Ralph Vaughan Williams

With the majority of classical composers hailing from countries like Germany, France and Italy, it's oftentimes rare to stumble across a great that called England home. The British tend to be a people that thrive on things that are ritualistically familiar, and these ideals rarely translate into boundary-pushing classical music. One composer who was able to break this mold was the 20th century English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. His integration of folk music from the British isles into properly arranged symphonic and chamber music helped bring to light a style of music that's well thought of and characteristically English.