Symphony No. 8 (Vaughan Williams) Symphony No. 8 (Vaughan Williams) Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 8 in D minor was composed between 1953 and 1955. It was the first of his symphonies which Vaughan Williams numbered. Sir John Barbirolli conducted the premiere of the piece on 2 May 1956, with the Hallé Orchestra. The Eighth Symphony is the shortest of Vaughan Williams' nine symphonies, with a typical performance taking just under a half hour, yet it is remarkably inventive, especially in the composer's experiments in sonority. Not only does he use a much-expanded percussion section, including "all the 'phones and 'spiels known to the composer"
A Sea Symphony d | \times 2/3 { cis b a } b8. a16 a4. } \addlyrics { And on its lim- it- less, heav- ing breast } </score> The impact of "A Sea Symphony" manifests itself not only in the life of the composer (his first symphony and first work of such an immense scale), but also in the newfound support and appreciation of the English symphony and 20th century English music in general. Hugh Ottaway's book, "Vaughan Williams Symphonies" presents the following observation in its introduction: In the "Grove" article on Vaughan Williams, Ottaway and Frogley call the work: Ursula Vaughan