Job: A Masque for Dancing is a one-act ballet produced in 1931. The scenario is by Geoffrey Keynes, the choreography by Ninette de Valois, and the music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The ballet is based on the Book of Job from the Hebrew Bible and was inspired by the illustrated edition by William Blake. The music was first given in concert in 1930 and the ballet had its stage premiere on 5 July 1931. It was the first ballet to be produced by an entirely British creative team. It was taken into the repertoire of the Vic-Wells Ballet and its successors, and has been intermittently revived.
Vaughan Williams dedicated the score to the conductor Adrian Boult in 1934, after learning that at Boult's instigation the Bach Choir had raised funds towards the engraving of the full orchestra score of Job. Boult made four commercial recordings of the work – with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (issued 1946), the London Philharmonic Orchestra (1954 and 1966), and the London Symphony Orchestra (1971).
The ballet comprises nine scenes, loosely based upon the sequence of Blake's illustrations and each including in the synopsis a quotation from the Bible. Vaughan Williams headed his score with 18 section headings.
- Scene I: "Saraband of the Sons of God" ("Hast thou considered my servant Job?")
- Introduction
- Pastoral Dance
- Satan's Appeal to God
- Saraband of the Sons of God
- Scene II: "Satan's Dance of Triumph" ("So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.")
- Satan's Dance
- Scene III: "Minuet of the Sons of Job and Their Wives" ("There came a great wind and smote the four corners of the house and it fell upon the young men and they are dead.")
- Minuet of the Sons and Daughters of Job
- Scene IV: "Job's Dream" ("In thoughts from the visions of the night ... fear came upon me and trembling.")
- Job's Dream
- Dance of Plague, Pestilence, Famine and Battle
- Scene V: "Dance of the Three Messengers" ("There came a messenger.")
- Dance of the Messengers
- Scene VI: "Dance of Job's Comforters" ("Behold happy is the man whom God correcteth.")
- Dance of Job's Comforters
- Job's Curse
- A Vision of Satan
- Scene VII: "Elihu's Dance of Youth and Beauty" ("Ye are old and I am very young.")
- Elihu's Dance of Youth and Beauty
- Pavane of the Heavenly Host
- Scene VIII: "Pavane of the Sons of the Morning" ("All the Sons of God shouted for joy.")
- Galliard of the Sons of the Morning
- Altar Dance and Heavenly Pavane
- Scene IX: "Epilogue" ("So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.")
- Difficulty:
- Advanced
- Instrumentation:
- 3Fl1dPicc&AltoFl, 2Ob, CA, 2Cl +1Cl ad lib, BCl, AltSax, 2Bsn, Cbsn, 4Hn, 3Tpt, 3Tbn, Tba, Timp, Perc(3), 2Hp,Org, Strings
- Instrumentation special notes:
- These instruments are ad lib: Alto Fl, 2nd Ob, 3rd Cl, BCl, AltSax, Cbsn, 3rdTpt, 2nd Hp, Organ, most of the percussion
- Duration:
- ca. 45 minutes
- Set of Parts:
- Includes Strings count 5.5.4.4.3
- Extra Strings:
- Only available with the purchase of the Set of Parts