The Elgar Society Journal

You can find all articles from the Elgar Society Journal here…

Half Century: The Elgar Society 1951-2001

In 2001 the Elgar Society celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. This event was marked by the publication of a booklet highlighting some of the most important landmarks in the Society’s history. Click here to view.

Journal Library

Notes for Contributors

Anyone wishing to submit an article for publication in the Elgar Society Journal should send the full text to journal@elgarsociety.org . All submissions should follow the Editor’s guidelines, which can be accessed here.

Author	Title	Abstract	Date	Volume	No.	Pages
Moody, Catherine	Arthur Troyte Griffith 1864 – 1942: Enigma Variation (No VII, ‘Troyte’) and Malvern character	Arthur Troyte Griffith, a friend of Elgar’s, was a Malvern-based architect and water-colourist. There are many anecdotes showing his character, and research into his work shows him to have been a practical and gifted architect.	1999 March	11	1	2 to 6
Mandell, Robert	Elgar: The Enigma Variations - Leonard Bernstein conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra Rehearsal & Performance	The author worked with Bernstein on several occasions, including his recording of the Enigma Variations with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In spite of the extremely slow tempi, and the resulting bad-tempered exchanges between conductor and orchestra during rehearsal, the orchestra’s playing on the final recording is marvellous.	1999 March	11	1	7 to 10
Neill, Andrew	The Great War (1914 to 1919): Elgar and the Creative Challenge	In common with most creative artists, Elgar was deeply affected by World War I. The Elgar diaries and letters give an insight into the impact of events over the years and the music which Elgar was writing. With the significant exception of The Spirit of England, much of his output during the course of the war was escapist, but with peace came the ability once more to write music of real inspiration, notably the chamber works.	1999 March	11	1	11 to 41
Seal, Hugh	Memories of Elgar and Read	The author studied violin with WH Reed and took part in a performance of The Dream of Gerontius conducted by Elgar. One of his lessons took place just after Reed had heard that Elgar was dying. The author became Rector of Morecambe and was involved with the festival supported many years before by Canon Gorton.	1999 March	11	1	42
Trowell, Brian	‘Bramo assai’ : a postscript	A final paragraph as an afterthought to the article "A minor Elgarian enigma solved" (November 1998). This concerned Elgar’s deliberate misquotation of Tasso at the end of the autograph full score of the Enigma Variations, following Elizabeth Barrett’s correct use of the quotation as an epigraph to a volume of poems. The original reads ‘Brama assai, poco spera, e nulla chiede’.	1999 March	11	1	43
	Still more on Elgar/Payne 3	A reprint of an article in the Sunday Telegraph (11/98) by Michael Kennedy in which he states that, despite the inevitable questions, we have “a new masterpiece from a composer whose work we thought we knew in its entirety”. An article by Peter Taylor follows, detailing his own response to repeated hearings of the symphony	1999 March	11	1	43 to 48
Winter, John	Elgar’s Te Deum & Benedictus	Elgar’s church music rarely receives sufficient appreciation. This work repays analysis and performance: it is meticulous in detail and if the markings are followed it is possible to hear that it is far finer than much of the church music written by his contemporaries and does not deserve neglect.	1999 July	11	2	70 to 74
McGuire, Charles E	Elgar: One story, two visions - textual differences between Elgar’s and Newman’s The Dream of Gerontius	The Dream of Gerontius signalled a departure from compositional tradition, but the importance of its text transcends the uniqueness of its subject. A careful comparison of the original poem and the finished libretto reveals that Elgar radically altered the philosophical thrust of the poem, shifting the focus of the oratorio away from Newman’s vision of the afterlife towards Gerontius as a suffering human figure.	1999 July	11	2	75 to 88
Bury, David	Elgar and Queen Mary’s dolls’ house	Elgar was greatly affronted at being asked to provide a piece of music for Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, designed by Edwin Lutyens. Many creative artists made a contribution to this project, which was completed for the British Empire Exhibition in 1924. Ironically, Elgar was very involved in providing music for the celebrations at Wembley, though this was not a happy occasion for him. Had Alice not died in 1920, might his attitude have been different?	1999 July	11	2	89 to 96
