Release Date: 04 January 2004
Label: Naxos - Ex Select Products / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 747313228829
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: ELGAR
Description
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)Sacred Choral MusicEdward Elgar was born near Worcester, in the West ofEngland, in 1857. His father was a piano-tuner, organist, violinist andeventually a shopkeeper, and it was from him and from his own private studythat Elgar acquired much of his musical training. As the son of a tradesman anda Catholic he had social and religious obstacles to overcome, and in this hiswife, nine years his senior and the daughter of an Indian army general, was ofthe greatest assistance. He at first made his living as a free-lance musician,teaching, playing the violin and organ, and conducting local amateur orchestrasand choirs. His first real success away from his own West Country was in 1897with his Imperial March, written for the royal jubilee celebrating sixtyglorious years of Queen Victoria. His reputation was further enhanced by theso-called Enigma Variations of 1899. The oratorio The Dream of Gerontius, whichfollowed in 1900, later became a staple element in British choral repertoire.His publishers Novello had not always been particularly generous in theirtreatment of him, but he came to rely on the encouragement of the German-bornAugustus Johannes Jaeger, a reader for the firm, who found in Elgar's musicsomething much more akin to the music of his native country.Public recognition brought Elgar many honours, his positionsealed by the composition of music for the coronation of King Edward VII. Hewas awarded honorary doctorates by universities old and new and in 1904received a knighthood. Further honours followed and finally, in 1931, abaronetcy. Acceptance, as represented by the musical establishment of thecountry, was confirmed by the award of the Gold Medal of the Royal PhilharmonicSociety in 1925. Elgar's work had undergone significant changes in the lateryears of the 1914-18 war, evident in his Cello Concerto of 1919. His wife'sdeath in 1920 removed a support on which he had long relied, and the lastfourteen years of his life brought a diminishing inspiration and energy in hiswork as a composer, although he continued to appear as a conductor in both theconcert-hall and recording studio. He died in 1934.In his early years in Worcester Elgar had been closelyinvolved with the music of St George's Church, where his father served asorganist, and therefore with the Catholic liturgy. It was for St George's thatElgar wrote early settings of Tantum ergo, Salve Regina, and Domine salvam fac.In 1885 he took over from his father as organist, but was not happy with theposition and had little good to say of the choir. His work in the West Countryas a violinist, conductor and organist continued until his marriage in 1889 andhis attempt the following year to establish himself in London. Elgar's first settings of the hymn O salutaris hostia, forthe Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, date from about 1880. The setting inF major, included in a compendium of such works issued in 1898, is for choirand organ and is in the simple style favoured in C
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Various
Various
Lully
