Today marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934), composer, Master of the King's Musick from 1924-1934, and, very briefly, Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (for all of 6 programs - clearly didn't work out). Once past any "Who he?" reaction, self then points out, in full pointless trivia mode, that in all likelihood, you've heard one of his compositions at least once in your life, perhaps without knowing who wrote it. This is the Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, whose trio section is the music that graces American high school and college graduation ceremonies (sound clip available here). More below the flip....
In addition to the Miles Hoffman NPR piece, Richard Smith on the Elgar page linked above has a nice description of how this march pretty much kudzued its way into American (and Canadian? Not sure there; enlightenment is most welcome) high school and college graduation ceremonies. In brief, we can pretty much blame it on Yale, @ 1905. Other esteemed institutions followed suit:
- Princeton University (1907)
- University of Chicago (1908)
- Columbia University (1913)
- Vassar College (1916)
- Rutgers University (1918)
At the 2007 Proms concerts in London, Elgar features reasonably well:
- Prom 1: Cello Concerto
- Prom Chamber Music (PCM) 1: Songs "Pleading" and "Speak Music!"
- PCM 2: Violin Sonata
- Prom 20: Severn Suite
- Prom Saturday Matinee (PSM) 2: Serenade for Strings
- Prom 30: (a) Four Choral Songs, op. 53, (b) Finale from Organ Sonata, (c) "Give unto the Lord"
- Prom 31: Enigma Variations (Variations on an Original Theme)
- Prom 46: The Apostles
- Prom 72 (The Last Night): (a) The Spirit of England – "The Fourth of August", (b) Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 in D major ('Land of Hope and Glory') (includes reprise)
Elgar himself realized that the main tune of P&C #1 was a "once in a lifetime" happening, but he is definitely more than a "one-hit wonder". The movie Hilary and Jackie from a few years back used Jacqueline du Pre's second commercial recording of the Cello Concerto as something of a talisman, hoping to replicate Shine and the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 (didn't work out there either). Plus, if you remember the 1984 movie Greystoke, in particular the one scene when Christopher Lambert (Greystoke) is riding in a carriage to be presented to his grandfather (Ralph Richardson) at the Greystoke ancestral estate, the great processional theme as the carriage approaches is the 'motto' theme from his First Symphony. His most popular work, besides P&C # 1, is his op. 35, the Enigma Variations, especially the ninth variation, "Nimrod", which has a place in UK culture similar to that in the US of Barber's Adagio for Strings.
Some recent articles on Elgar that might be of interest:
- Michael Kennedy in the Telegraph
- The Finnish (!) conductor Sakari Oramo in The Guardian (well, he is Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra through next year, so he has an excuse)
- Terry Grimley in the Birmingham Post on old interviews with friends of Elgar
So, the loser aspect of the diary? Well, besides stirring up memories of high school (....), or even college, Jessica Duchen reported in The Independent this past March that Elgar was getting bumped from the £20 note in favor of....Adam Smith, he of The Wealth of Nations. If you want to read a counter-balancing put-down of Elgar in response to Duchen, HSBC's Stephen King (no, not that Stephen King) has this article from The Independent also. However, Duchen has a nice closer to her article that works well here too:
"Even if he has to vanish from the £20 note, Elgar's own notes are likely to survive for a great deal longer."
Caps and tassels, anyone? But before the usual SNLC ritual, here's something from Mark Danner, delivered to the UC-Berkeley Department of Rhetoric, oddly enough. Otherwise, you know the deal, so go to it....