Herter, Joseph A	Elgar’s Polonia Op.76	The Great War (1914 to 18) did not inspire many Polish composers to write music “for the cause.” Among works by Ignacy Paderewski and Zygmunt Stojowski, Elgar’s fantasia on Polish national airs provided the most outstanding, dramatic and nobly patriotic musical gesture for the Polish cause during the First World War.	1999 July	11	2	97 to 109
Moore, Jerrold Northrop	Obituary: The Lord Menuhin (1916 to 1999)	Menuhin’s playing style owed much to his work with Elgar. The long lines of Elgar’s conducting connected Menuhin to the greatest violin traditions, going back through Ysaÿe and Joachim to Vivaldi and Corelli, who were so important to Elgar.	1999 July	11	2	110 to 111
	Elgar and the boy violinist: a batch of letters	This article originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph on 20 October 1934 and includes the text of letters from Elgar to Menuhin in 1932, as well as one from Menuhin to Elgar.	1999 July	11	3	111 to 115
Moore, Jerrold Northrop	The return of the dove to the ark: ‘Enigma’ Variations a century on.	The article is based on the text of the author’s A T Shaw Lecture given to the Elgar Society on 5 June 1999 at Great Malvern. The Variations announced a mature new presence, with roots in the private experience of the man himself, and at the same time anticipating the career that was to unfold over the next twenty years. It was and still is without a parallel anywhere in music.	1999 November	11	3	134 to 143
Hecht, Roger	Elgar’s Sea Pictures: A short history, interpretation, and annotated discography.	Sea Pictures was written in the same year as the Enigma Variations. Though popular with audiences from its première, it has long existed in the shadow of its illustrious predecessor, particularly in the minds of critics. Much of the criticism centres on the texts, but the work repays close analysis and, however one ranks Sea Pictures as poetry, it is a fine piece of music. The discography assesses 16 full recordings of the work, plus a few historical partial readings.	1999 November	11	3	144 to 179
Hodgkins, Geoffrey	“Oh! That Sheffield chorus”: King Olaf at the 1899 Sheffield Festival	The first Sheffield Festival took place on 13th to 14th October 1896. Its success was acknowledged to have been based on the outstanding choral singing. The 1899 Festival lasted three days and included Elgar’s King Olaf. The composer, who was conducting, wrote that ‘the chorus is absolutely the finest in the world’. The press reports of the time convey the success of the performance and the work itself.	1999 November	11	3	180 to 187
Fellowes-Jensen, Gillian	King Olaf Tryggvason and Sir Edward Elgar	King Olaf is the subject of one of Elgar's early major works. Elgar may have been attracted to the subject because of its possible Scandinavian roots, but this view is open to dispute. A more likely explanation was the fashion of deriving inspiration from Nordic epic literature. The example of Longfellow was influential, particularly as he was one of Elgar's favourite authors. Elgar used only a very small part of the saga of Olaf, who is mentioned in several reputable historical sources.	2000 March	11	4	202 to 218
Boyle, Rory	Interpreting Elgar: A conductor’s thoughts	Most of Elgar's great choral works were written for specific choral festivals and the quality of performances they received varied. The chorus is crucial to virtually every scene in these works, which makes the music most rewarding to conduct and sing. The Apostles and The Kingdom contain moments of tremendous drama as well as sheer beauty, and The Dream of Gerontius is a work of genius that is much more demanding, but even more rewarding to perform.	2000 March	11	4	219 to 226
Hooey, Charles A.	Singer, soldier: Remembering Charles Mott	Surveys the life of the English baritone Charles Mott (d.1918), who began his musical career as a chorister in Muswell Hill and went on to perform a wide range of roles at Covent Garden.	2000 March	11	4	227 to 236
Mitchell, Kevin D.	Any friend of Elgar’s is a friend of mine: Barbirolli and Elgar	John Barbirolli's association with Elgar's music began at a young age and continued to the end of his life. He played under Elgar's baton in 1919 to 20 and was an early interpreter of the violoncello concerto. He began to conduct Elgar's music from the outset of his career and his work was praised by Elgar himself. Many performances and recordings of Elgar's music followed; they did not always receive positive reviews from those who disliked his emotional approach, but were acclaimed by many others. He succeeded in affirming Elgar's stature as a composer.	2000 July	11	5	250 to 269
