Vaughan Williams conducted the first performance of his great choral symphony on his 38th birthday, October 12, 1910, at the Leeds Music Festival. The work was well received and has been in the symphonic repertoire ever since. The text was taken by the composer from Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass". This digitally restored score, the first available at a reasonable price, is reissued from the one first published by Stainer and Bell of London around 1920. As with all PLP scores a percentage of each sale is donated to the amazing online archive of free music scores and recordings, IMSLP - Petrucci Music Library. Wikipedia article IMSLP page