Elgar's Hillside

[Hattoff]

Yes, The Spirit of England is my favourite Elgar work. It is unbelievably beautiful and very moving. Even a lot of Elgarians don't know it well but they should 

[71 dB]

The Spirit of England is by Elgar and what a remarkable piece. Is anyone else familiar with it?

It is a great work indeed. The only version I have is Lott/Hickox on EMI. Time to get Alexander Gibson?

[Mirror Image]

Just bought:

[asin]B000PGTIBQ[/asin]

I've heard these were definitive performances of these two symphonies. I have a composer friend who's big into Elgar who directed me towards these recordings. I generally like Boult, so it should be good. Anybody else own this? Any thoughts?

[eyeresist]

I still fume when I think of how Boult wasn't allowed to move the second violins to the right side of the orchestra. Bloody philistines.

[Mirror Image]

I still fume when I think of how Boult wasn't allowed to move the second violins to the right side of the orchestra. Bloody philistines.

But how are the performances?

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

But how are the performances?

The performances are, of course, good. I marginally prefer Boult's EMI recordings, though. His Lyrita readings sound drier to these ears.

[Mirror Image]

The performances are, of course, good. I marginally prefer Boult's EMI recordings, though. His Lyrita readings sound drier to these ears.

I'll probably end up getting the EMI recordings as well. Why not? I think Elgar deserves a fair shake from time to time.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I'll probably end up getting the EMI recordings as well. Why not? I think Elgar deserves a fair shake from time to time.

He does. The final movement of the First and the middle movements of the Second are my favourites. If a conductor gets those right (to me), I consider it a good performance. If I get lifted from my seat, it is a great performance. Colin Davis is superb in the First, Boult terrific in his EMI Second. I don't know Solti's interpretation, alas. But that will change.

[Scarpia]

He does. The final movement of the First and the middle movements of the Second are my favourites. If a conductor gets those right (to me), I consider it a good performance. If I get lifted from my seat, it is a great performance. Colin Davis is superb in the First, Boult terrific in his EMI Second. I don't know Solti's interpretation, alas. But that will change.

Not all change is good...

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Not all change is good...

I can only know that retrospectively. So we'll see. 

[Scarpia]

I can only know that retrospectively. So we'll see. 

What has been heard cannot be un-heard.   

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

What has been heard cannot be un-heard.   

That's true.  Still, I'll risk it.

[drogulus]

I finally listened to this Elgar piece for the first time:
[asin]B000JLPNO8[/asin]
The Spirit of England is by Elgar and what a remarkable piece. Is anyone else familiar with it? The first part seems uplifting, but quickly makes way for sadder music in the second part - occassionally devastating in tone/atmosphere. The third part is titled 'For the Fallen' and mixes it up, but you are never far from the fact that this is a wartime piece. My understanding is that 'Spirit' is a sort of requiem, using three of Laurence Binyon's poems. Very well performed it is too. The singing is moving and well balanced with the orchestra.

     I have the Gibson/Scottish NO recording, which is very good.

     

That's true.  Still, I'll risk it.

     I'd go with Haitink before Solti if I wanted to try a non-British conductor.

     I listened to the Solti clips on Amazon. Yeah, that's what I thought. But the way he punches it up sounds pretty good to me. Maybe you should give these a try.

[drogulus]

It is a great work indeed. The only version I have is Lott/Hickox on EMI. Time to get Alexander Gibson?

     Yes, Gibson by all means.

[eyeresist]

What has been heard cannot be un-heard.   

Listen with a bottle of strong spirits close at hand, and if that fails, a hammer (for the hitting of the head with).

[knight66]

I finally listened to this Elgar piece for the first time:
[asin]B000JLPNO8[/asin]

Yes, I know it and rate it highly. Possibly partisan, but my favourite recording is the Gibson one, I am in the choir. It was recorded at Paisley Abbey and has an appropriately reverberant acoustic. However, the crown of the performance is Teresa Cahill who soars on the top line and sings the quiet moments with intensity.

