One of the leading English composers of his generation, Vaughan Williams went some way towards creating a specifically English musical idiom, influenced by his interest in folk-song yet underpinned by a personal vision and language. This is nowhere better expressed than in his superb cycle of Nine Symphonies. The ‘London’ Symphony features a rich medley of thematic material that suggests the varied life of the capital city. The Lark Ascending, which concludes this disc, is one of Vaughan Williams’s most enduringly popular compositions.