Elgar by Reed W. H

Author:Reed, W. H.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
Published: 2013-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

The first suite is dedicated ‘To my friend C. Lee Williams’ (sometime organist of Gloucester Cathedral and conductor of the festival, a composer of distinction principally of church music, and known after his retirement from the active side of musical life in Gloucester as the ‘Father of the Three Choirs’). He also wrote under the opus number 1A in the full score the dates of the music (1869–1907). The second suite is dedicated ‘To Hubert A. Leicester, Worcester’ (the friend of his boyhood already referred to).

On 6th July a further honour, the degree of Hon. M.A., was conferred upon Elgar by the University of Birmingham.

His creative faculty now became very active again. We read in the records of this year that he was writing in August and September themes and short sections, as they came to him, for a symphony and for a violin concerto. He was continually playing over these ‘tunes’ to his friends, leaving off abruptly in the manner which afterwards became so familiar—saying, ‘And then what?’ making an expressive gesture with his hands, his eyes looking a million miles away into the infinite.

On 4th September the Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4 was performed for the first time at the ‘Proms’ at Queen’s Hall, and on the 14th Elgar finished the second suite from The Wand of Youth.

All through the month of October he was thinking more and more about the details of the symphony which was fast taking shape in his mind, but this did not prevent him from writing other things during this process of gestation. He was working at a quartet all day on 27th October and again on 9th November, according to the records.

On 5th November he left England for Rome, staying at Via Gregoriana until the following May (1908), when he returned by sea from Naples. While in Rome he set some verses to music for The Musical Times. This was probably the Christmas Carol (Op. 52) which he wrote to words by his wife and dedicated to the choristers of Hereford Cathedral. This Christmas Carol was issued with the title ‘Christmas Greeting for two sopranos, two violins and piano, words by Alice Elgar.’ He finished this on 2nd December. On the 20th he spent the day working out the details of another choral work, Reveille (Op. 54), the libretto being by Bret Harte.

Among the names of his friends mentioned during this year it is interesting to note those of the celebrated Swedish doctor and author Axel Munthe, also Sgambati, the well-known composer who lived in Rome, and Perosi, the priest and composer, who wrote some oratorios in a style peculiarly his own, creating quite a stir in musical circles at that period.

On Elgar’s return from Rome his Marching Song was given at the Albert Hall on 23rd May, and he wrote another new song, In Memory of a Seer.

The whole of June and July seems to have been given up to the writing of his first Symphony. It is very evident

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