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.