The Wasps (Vaughan Williams) 3668803 221088154 2008-06-23T00:25:29Z AlbertHerring 753665 cats '''''The Wasps''''' is a suite for orchestra composed by the prominent British composer [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] in [[1909]]. It originally premièred as incidental music for a production of [[Aristophanes]]' ''[[The Wasps]]'' at [[Trinity College, Cambridge]]. The overture continues to be a popular concert piece today. The suite is in five parts: # Overture # Entr'acte # March past of the kitchen utensils # Entr'acte # Ballet and final tableau The year before he wrote ''The Wasps'', Vaughan Williams spent three months in Paris studying orchestration with [[Maurice Ravel]]. Although ''The Wasps'' may reflect something of Ravel, it is quintessential Vaughan Williams. Except for the opening buzzing, the piece has little to do with wasps or with ancient Greece. ''The Wasps'' was Vaughan Williams' first foray into [[incidental music]]. ==External links== *[http://www.musicweb-international.com/Programme_Notes/rvw_wasps.htm Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - Overture: ''The Wasps''], a concise essay on MusicWeb International *[http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Apr06/Vaughan_Williams_The_Wasps_CDHLD7510.htm First complete recording of ''The Wasps''], reviewed by MusicWeb International (Hallé HLD7510) *[http://www.rvwsociety.com/worksfilm.html List of Works - plays, radio and film], with notations by the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society {{DEFAULTSORTS:Wasps, The}} [[Category:1909 works]] [[Category:Compositions by Ralph Vaughan Williams]]