Elgar: Secular part-songs and unison songs
Complete Edition Volume 13
Expected to ship in 1-2 weeks.
- Composer: Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
- Editor: Donald Hunt
- Format: Full Score – Hardcover
- Binding: Hardcover
- ISBN:
- Urtext / Critical Edition
Description
This volume is edited by Donald Hunt, who has drawn on a wealth of practical experience gained over many years of conducting the songs it contains. It is a treasure trove of unfamiliar arrangements, some unpublished and one entirely unknown, but all Elgar's own. in their original versions, most of Elgar's part-songs have gained a sound foothold in the choral society repertoire and several – part-songs such as My love dwelt in a Northern Land , There is Sweet Music , Go, Song of Mine and As Torrents in Summer – are considered masterpieces of the genre. Although in his later years Elgar voiced the opinion that nobody wanted his music any more, his reputation among choral societies remained secure and several wrote to Novello suggesting that some of his more popular part-songs should be arranged for other forces, significantly for the female choirs then in the ascendency. Elgar responded readily to such requests, supplementing his income from recording projects and elsewhere with the worthwhile fees Novello were prepared to pay him for these arrangements. and Novello obviously found this a profitable business as they commissioned additional arrangements from him of their own volition.
Although these arrangements were all published, they never supplanted the originals from which they were derived, so that such rarities as the Five Part-songs from the Greek Anthology in the arrangement for SATB and As Torrents in Summer as a two-part song for schools are now all but forgotten to all except Donald. But all are to be found in this volume which contains no less than 56 part-songs in Elgar's various arrangements, as listed overleaf.
Not all choirs were content with an arrangement, however. in 1922 the enterprising trainer of a boys choir in Todmorden, Yorkshire wrote to the four leading British composers of the day, asking each to provide a ‘rally cry' for the house within the choir named in their honour. Elgar was the last of the four to respond and his original manuscript, sent to the Yorkshire choirmaster, has never been seen. But the choirmaster was grateful enough to collate all four rally cries on a single sheet of paper, sending a copy to each contributor. Elgar's copy has long since been lost; but in researching for the Collected Correspondence edition, Martin Bird came across an image of the lost sheet in a microfilm of Birthplace originals deposited with the Worcestershire Record Office around 50 years ago, thus allowing the inclusion of Elgar's offering, his Solemn Fanfare , in this volume. At a mere 3 bars long, we are confident it will have little influence on his reputation as a composer, but it is a fascinating relic nevertheless.
36 published part-songs in their original version
- Three part-songs, Op. 18 : O Happy Eyes ; Love ; My love dwelt in a northern land
- Five part-songs from the Greek Anthology, Op. 45 : Yea, cast me from the heights ; Whether I find thee ; After many a dusty mile ; It's Oh to be a wild wind ; Feasting I watch
- Four part-songs, Op. 53 : There is sweet music ; Deep in my Soul ; O wild west wind ; Owls
- Two choral songs, Op. 71 : The Shower ;The Fountain
- Two choral songs, Op. 73 : Love's Tempest ; Serenade
- Three songs for the Progressive Music Series : The Brook ; The Merry-go-round ; The Windlass
- Three unison songs for Worcester Schools Music Festival : The Rapid Stream ; The Woodland Stream ; Where Swallows Fly
- Other songs for SATB : As Torrents in Summer ; To her, beneath whose steadfast star ; Weary Wind of the West ; Evening Scene ; How Calmly the Evening ; Angelus (Tuscany), Op. 56; Go song of mine , Op. 57; Death on the hills , Op. 72; The Prince of Sleep Other songs for TTBB : The Reveille , Op. 54; The Wanderer ; Zut Zut Zut ; The Herald
- Other unison songs : Big Steamers
12 published part-songs in other arrangements
- My love dwelt in a northern land , Weary Wind of the West and How Calmly the Evening in arrangements for SSA and SS
- As Torrents in Summer in arrangements for ATBB, SSA and unison voices
- Five part-songs from the Greek Anthology and The Reveille in arrangements for SATB
- The Rapid Stream and The Woodland Stream in arrangements for SS
3 complete but unpublished part-songs:
- Grete Malverne on a Rocke ; Solemn Fanfare ; The Bull (in May Week)
Fragments and sketches for a further 25 unfinished works
- two further suites of part-songs setting epigrams from the Greek Anthology
- sketches for two further part-songs to accompany Angelus in a suite provisionally entitled in a Vineyard.
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.
Facsimile
Reproductions of the original hand-written scores from the composer.
Full Score
For ensemble music, this indicates that the edition contains all parts on a single system (there are not separate parts for each player). In larger ensembles, this is for the conductor.
Hardcover
Hardbound. Generally either linen-covered or half-leather.
Orchestral Parts
Similar to a wind set, this is a collection of parts. In the case of strings, the numbers listed are the number of copies included, though generally these are available individually (often with minimum quantities required).
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.
Performance / Playing Score
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
For ensemble music, this indicates that there are separate individual parts for each player.
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.
Vocal Score
A score prepared for vocalists that includes the piano/organ part or a reduction of the instrumental parts.
Wind Set
For orchestral music, this is a collection of wind and percussion parts. The specific quantities of each instrument are notated.
With Audio
In addition to the printed music, the edition contains recordings of the pieces. This may be an included CD, or access to files on the internet.
With / Without Fingering (Markings)
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: Secular part-songs and unison songs
