THE LARK ASCENDING

Wendy Mould
Artist : Wendy Mould
Media : Oil on Linen
Size : 34 x 27 ½ (inches)

Price : Withheld

Status : SOLD

The Music

This breath-taking music by English composer Vaughn Williams (1872 – 1958) was inspired by a poem of the same name written in 1881 by George Meredith.  Vaughn Williams began writing The lark Ascending prior to the outbreak of the Great War but he volunteered for military service, joining the Royal Army Medical Corps as a private, and so composing was interrupted and it wasn’t until 1920 that the music finally premiered.  The composer called it a “pastoral romance for orchestra” and to this day it remains one of the most well-loved and iconic pieces of English music.

The Painting

I look forward every year to hearing, and if I’m fortunate, seeing the skylarks near to where I live.  For me, both the music and the birds, epitomise the desire for freedom. I cannot imagine a skylark without also seeing an expanse of wide, open skies.

The figure, equipped with metallic wings, represents the invention of modern aviation and man’s longing for flight.  When Vaugh Williams began composing The Lark Ascending aviation was still very much in the pioneer era, but by the time the music was completed and premiered the dawn of air travel had truly arrived.