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 (Lento)
2. Jam enim hiems transiit (Andante con moto - quarter note = 104)
3. Quaesivi quem diligit anima mea (Lento - Allegro moderato)
4. En lectulum Salomonis (Moderato alla marcia - quarter note = 90)
5. Revertere, revertere Sulamitis! (Andante quasi lento)
6. Pone me ut signaculum (Moderato tranquillo)
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.
- Difficulty:
- Advanced
- Instrumentation:
- Solo Vla, Fl d.Picc, Ob, Cl, Bsn, Hn, Tpt, Hp, Cel., Perc(2), Strings, Chorus SATB
- Duration:
- 18-21 minutes
- Set of Parts:
- Includes Strings count 4.4.3.3.2, Solo Viola part is included.
- Vocal Score (Set of 4):
- 4x Vocal Scores, only available with the purchase of the Set of Parts