakfast

   9.30 am         The Pilgrim’s Progress   (Stephen Connock)

11.00  am         Coffee

11.30  am         The Apostles  (Terry Barfoot)

12.30  pm        Lunch

  2.00  pm        The Kingdom & The Last Judgement   (Andrew Neill)

  3.00  pm        Panel discussion and concluding remarks

  4.00  pm        Tea and depart  

The Venue

The Angel Hotel and the Spread Eagle Hotel are located in the centre of the 

characterful Sussex market town of Midhurst, situated in the beautiful South 

Downs countryside. Delegate accommodation will be located in either hotel. 

The daytime sessions and lunch will take place at the Spread Eagle Hotel, 

while the evening sessions and dinner will be at the Angel Hotel.

Course members will arrive on Friday at 5pm and depart after tea on Sunday. 

The hotels offer an excellent cuisine including dinner with wine every evening. 

Those wishing to stay for an extra night may do so at a special rate.  

The Symposium

This Symposium will explore religion in the life and music of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. 

The event will be led by Terry Barfoot, who writes widely on music for Britain’s leading 

journals, festivals and record companies. Other speakers include Michael Kennedy, 

James Day and Diana McVeagh. The Symposium is jointly sponsored by the 

Elgar Society and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society.  

Both Elgar and Vaughan Williams were brought up in religious households – one 

Roman Catholic and the other Church of England. If Elgar was to move away from 

orthodoxy it may be, as Percy Young suggests, ‘not because he had too little faith but 

because he had too much’. With Gerontius representing Elgar’s greatest religious s

tatement, his oratorios The Kingdom and The Apostles are, perhaps, more central to his 

beliefs. Vaughan Williams, son of the vicar of All Saints Church, Down Ampney and later 

to be editor of the English Hymnal, was also to write music of remarkable spirituality, 

including the Mass in G minor and the oratorio Sancta Civitas, as well as some of the 

best-loved hymns in the English language. Yet both composers’ attitude to religion was 

complex. Ernest Newman, speaking after discussions with Elgar, said ‘he was never 

religious in the everyday use of the term’, while Vaughan Williams described himself as 

an atheist, even if others viewed him as agnostic, or as a ‘Christian agnostic’.

Cost: £295.00 to include all meals, wine, beverages, course fees and accommodation.

Booking: Arts in Residence, 25, Mulberry Lane, Cosham, Portsmouth, PO6 2QU. 

£50.00 per person deposit with booking.

Cheques payable to Arts in Residence.

Enquiries: 02392 383356   Email: info@artsinresidence.co.uk      Website:   www.artsinresidence.co.uk   

This page last updated 31st August 2006

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