Elgar: The Black Knight; The Banner of St.George
Complete Edition Volume 1
Expected to ship in 1-2 weeks.
- Composer: Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
- Editor: Iain Quinn
- Format: Full Score – Hardcover
- Binding: Hardcover
- ISBN:
Description
Having retreated to Malvern in 1890 after a dismal year spent in London, Elgar seemed resigned to a career as a provincial violin teacher with composition as no more than an interesting pastime. He naturally engaged fully in various local music making activities and, as a result befriended Hugh Blair, the assistant organist at Worcester Cathedral. On a visit to the Elgar home in 1891, Blair chanced across sketches Elgar had made for a choral setting of The Black Knight , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's translation of a poem by the German poet Johann Uhland. Impressed by what he saw, Blair promised Elgar that, if he completed the work, Blair would arrange for it to be performed by the Worcester Festival Choral Society. Elgar seized the opportunity and the work was premiered in Worcester in 1893, launching Elgar's career as a composer of substantial choral works.
Within three years, his reputation had grown to the extent that Novello, looking to capitalise on the growth in popularity of amateur choral societies in Britain looking to celebrate the approaching diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria's accession, commissioned Elgar to set The Banner of St George , a retelling of the legend of St George and the Dragon by Shapcott Wensley, the pseudonym of a Bristol soap works employee. Like The Black Knight , it could be performed without soloists, although Elgar marks four Soprano passages conveying the words of the maiden Sabra to be sung solo if preferred.
The Banner retained sufficient popularity for Elgar to be commissioned by Novello forty years later to make unison arrangements of the final rousing chorus ‘It comes from the Misty Ages', one with piano accompaniment, a second with accompaniment for strings and assorted percussion, for performance by schools choirs. But other projected works fell by the wayside. The germ of an idea for one such work, The High Tide , dates from the time of composition of The Black Knight but, without a sponsor for the work, Elgar set it to one side until asked for a work for the 1902 Norwich Festival, and for the 1905 festival. But nothing came of it, and all that now survives is a single bar of uncertain relationship to the work.
In recent years The Black Knight , for long a forgotten work, has regained a greater popularity than The Banner , but the unison arrangements of ‘Misty Ages' now lie buried in the archives while the narrative poem which Elgar intended to set for The High Tide appears to be confined to the world of antiquarian booksellers, despite a strong resonance with current environmental concerns. Through the scores and accompanying historical narrative, this volume casts a light on a forgotten period of Elgar's musical development, between the early years of wind quintets, the Powick Music and religious works for St George's, and his emergence at the end of the nineteenth century as a composer of national importance.
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: The Black Knight; The Banner of St.George