Samples here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Coronation-Ode-Spirit-England/dp/B000000A9N/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1306775382&sr=1-1

Mike

[Elgarian]

However, the crown of the performance is Teresa Cahill who soars on the top line and sings the quiet moments with intensity.

Oh so true.

I listen to The Spirit of England more often than any other single piece by Elgar (it's far and away his most outrageously neglected and undervalued work, as I've maintained long, and often), and the recording with Cahill/Gibson/SNO utterly nails it, like no other.

[Elgarian]

The Spirit of England is by Elgar and what a remarkable piece. Is anyone else familiar with it?

It's carved into my soul, by now. Here's part of post #51, from the 'Walking with Elgar' thread (see http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,12196.msg338396.html#msg338396):

I was sixteen when I first heard the Introduction and Allegro for Strings, which music seemed to emanate from a place that was at once deeply rooted within me, yet also seemed to imply that there was some place 'out there' that I needed to find. So I was bound to make my way to the Malvern Hills eventually (though I grew to know a lot more of Elgar's music before that), and at first when I arrived there I thought 'this is the place'. And in a strictly biographical sense, of course, the Malvern Hills and countryside are, indeed, 'the place'. But over time I realised that 'the place' was really all of England, and Malvern was a kind of symbolic focus for that. And then again, later, I realised that this 'England' was really only a kind of focus for something still deeper and more profound. (I think it's Gimli, isn't it, at Helms Deep, who stamps on the ground and says something like 'this place has strong bones'? Well, this idea of 'England' seemed to be like that.) So this 'England' itself was not so much a place as an idea - like Blake's 'Albion'. It has nothing to do with nationalism; it's partly to do with patriotism, but less so than you might think; it has something to do with landscape, but also more than just landscape - something to do with roots, and belonging, and certain kinds of ideals (noble and heroic ideals, some of them), mingled with a kind of indefinable sadness.

And the point about Elgar is that his music is like an admission ticket into this place/idea. So which of his works, I might ask, is the best ticket? The symphonies are wonderful - I've loved them for decades. The chamber works, so very very different, yet so recognisably Elgar, mark another high point. The cello concerto, the violin concerto - sheer magic, and on and on I could go. But the work by Elgar that I would choose above all others is The Spirit of England (most perfectly and powerfully represented by the Alexander Gibson/Scottish National Orchestra recording, mentioned above, with Teresa Cahill as soloist).

It lasts about half an hour. It's hardly ever performed, I think. I suspect the three currently available recordings sell poorly (though I don't know). But here's Elgar at his most profound. It may not be his greatest music in a technical sense - I'm not competent to judge that. But I believe it's his greatest work of art, in the broadest, most humanistic sense. It's based on three poems by Laurence Binyon, but the literal meaning of the words is really only a kind of rough guide to the meaning of the whole work, which expresses Elgar's deepest feelings about the anguish of war; the nobility of sacrifice; the despair created by the loss of thousands upon thousands of brave young men, and the sheer determination and need to come to terms with that and above all, to remember them appropriately; and the frightening mixture of beauty and pain that inhabits the making of music that deals with such profound thoughts and feelings. I find it impossible still, to listen to it without tears, and without feeling that this may be the most profound work of art I know.

If someone told me I could only listen to one more piece of music, (with silence to follow forever after), I'd choose The Spirit of England to be that final piece.

See also #44 in that thread, and the discussions thereabouts.

