Flos Campi


Flos Campi: suite for solo viola, small chorus and small orchestra is a composition by the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, completed in 1925. Its title is Latin for "flower of the field". It is neither a concerto nor a choral piece, although it prominently features the viola and a wordless choir. The piece is divided into six movements, played without pause, each headed by a verse from the Song of Solomon:
  1. Sicut Lilium inter spinas
  2. Jam enim hiems transiit
  3. Quaesivi quem diligit anima mea
  4. En lectulum Salomonis
  5. Revertere, revertere Sulamitis!
  6. Pone me ut signaculum
As in his Sinfonia antartica, the quotations are intended to be read by the listener, and are not intended to be part of the performance. The quotations are:
  1. Sicut Lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias... Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis, quia amore langueo.
  2. Jam enim hiems transiit; imber abiit, et recessit; Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra, Tempus putationis advenit; Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra.
  3. Quaesivi quem diligit anima mea; quaesivi illum, et non inveni... 'Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, si inveneritis dilectum meum, ut nuntietis et quia amore langueo'... Quo abiit dilectus tuus, O pulcherrima mulierum? Quo declinavit dilectus tuus? et quaeremus eum tecum.
  4. En lectulum Salomonis sexaginta fortes ambiunt... omnes tenentes gladios, et ad bella doctissimi.
  5. Revertere, revertere Sulamitis! Revertere, revertere ut intueamur te... Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui in calceamentis, filia principis.
  6. Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum.
In addition to the solo viola, the score calls for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, percussion, harp, celesta, and strings. The eight-part chorus should consist of 20 to 26 singers. The work lasts approximately 20 minutes.
The opening bars of the piece, which consist of a duet between the solo viola and the oboe, are well known as a classic example of bitonality.
The first performance of Flos Campi, on 10 October 1925, was conducted by Sir Henry Wood, with the Queen's Hall Orchestra, violist Lionel Tertis, and voices from the Royal College of Music. Initial reactions to the piece were mixed; Gustav Holst, a fellow composer and close friend of Vaughan Williams, said he "couldn't get hold of it", for which he was disappointed more with himself than with the work. Over time, however, it has become an accepted part of the musical canon even if infrequently performed.
In a program note for a 1927 performance, Vaughan Williams admitted that "The title Flos Campi was taken by some to connote an atmosphere of 'buttercups and daisies....'" In reality, the piece is unabashedly sensual and lushly orchestrated, which is quite appropriate considering its subject matter.