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"
Symphony No. 8 (Vaughan Williams) c' { \clef bass \key c \minor \time 2/4 \tempo "Allegro all marcia" 4 = 108 \partial 4*1 g8-.\f des16( f) | c8-. g'-. c,-. g'-. | c,16( des ees f ges aes bes ces | bes ces bes aes c8) } </score> 3. Cavatina (for bowed strings only) (in E minor) – This movement, in a five-part rondo form, has a meditative character and includes important solo passages for violin and cello. The main theme bears a clear resemblance, which Vaughan Williams acknowledged, to the "Passion" chorale (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded) that Bach used several times in the