Young, Percy M.	Elgar and Cambridge	In 1900 Charles Villiers Stanford proposed Elgar for an honorary MusD at Cambridge. Elgar initially intended to refuse the honour, but he was persuaded to accept. Several Cambridge performances of Elgar's music were given during his lifetime, including The Apostles and The Kingdom.	2000 July	11	5	270 to 275
Rushton, Julian	A devil of a fugue: Berlioz, Elgar and Introduction and allegro	Elgar's fugues in The Dream of Gerontius (Demons' chorus), The Kingdom, and the Introduction and allegro are analysed and compared to similar music by Berlioz and Liszt. It is possible that Elgar associated fugues largely with demonic music, a view prompted by his description of the Introduction and allegro passage as "a devil of a fugue".	2000 July	11	5	276 to 287
Hooey, Charles A.	More on Mott...	Following an article on the baritone Charles Mott in the previous issue of this journal (RILM 2000 to 50527), further material has come to light, including a letter sent to Elgar from Mott four days before he was fatally wounded in battle.	2000 July	11	5	288 to 289
Hodgkins, Geoffrey	The passionate pilgrimage of a soul: Elgar and Canon Temple Gairdner	William Henry Temple Gairdner was born in Ardrossan in 1873. Upon the completion of his studies at Oxford he became a missionary in Cairo. After obtaining a score of The Apostles in 1904 he developed an interest in Elgar's music and began a correspondence with him. They subsequently met and Gairdner attended some of Elgar's concerts when he visited England. A collection of Gairdner's writings was issued in 1930, two years after his death, and includes a chapter analysing Elgar's second symphony. A reproduction of the chapter is included.	2000 November	11	6	306 to 324
Hecht, Roger	Overview: English symphonies	There is a view that English symphonies have not fared well in the U.S. Part of the reason may be the special character of English music. Comparisons are made between the styles of British and American conductors and recommendations are made for recordings of each of Elgar's symphonies.	2000 November	11	6	325 to 333
Trott, Michael	Frank Bernard Greatwich (1906 to 2000)	An obituary for Frank Greatwich, who died in Malvern on 20 September 2000. A journalist by profession, he was a founding member of the Elgar Society, was instrumental in the formation of the London branch, and helped arrange for Elgar's commemorative plaque in Worcester and the memorial stone in Westminster Abbey.	2000 November	11	6	333
Hodgkins, Geoffrey	Two rare Elgar photographs	Two rare Elgar photographs are reproduced. The first appears in Landon Ronald's book 'Myself and others; and shows Elgar with A.S.M. Hutchinson, Sir Ernest Hodder-Williams, Sir Frederic Cowen, and Sir Landon Ronald. The second, which has only recently come to light, was found in a frame containing a photo of Bevanhill Cottage, Bromsgrove. It was taken in 1928 on the occasion of Herbert Brewer's funeral and shows Elgar with Charles Lee Williams (Brewer's predecessor as organist of Gloucester Cathedral) and Theodore Hannam to Clark, a member of the Gloucester Three Choirs Executive Committee.	2000 November	11	6	334 to 335
	Elgar and the Cambridge doctorate	On 22 November 1900, Elgar received an honorary doctorate from Cambridge University. The Public Orator gave a speech in Latin, listing Elgar’s achievements. This is printed here, along with an English translation.	2000 November	11	6	336 to 337
Smith, Barry	Elgar and Warlock (Philip Heseltine)	Elgar and Warlock would seem, on the surface, to have little in common. There are, however, some similarities in character and in the mood of their music. Elgar made quite an impression on the young Heseltine, who did not lose his enthusiasm for Elgar’s music even after he discovered Delius. There are numerous references to Elgar in Heseltine’s journal 'The Sackbut' and he was a signatory in the protest against Edward Dent’s treatment of Elgar. The article contains the full texts of Heseltine’s published writings on Elgar.	2001 March	12	1	2 to 20
	Another rare Elgar photograph	Most people are familiar with the photograph taken at Abbey Road when Yehudi Menuhin recorded the Elgar violin concerto (1932). The reproduction shown here is rare because it shows more details of the orchestra and equipment. Also reproduced is a page from the French set of discs, including Elgar’s inscription for the Menuhin family.	2001 March	12	1	21
