This eight movement work is divided into three groups of movements: Group I comprises a Prelude, Carol, and Christmas Dance; Group II a Ballad and Moto perpetuo; and Group III a Musette, Polka mâelancolique, and Galop. It was composed in 1934 for the great viola player Lionel Tetris, for whom the composer had written Flos Campi almost a decade earlier. Vaughan Williams's trademark pastoral lyricism is punctuated by passages of spirited virtuosity, skilfully exhibiting the abilities of both the instrument and the player. The work is available with accompaniment for either small orchestra or piano.

Ralph Vaughan Williams, born in Gloucestershire on 12 October 1872, read History at Cambridge and went to the Royal College of Music where his teachers were Parry, Wood, and Stanford. Vaughan Williams believed in the value of music education and wrote practical competition pieces, serviceable church music, and with the 49th Parallel (1940-41) he found a new outlet in writing for film. His profoundly disturbing Symphony No.6 (1948) received international acclaim with more than a hundred performances in a little over two years. His great sensitivity to the 20th-century human condition, his flexibility in writing for all levels of music making, and his unquestionably great imagination combine to make him one of the key figures in 20th century music. Ralph Vaughan Williams had a long association with Oxford University Press; over 200 publications are available in the Oxford catalogue.