Elgar's Hillside

[Roasted Swan]

Revisiting more Elgar discs today led to this one;



Another fine disc - very well played and recorded (by Brian Culverhouse) in Henry Wood Hall.  Butt has a fairly broad and opulent approach to this music but it emerges as wonderfully grand.  "In the South" is obviously a fine work and "Froissart" shows so much promise but in some ways the other 2 works had me thinking more today.  They are the Meditation from "Light of Life" and the 1910 "Coronation March".  The former is a genuinely beautiful and heart-felt work.  yes for sure there is more than a whiff of Victorian piety but with that sense of sincerity that Elgar could produce that disarms criticism.

With the Coronation March - it struck me how subtle and skilfull Egar is in these nominally "occasional" marches.  The easy/lazy criticism that these marches "just" embody a kind of Colonial/Imperial arrogance is to fundamentally not understand them.  There is a sense of unease and doubt in just about ALL of Elgar's marches that disarms such criticism.  Apart from "Land of Hope and Glory" (where Elgar hated the words written after he'd written the march) ALL his marches have this quality.  Unlike say Walton - often cited as Elgar's march-heir who literally wrote one march (and a trmendous one it is - Crown Imperial) about ten times!

I suspect people who believe that Elgar's marches asre just jingoistic haven't really listened to them all or at all.......

[Irons]

Inspired by RS post above I decided to stray off the beaten track of Elgar recordings on my shelves.



George Weldon is largely forgotten since his death and not exactly a prolific recording artist during his lifetime.
I enjoyed his Elgar very much. 'Cockaigne' is, as it must be, brisk and dynamic with moments of calm.
The standout track for me 'Chanson de Martin' meltingly beautiful, never heard it better.
Marches are very good as is Serenade for Strings. A most satisfying all-round Elgar recording.   

[Atriod]

I did wonder. Thanks.

The LPO recordings of the first two symphonies were released by Lyrita on CD. Was there a reason Lyrita recorded Symphony 2 twice with the same conductor but a different orchestra?

[Roasted Swan]

The LPO recordings of the first two symphonies were released by Lyrita on CD. Was there a reason Lyrita recorded Symphony 2 twice with the same conductor but a different orchestra?

Not sure sure what you mean.  With Boult Lyrita only recorded the Elgar symphonies once - with the LPO.  One of their earliest recordings.....

[Irons]

The LPO recordings of the first two symphonies were released by Lyrita on CD. Was there a reason Lyrita recorded Symphony 2 twice with the same conductor but a different orchestra?

Not sure sure what you mean.  With Boult Lyrita only recorded the Elgar symphonies once - with the LPO.  One of their earliest recordings.....

Maybe that I mentioned another Boult recording of the 2nd Symphony has caused some confusion.

[Roasted Swan]

Just listened to a disc that ticked several boxes at once in a rather pleasing way;



1) The whole disc is very fine but the coupling of "The Banner of St. George" is enjoyably apt today of all days.
2)  An "In Memoriam" for Andrew Davis - this is exactly the kind of recording he did so well.  Unfamiliar British music directed with zest and enthusiasm and considerable musical insight.  The only other recording was conducted by another great British conductor with very similar qualities - Vernon Handley
3)  Both works on this generously filled disc are "early" (pre-Engima - but not by much) and as a composer he will still be tarred with the brush of Imperial jingoism.  But listening to these made me ponder on the role of a composer within his society.  Surely a successful composer is one who speaks to his audience in a manner that the audience can relate to and understand.  A great composer will push the boundaries (or redefine them) for his age.  In the late Victorian age before composer royalties of "Performing Rights" if a composer could not sell a work to a publisher and by extension an audience/performers he would be very broke.  So why should Elgar - or any composer in a similar position - be criticised or dismissed 125 years later simply for be the sounding board (or mirror - to mix metaphors) for the time in which he lived.  Aspects of the libretti of both works sit slightly uneasily today but for me this does not diminish the skill of the musical setting or the sincerity of the writing.  And to give these works their best chance they need performances of the commitment and zeal they get here.

Hurrah for Elgar and Hurrah for Andrew Davis......