Elgar: Short Orchestral Works
Complete Edition Volume 23
Expected to ship in 1-2 weeks.
- Composer: Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
- Editor: David Lloyd-Jones (1934-)
- Format: Full Score – Hardcover
- Binding: Hardcover
- ISBN:
Description
Elgar's Short Orchestral Works – Salut d'amour , Chansons de Nuit and de Matin , the ‘Canto Popolare' from In the South and so on: all popular and much played works which surely hold no secrets – or so we thought when embarking on this volume. At least we could claim the first publication in full score of Carissima , Rosemary and Mina. But how wrong could we be? Thanks in no small part to the irrepressible energy of our editor David Lloyd-Jones, the volume has revealed secret after secret:
- It was during the editing of the volume of orchestral songs that we realised that Elgar's intention in providing an orchestral accompaniment for Pleading was to create not an orchestral song but an orchestral miniature, better housed in this volume. The wistful air to Elgar's arrangement makes it an appropriate companion to Sospiri, but it is clear from his ingenious score, making provision for any one of a number of instruments to take the solo part, that he was hoping for another financial success following in the footsteps of the ‘Canto Popolare'.
- The latter work and the two Falstaff interludes next came under scrutiny. We started from the position of wondering whether they would differ sufficiently from their original forms to be worth including at all, but that changed when David found that, beyond a marginal reduction in orchestral forces, Elgar had restructured the works to provide more satisfying concert pieces when performed in isolation from their parent works. It is our belief that they have never been recorded in their restructured forms and will be unknown almost all.
- and then, when we came to disentangle the fragments, two further surprises awaited us. The disparate collection of parts in various hands in the Elgar Birthplace Archive, all that survives of Elgar's 1882 Air de ballet , were found to contain enough to allow David to assemble the previously unpublished full score of the work. and four other incomplete scores each revealed links to the Three Characteristic Pieces. It is believed that these were sections of Elgar's 1888 Suite in D, discarded in the cannibalisation of the suite to provide Novello with the simpler later work.
Add to this the results of David's efforts to unravel the mysteries of the ‘Original Edition' of Sevillaña and to identify the unknown hand which filled out the ailing Elgar's orchestration of Mina and it will be clear that, from an unprepossessing start, this has developed into a ground- breaking volume, increasing not only access to the oeuvre but our knowledge of the underlying history of a number of the works therein.
Eighteen short orchestral works spanning the whole of Elgar's composing career:
- Air de ballet
- Sevillaña
- Salut d'amour
- Sursum corda
- Three Bavarian Dances
- Minuet, Op. 21
- Chanson de nuit
- Chanson de matin
- Sérénade lyrique
- Three Characteristic Pieces
- May-Song
- Canto popolare
- Pleading
- Romance for bassoon
- Two interludes from Falstaff
- Carissima
- Rosemary
- Mina
Five of which (Air de ballet, Pleading, Carissima, Rosemary, Mina) are published here in full score for the first time with a further two (Canto popolare and Two interludes from Falstaff) published in Elgar's reduced orchestration arrangements which are unknown to the concert-going public.
Eight substantial fragments:
four of which are believed to have been excised from the now-lost Suite in D (1888) when this work was recast in 1899 as Three Characteristic Pieces.
Publishers use a lot of words to describe what they sell, and we know it can be confusing. We've tried to be as clear as possible to make sure you get exactly what you are looking for. Below are descriptions of the terms that we use to describe the various formats that music often comes in.
Choral Score
A score for vocalists that only contains the vocal lines. The instrumental parts are not there for reference. Generally, cheaper than a vocal score and requires multiple copies for purchase.
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Hardbound. Generally either linen-covered or half-leather.
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Paperback
When publishers offer multiple bindings (e.g. hardcover) or study scores, this is the "standard" version. If you're planning to play the music, this is probably what you want.
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A score of the music containing all parts on one system, intended for players to share. There are not separate parts for each player.
Set of Parts
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Solo Part with Piano Reduction
For solo pieces with orchestra, this is a version that contains a piano reduction of the orchestra parts. For piano pieces, two copies are typically needed for performance.
Study Score
A small (think choral size) copy of the complete score meant for studying, and not playing. They make great add-ons when learning concertos and small chamber works.
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A score prepared for vocalists that includes the piano/organ part or a reduction of the instrumental parts.
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Some publishers prepare two copies - a pure Urtext edition that includes no fingering (or bowing) suggestions and a lightly edited version that includes a minimal number of editorial markings.
Elgar: Short Orchestral Works
