Journal December 2012 Vol.17, No. 6 The Elgar Society Journal The Society 18 Holtsmere Close, Watford, Herts., WD25 9NG Email: [email protected] December 2012 Vol. 17, No. 6 Editorial 3 President Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Thoughts on The Music Makers - a conductor’s viewpoint 4 Donald Hunt Vice-Presidents Reactions to The Music Makers 13 Sir David Willcocks, CBE, MC Martin Bird Diana McVeagh Michael Kennedy, CBE Edward Elgar - a medical enigma? 16 Michael Pope John Harcup Sir Colin Davis, CH, CBE Dame Janet Baker, CH, DBE Leonard Slatkin Hugh Blair and Great is the Lord 32 Sir Andrew Davis, CBE Martin Bird Donald Hunt, OBE Christopher Robinson, CVO, CBE Book reviews 36 Andrew Neill Martin Bird, Lewis Foreman, Richard Wiley Sir Mark Elder, CBE CD reviews 42 Martin Bird, Jerrold Northrop Moore Chairman Steven Halls Letters 49 Robert Kay, Andrew Neill, Michael Plant, Alan Tongue, Malcolm Walker Vice-Chairman Stuart Freed 100 Years Ago 53 Treasurer Clive Weeks The Editor does not necessarily agree with the views expressed by contributors, Secretary nor does the Elgar Society accept responsibility for such views. Helen Petchey Front Cover: Arthur O’Shaughnessy (Elliott & Fry) Notes for Contributors. Please adhere to these as far as possible if you deliver writing (as is much preferred) in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format. A longer version is available in case you are prepared to do the formatting, but for the present the editor is content to do this. Copyright: it is the contributor’s responsibility to be reasonably sure that copyright permissions, if Editorial required, are obtained. Illustrations (pictures, short music examples) are welcome, but please ensure they are pertinent, cued into the text, and have captions. One of the most important features of the early issues of the Journal for me was the occasional essay ‘from the horse’s mouth’ by people who knew Elgar, and could tell us things about him which Presentation of written text: helped to give us a broader picture of the man and his music. Those days, inevitably, have passed, but we must not forget that there are Elgarians of today with particular practical expertise which Subheadings: longer articles benefit from judicious use of these. can shed even more light on this fascinating man. So this is largely an issue of doctors: Messrs. Dates: use the form 2 June 1857. Decades: 1930s, no apostrophe. Hunt, Harcup and Moore. Donald Hunt will be well known to all readers as an indefatigable champion of Elgar’s music Plurals: no apostrophe (CDs not CD’s). for over half a century. As organist of Worcester Cathedral he presided over seven Three Choirs Foreign words: if well established in English (sic, crescendo) in Roman, otherwise italics. Festivals, and few who had the good fortune to be in Worcester in the summer of 2007 will forget the week of Elgar concerts he gave us as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations. London Branch Numbers: spell out up to and including twenty, then 21 (etc.) in figures. had the very bright idea of inviting Donald to talk about The Music Makers on the centenary of Quotations: in ‘single quotes’ as standard. Double quotes for quotes within quotes. its first performance at the Birmingham Musical Festival. Those who heard his exposition of the work on that occasion (some of whom brought their scores) will be grateful for the many insights, Longer quotations in a separate paragraph, not in italic, not in quotes; please leave a blank practical performance tips, and delightful anecdotes that he gave us. I, for my part, am grateful line before and after. that it has been possible to produce a more lasting version of his talk to celebrate that centenary in Emphasis: ensure emphasis is attributed as ‘[original emphasis]’ or ‘[my emphasis]’. these pages. Emphasized text italic. Many of you will have had the opportunity of hearing John Harcup speak about the trials and tribulations of Elgar’s health. I have been gently encouraging him, too, to put this into a more References: Please position footnote markers after punctuation – wherever possible at the end of lasting form. He has done so, and so enabled future generations of Elgarians to benefit from the half a sentence. a century of experience as a General Practitioner that he brings to the subject. In footnotes, please adhere as far as possible to these forms (more fully expounded in the longer And where would we be without Jerrold Northrop Moore? He worked tirelessly with John version of these notes): Norris to bring the Complete Edition publication of The Starlight Express to fruition, so