Who composed the musical work "The Lark Ascending"?

Completed in 1914, but not performed in public until 1920, "The Lark Ascending" is a short musical work by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). It was originally conceived as a piece just for violin and piano, but there is also an orchestral version. Vaughan Williams himself termed it "A Romance".

Although it is without words, it takes its inspiration from a poem of the same name by George Meredith (1828-1909). According to the recollections of the composer's wife, although this was the source material, he aimed to make the soaring notes of the violin, rather than rigid reference to the lyrics of the poem represent the haunting and ethereal song of the lark.

From its first performance it has remained a firm favourite with the public, whether in the concert hall or through broadcasts, and most of the world's famous violinists have lent their art to the song of the lark, including Pinchas Zukerman, Tamsin Little, and Nigel Kennedy.