No conductor is more closely identified with the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams than Sir Adrian Boult, who twice recorded all the symphonies as well as other major works. His 1949 recording of the powerful Sixth Symphony captures the potent emotions of the work to a far greater degree than did his later EMI stereo recording. A welcome bonus is Boult"s 1950 remake of the driving Scherzo, incorporating the composer"s revisions. A Song of Thanksgiving is an incidental work commissioned by the BBC to celebrate the end of World War II. Despite moments of interest, it is not representative of VW at his best. The Lark Ascending, however, is one of the composer"s most beautiful works, and it"s given a performance of rapt intensity by Boult and violin soloist Jean Pougnet. --Dan Davis