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Ralph Vaughan Williams

1872 - 1958 Person Name: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958 Composer of "THE CALL" in Psalms for All Seasons Through his composing, conducting, collecting, editing, and teaching, Ralph Vaughan Williams (b. Down Ampney, Gloucestershire, England, October 12, 1872; d. Westminster, London, England, August 26, 1958) became the chief figure in the realm of English music and church music in the first half of the twentieth century. His education included instruction at the Royal College of Music in London and Trinity College, Cambridge, as well as additional studies in Berlin and Paris. During World War I he served in the army medical corps in France. Vaughan Williams taught music at the Royal College of Music (1920-1940), conducted the Bach Choir in London (1920-1927), and directed the Leith Hill Music Festival in Dorking (1905-1953). A major influence in his life was the English folk song. A knowledgeable collector of folk songs, he was also a member of the Folksong Society and a supporter of the English Folk Dance Society. Vaughan Williams wrote various articles and books, including National Music (1935), and composed numerous arrangements of folk songs; many of his compositions show the impact of folk rhythms and melodic modes. His original compositions cover nearly all musical genres, from orchestral symphonies and concertos to choral works, from songs to operas, and from chamber music to music for films. Vaughan Williams's church music includes anthems; choral-orchestral works, such as Magnificat (1932), Dona Nobis Pacem (1936), and Hodie (1953); and hymn tune settings for organ. But most important to the history of hymnody, he was music editor of the most influential British hymnal at the beginning of the twentieth century, The English Hymnal (1906), and coeditor (with Martin Shaw) of Songs of Praise (1925, 1931) and the Oxford Book of Carols (1928). Bert Polman

Emma Turl

Author of "Up to You I Lift My Eyes" in Psalms for All Seasons Emma Turl lives in Essex. After studying English language and literature and completing teacher-training in Oxford, she spent 12 years in Africa - first in Uganda and then in Ghana with her husband, John, initially teaching and later staying at home to look after their two growing children. She had gradually become blind at an early age and has additional disabilities. She enjoys a variety of activities including playing saxophone in a small band at her local church. Emma's interest in the psalms was awakened through singing them in traditional worship as a child, and this led to exploring ways of expressing them in present-day language. Since then she has been increasingly struck by their relevance to life and faith. Time to Celebrate, a collection of hymns and Bible lyrics, was published in 1999 with some of its items set to music by her friend Gill Berry and others by John Turl. Lyrics of hers also appeared in Praise! (2000) and Come Celebrate (2009). A selection of these (at times radically revised) is among her lyrics published on this website, and others can be found at Praise! (together with Gill Berry's music) and Hymmetry. Used by permission of Emma Turl, from www.jubilate.co.uk