Maund, Philip	Elgar's brass band thing: The Severn suite - postscript	Following the acquisition of Elgar's autograph brass band score of the Severn suite, it is now possible to be clear about the key in which Elgar intended it to be published, as it had long been thought that the first printed edition was a tone lower than intended. Examination of the score also sheds light on Elgar's scoring methods.	2001 March	12	1	24 to 29
Denison, John	Playing with Elgar	John Denison was a horn player during the 1930s. As a freelance member of the Eastbourne orchestra he took part in an all-Elgar programme conducted by the composer. He recalls the passages Elgar rehearsed and describes the concert as being an inspiring occasion.	2001 March	12	1	29 to 30
Mitchell, Kevin D.	A discography of Barbirolli’s Elgar recordings	John Barbirolli made many Elgar recordings between 1927 and 1970. The short reviews contain the original record numbers and the latest CD numbers at the time of writing. There is a list of comparative timings for different recordings of the major works.	2001 March	12	1	31 to 49
Suter, Anthony	Nimrod in the metro: Hearing Elgar in France	Hearing Nimrod being played in the Toulouse metro prompted an investigation of Elgar's reputation in France. A study of Elgar performances on French radio was discouraging and some performances were disappointing. Coverage of CD releases during the last decade has been quite extensive, but historical reissues are rare. Conducting this study led to an examination of the author’s relationship with Elgar’s music: the idea that only English musicians can interpret Elgar properly is absurd, but listening to the music is still associated with a love of England.	2001 July	12	2	62 to 70
Moore, Ruth Newcomb	Memoirs of a young singer	Ruth Newcomb Moore (nee Price) was born in 1914. As a member of the Croydon Philharmonic Society Choir from 1934 to 1943 she took part in many Elgar performances. Diary entries form the basis of these memoirs, which recall rehearsals and performances featuring many famous singers of the day, including Isobel Baillie and Heddle Nash.	2001 July	12	2	71 to 85
Clegg, Nora	Edward Elgar	The author was the sister-in-law of the Rev. Charles Gorton, a friend of Elgar's. She wrote an article on Elgar and his choral music for her music society, incorporating information from published works and anecdotes provided by Gorton.	2001 July	12	2	86 to 90
Whittle, John	A record life: 1927–1975	This is the text of a speech given by John Whittle on the occasion of his retirement from EMI. From an early age, Whittle loved gramophone records. He began his career in 1925 with a holiday job at the HMV shop in Oxford Street, progressing to running the sales promotion department from 1947 and becoming a senior executive in the classical department. He was involved with many great recordings and artists, and has fond memories of working with the regional orchestras. His proudest achievement was the recording of Elgar's The Apostles.	2001 November	12	3	106 to 117
McVeagh, Diana	Elgar's Concert allegro	In 1901, the pianist Fanny Davies asked Elgar for a concerto. The new piece was performed in December 1901 but was not published. At the time of writing a MS had recently come to light; after analysing the MS, the author and John Ogdon independently concluded that this was Fanny Davies' copy of the Concert allegro. Ogdon performed the work on television in 1969, the first performance in 60 years. (Reprint of an article from 1969)	2001 November	12	3	118 to 124
Zimmermann, Frank-Peter	Elgar Violin Concerto	Frank-Peter Zimmermann was interviewed for Bavarian Radio on 9 March 2001 and spoke about the concerto. Having performed it several times, he believes it to be a great virtuoso work, with mystical moments, which reflects the mood of its time.	2001 November	12	3	124 to 126
Suter, Anthony	Post-scriptum to Nimrod in the Metro	An addition to the article in 12/2	2001 November	12	3	127
	Coronation ode: Analytical notes	Joseph Bennett (1831–1911) was one of the leading music critics of his day. This analysis was written, by special request, for a state performance of Elgar’s Coronation ode in Covent Garden Theatre, to celebrate what should have been the coronation of Edward VII. The king’s illness resulted in the cancellation of the performance, but the work is valuable in its own right. The analysis is followed by a letter from Elgar to Herbert Thompson explaining the ideas behind the work.	2002 March	12	4	138 to 155