Vaughan Williams' work with the music of his native Britain included the editing of several important books of hymns, most notably The English Hymnal and Songs of Praise. He was particularly attracted to the warm, richly melodic tradition of Welsh hymns, and in 1920 he composed a set of Preludes on Welsh Hymn-Tunes for organ. It has been arranged for string orchestra as well. In 1941 he wrote this highly attractive work, which is really another set of three Welsh hymn-tune preludes; perhaps he gave the work its homely name in order to avoid confusion with the other set.

The title also relates to its intended use, however. It was planned as a practical solution to the problem of making music during a time of war, when neither orchestras nor regular chamber ensembles might be available. Vaughan Williams left the scoring open, suggesting only that one way to play it might be with string quartet and optional horn. It has, however, been done professionally most often with string orchestra. It is a lovely piece, and at 17 minutes in length much more substantial than its too-plain name suggests.

© Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide