RVW Society launches The Larks Ascending project

The RVW Society is rounding off its celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ birthday with the launch of a new project. The Larks Ascending project aims to create a new archive of recordings of Skylarks with the aim of inspiring composers to create new works based on the birdsong.

For this new project the society will join forces with the Wildlife Sound Recording Society (WSRS) and the British Library's Wildlife and Environmental Sounds collection to gather examples of Skylark song from across the world which will be made available through the Library to researchers, musicians and the public. 

British violinist Tasmin Little endorses the project, she said: ‘As someone who has experienced the joy of performing Vaughan Williams’ famous piece, The Lark Ascending, and its deep effects upon audiences, I hope that this brand-new archive will be a way to inspire the creation of new compositions to complement the existing repertoire.’

The project aims to reflect the rich variety in Skylark calls and explore how each birdsong relates to factors such as location, weather and time of year. The project also aims to raise awareness of the dramatic decline in Skylark numbers over the past fifty years, and of continuing threats to animal life in the British countryside.

RVW Society chairman Simon Coombs said: ‘The officers and trustees of the RVW Society offer their whole-hearted support for the Larks Ascending project and look forward with lively interest to its further development and successful conclusion. Great Britain's most popular piece of classical music, The Lark Ascending, can rarely have sheltered a more imaginative or inspiring project under its wing!’

WSRS members and members of the public are invited to make recordings of Skylark throughout the spring and summer. Potential contributors can contact the RVW Society (at gardengreen333@yahoo.co.uk) or the WSRS (at secretary@wildlife-sound.org) for more information about how to get involved.