These are two older hymn melodies that Vaughan Williams arranged for a small orchestra of single winds and strings. The first, Lento sostenuto in G is an arrangement of W.H.Monk's "Eventide". Monk was the editor of the 1861 collection "Hymns Ancient and Modern", for which he composed this deeply felt melody as a setting for the hymn "Abide with me". Vaughan Williams' arrangement opens quietly in a sort of sweet musical haze from which the voice of the oboe emerges with the melody. The high strings join in and later the low strings add a second voice which collaborate to create an enchanting atmosphere that lingers ecstatically. The second, Andante con moto in B flat, is an arrangement of J.B.Dykes' "Dominus regit me", one of some sixty hymns in his collection. Vaughan Williams' version opens with the low strings carrying the theme, soon responded to by the flute. A gentle dialogue ensues and other instruments enter to participate in it. The intensity builds up slightly near the ending, never breaking the peaceful setting, and then fades away.

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1.Eventide in G

As many know, Vaughan Williams had an abiding interest in folk music and wrote many compositions carrying its flavors and exoticism. But he also loved sacred music, despite his agnosticism. For this piece, Vaughan Williams used the theme to W.H. Monk's Eventide (also known as "Abide with me") and fashioned a minor masterpiece. The scoring is for small orchestra, leaving out percussion and most brass. Vaughan Williams wrote both of his hymn-tune preludes for the Hereford Festival.

Eventide, marked Lento sostenuto, begins with the oboe singing the gentle Monk theme. While there is a religiosity to the music, Vaughan Williams also imparts a post-Romantic lushness to his light scoring: strings play muted and luxuriate in sustained consonant sonorities, while wind instruments deliver most of the thematic material in sweetly mellow tones. The music is mesmerizing in its peaceful and soothing manner—just the thing to catch the ear of opportunistic marketers who could sell it as part of a stress-reducing CD or other new-age therapy. Vaughan Williams' treatment of the theme is fairly simple, not having the contrapuntal activity heard in the second hymn-tune prelude Dominus regit me. In sum, this is a lovely, well-crafted arrangement of Monk's Eventide.

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2.Dominus Regit Me in Bb

Vaughan Williams was the son of a minister and exhibited a lifelong interest in sacred music. But, ironically, he was an atheist in his early years, and an agnostic later on. The composer was constantly busy on musical projects, one of which was the editing of a book of hymns, Songs of Praise. J.B. Dykes' Dominus Regit me appeared in that collection, as did the source of the first hymn-tune prelude, Eventide, by W.H. Monk. Vaughan Williams arranged both melodies for small orchestra.

This second hymn-tune prelude, marked Andante con moto, begins with a solo cello playing the serene Dykes theme. Much contrapuntal activity soon surrounds it, first from the flute and later from solo violin and other instruments, which all enrich this otherwise lightly scored piece. There is a Bach-like peacefulness and joy that resonates as the lovely melody flows tranquilly onward. While Vaughan Williams deftly weaves the sprouting thematic lines, he wisely keeps the music simple. The serene and religious mood of the work suited it for Herbert Sumsion's arrangement of it (and Eventide) for organ in 1938. The original scoring by Vaughan Williams, though, is absolutely superior to this well-crafted offshoot and is certainly the best way to hear the music.

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