[mc ukrneal]

It's carved into my soul, by now. Here's part of post #51, from the 'Walking with Elgar' thread (see http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,12196.msg338396.html#msg338396):

I was sixteen when I first heard the Introduction and Allegro for Strings, which music seemed to emanate from a place that was at once deeply rooted within me, yet also seemed to imply that there was some place 'out there' that I needed to find. So I was bound to make my way to the Malvern Hills eventually (though I grew to know a lot more of Elgar's music before that), and at first when I arrived there I thought 'this is the place'. And in a strictly biographical sense, of course, the Malvern Hills and countryside are, indeed, 'the place'. But over time I realised that 'the place' was really all of England, and Malvern was a kind of symbolic focus for that. And then again, later, I realised that this 'England' was really only a kind of focus for something still deeper and more profound. (I think it's Gimli, isn't it, at Helms Deep, who stamps on the ground and says something like 'this place has strong bones'? Well, this idea of 'England' seemed to be like that.) So this 'England' itself was not so much a place as an idea - like Blake's 'Albion'. It has nothing to do with nationalism; it's partly to do with patriotism, but less so than you might think; it has something to do with landscape, but also more than just landscape - something to do with roots, and belonging, and certain kinds of ideals (noble and heroic ideals, some of them), mingled with a kind of indefinable sadness.

And the point about Elgar is that his music is like an admission ticket into this place/idea. So which of his works, I might ask, is the best ticket? The symphonies are wonderful - I've loved them for decades. The chamber works, so very very different, yet so recognisably Elgar, mark another high point. The cello concerto, the violin concerto - sheer magic, and on and on I could go. But the work by Elgar that I would choose above all others is The Spirit of England (most perfectly and powerfully represented by the Alexander Gibson/Scottish National Orchestra recording, mentioned above, with Teresa Cahill as soloist).

It lasts about half an hour. It's hardly ever performed, I think. I suspect the three currently available recordings sell poorly (though I don't know). But here's Elgar at his most profound. It may not be his greatest music in a technical sense - I'm not competent to judge that. But I believe it's his greatest work of art, in the broadest, most humanistic sense. It's based on three poems by Laurence Binyon, but the literal meaning of the words is really only a kind of rough guide to the meaning of the whole work, which expresses Elgar's deepest feelings about the anguish of war; the nobility of sacrifice; the despair created by the loss of thousands upon thousands of brave young men, and the sheer determination and need to come to terms with that and above all, to remember them appropriately; and the frightening mixture of beauty and pain that inhabits the making of music that deals with such profound thoughts and feelings. I find it impossible still, to listen to it without tears, and without feeling that this may be the most profound work of art I know.

If someone told me I could only listen to one more piece of music, (with silence to follow forever after), I'd choose The Spirit of England to be that final piece.

See also #44 in that thread, and the discussions thereabouts.

Oh very interesting indeed! It has been growing on me with each listen too.

[Elgarian]

Has anyone else picked up one of these yet?



I'd more or less stopped buying additional recordings of Elgar's chamber music, because (whether through lack of discrimination in my perceptions, or uniformity of excellence in the recordings I can't say) it doesn't seem to matter much which one I listen to. I already have quite a lot, and felt I didn't need more.

But then this arrived on the scene a couple of weeks ago. First - I liked the cover art (though oddly enough I don't think it particularly fits the music very well); second, BBC Music Magazine went ballistic about enthusing over it. Awarded it five billion stars and made it their Record of the Century in All Possible Alternate Universes or something. (Oh, ... you prefer accuracy? OK then, it was their Disc of the Month. And Five Stars.)

Anyway, I can't put my finger on what this recording has, but it certainly has it. Elgar spoke of 'Wood Magic' in relation to these chamber pieces, and there seems to have been a particular association between the piano quintet and a group of weird trees near the cottage he was renting in the middle of a Sussex wood when he composed it. There's a beautiful but slightly sinister spookiness about the quintet whichever version I listen to, but this one (Piers Lane and the Goldner Quartet) seems really to bring that out. It has an ethereal, otherworldly quality, especially in the slow movement. I was surprised, after listening to this, to return to my most-played version (John Ogden/Allegri Quartet) and find it seemed quite dull and plodding by comparison.

Anyway, there you go. I'll be interested to see if this becomes my new favourite recording of these two quintessential late Elgar chamber pieces.