I was particularly pleased when he volunteered to review Andrew Davis’s new recording for this issue. Books: Author, Title (Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication), page[s]. Thus: Robert I also have some editorial apologies to make. My thanks go to those who pointed out that Anderson, Elgar (London: Dent, 1993), 199. gremlins had taken it upon themselves to reverse the cover picture in the last issue (it was the right Periodicals: Author, ‘Title of article’, Title of periodical, issue number and date sufficient to identify, way round when it left here, guv, honest!). I am suitably embarrassed to realise that the issue went page[s]. Thus: Michael Allis, ‘Elgar, Lytton, and the Piano Quintet, Op. 84’, Music & Letters, 85 (May through four proofs without me picking this up. My even greater thanks go to those (I hope there 2004), 198. were some) who didn’t notice. Likewise I didn’t notice that Barry Collett, in his review of Relf End a footnote with a full stop, please, and never put a comma before a parenthesis. Clark’s latest book of essays, had referred to Relf as a past Chairman of London Branch. He was, Titles that are ‘generic’ in Roman: e.g. Violin Concerto. Others in italics (e.g. Sea Pictures; the of course, Secretary. Musical Times). Units within a longer work in single quotes, e.g. ‘Sanctus fortis’ from The Dream of Gerontius. Martin Bird 2 The Elgar Society Journal Vol.17 No.6 — December 2012 3 Elgar heard S. S. Wesley at Worcester in 1875, and often spoke to me of the thrilling effect Wesley’s playing had upon him. The occasion was the outgoing voluntary at a Three Choirs Festival evensong. Wesley began with a long extemporisation, designed to lead up to Bach’s Choral Prelude ‘Wir glauben Thoughts on The Music Makers - a conductor’s viewpoint all an einen Gott’, breaking off the extemporisation in an arresting way before entering upon the Prelude. The effect upon Elgar was so great that in after years when he returned to live in Worcester and would constantly slip into the old cathedral which had so many memories for him and which he greatly loved, he almost invariably asked me to play him something, and we always had to end with the Giant. But I do not know that I was ever able to recapture the impression left upon him by Wesley.6 Donald Hunt Wesley wrote these very extended anthems all in separate sections, among them Let us lift up our hearts, which Elgar orchestrated for the 1923 Worcester Festival. Now in the case of Great is the Lord Elgar joined these sections together. It starts off with a big tune which returns at the end to give the piece unity. In between there’s a fiery section (a section described by Alice as This essay has been adapted from an illustrated talk given to the London Branch of the Elgar Society Elgar’s ‘flying kings’), and then quite suddenly there’s the most beautiful baritone solo. At the on 1 October 2012, the centenary of the work’s first performance. Dr. Hunt also made reference to end of this he does a complete twist - an amazing modulation - going into a sacred dance before the Psalm ‘Great is the Lord’, another significant work of Elgar’s which was completed in 1912.1 ending with the big tune. We need to remember, too, that it was written at or just after the time that the Violin Concerto and First Symphony had been written, when he was besotted with keys On 1 January 1912 the Elgars moved into their new London home, Severn House. The first music and the relationship between D major and Ab major, so remote from each other. I think this is that Elgar completed there was the ‘Imperial Masque’ The Crown of India. It was a success, and such an important piece and unjustly neglected. Elgar later orchestrated it as he tended to do with on the strength of it the Duke of Argyll, no less, suggested that Elgar should write an opera, which everything, he couldn’t help himself, but in my opinion the orchestration is very overblown and he suggested should be on the life of Columba. Elgar thought about it, and decided that he wasn’t you lose a lot of the lovely detail you get in its original form with organ. interested, particularly as the saint was reputed to have a dislike of the feminine article, so much so that he wouldn’t even allow a cow on Iona. He became very homesick for Worcestershire, writing The Music Makers to Canon Gorton: ‘I long for a sight of my own country’2. He was ill, too, at this time, Alice noting ‘E. very uneasy about noise in ear’3, and he spent most of April in what he himself called ‘cold Early in May he was able to turn his attention to a work which was to be produced at the Birmingham storage’.