Vaughan Williams String Quartets and Phantasy Quintet

Although the name of Vaughan Williams is usually associated with choral and orchestral music, his Phantasy Quintet and two string quartets are significant landmarks in the history of twentieth century British chamber music. Chronologically they cover a span of nearly four decades. The First Quartet was composed in 1908, and the second completed in 1944; the Quintett dates from 1912, and is often unjustly overlooked, hidden amongst the half-dozen masterpieces composed by Vaughan Williams in the years preceding the First World War.