News In this issue ... Page Page Address for Communications 2 Membership Matters 23 Keep in touch 2 Delius Society 24 Letter from the Chairman 2 A previously unknown From the Editor 5 photo of Elgar? 25 Excellent News! 6 Obituaries 26 Birthday Weekend: Elgar Works 33 Elgar Festival and AGM 7 Letters to the Editor 36 Minutes of the 2019 AGM 9 Branch Events 37 Elgar Medal Awards 17 Dates for your Diary 41 Elgar Day at the Three Choirs 21 Crossword 52 Trustees’ Annual Report T1 No. 70 – April 2020 Address for Communications Contributions for the August 2020 edition of the Elgar Society News should be e–mailed to the Editor: Peter James: [email protected] Full contact details can be found on the back cover. The latest date for submissions for the August 2020 issue is 25 June 2020. Keep in Touch Remember: you can keep up to date with the latest Elgarian news online at Facebook: www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com London Branch Account: https://twitter.com/ElgarLondon YouTube: www.youtube.com or, search for ‘Elgar’ or ‘Elgar Society’ or ‘Elgar Birthplace’. Letter from the Chairman What a missed opportunity, Herr Borsdorf! This was the train of thought: the Scottish Branch of our Society requested a horn and piano recital by Gill and me for one of their meetings, naturally hoping that we would include ‘something by Elgar’. A perfectly reasonable request, were it not for the lamentable fact that Sir Edward wrote no solo horn pieces! Nothing daunted, and with Parsifal–like enthusiasm, I ‘deranged’ Chanson de Nuit, reasoning that it would work well for horn and piano. And so it proved: Gill and I gave the first and probably last performance to a suitably discerning audience. 2 Elgar Society News Letter from the Chairman The thought grew – why did Elgar, who wrote so beautifully and idiomatically for the instrument, leave absolutely nothing for us to play? After all, Edwin James, principal bassoon of the London Symphony Orchestra, asked him to write something for his instrument and was rewarded with the lovely and underrated Romance, Op.62. Elgar, who was principal conductor of the LSO between 1911 and 1913, must have come into frequent contact with Emil Borsdorf, who was not only principal horn but also a director of the board. Why Herr Borsdorf failed to obtain a work from his principal conductor is, of course, lost in the mists of time, but it remains a frustration. Incidentally, Elgar consulted Borsdorf over the practicality (and difficulty) of a splendid flourish given to all four horns in his oratorio The Kingdom (Ex.1). This occurs in Part IV at Fig.144. (Only those fortunate possessors of the full score may study this as – scandalously – a study score has never been produced.) This reticence on Elgar’s part has always struck me as strange because there are passages in the Cockaigne Overture – Fig.28–29 (Ex.2) – and especially the Second Symphony – Fig.146–149 (Ex.3) – which are technically more demanding. I speak from experience! In fact, Constantin Silvestri – he of the celebrated recording of In the South – used to say that the correct tempo for Cockaigne was the one at which the horns could negotiate said passage! Norman Del Mar (another fine Elgarian) ticked off Alan Civil at a rehearsal for joining in with the cellos in their beautiful melody in ‘B.G.N.’ in the ‘Enigma’ Variations. Civil responded by saying No. 70 – April 2020 3 Letter from the Chairman that his teacher, Frank Probyn, had received the composer’s own approval for this; Elgar telling him that he would have scored it thus but was fearful that it would lie too high for comfort. You perhaps know the story told by Sir Adrian, that they were sitting in the Queen’s Hall prior to a rehearsal as the orchestra were warming up. Elgar suddenly grabbed Boult’s arm, saying, ‘Listen to what that trumpet player is doing – if I wrote that he’d say it was unplayable!’ So, the next time you are listening to one of Elgar’s orchestral works – spare a thought for the horns! Neil Mantle 4 Elgar Society News From the Editor 7 April 2020 will mark the centenary of the death of Alice, Lady Elgar. In Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation Dora Penny recalled how Alice ‘schemed and planned, suggested and persuaded, while aiding and abetting [Elgar] in all that he did. She contrived that he should meet the right people, saved him from troublesome interviews, and always did what she could to keep worries from him.’ In doing so did she sacrifice a promising career as a poet? Sadly, Peter Sutton, writing in August 2019’s Journal, thought not. Referring to her ‘stock epithets’ and ‘strict metre’, he thought that ‘despite her best efforts, she did not truly have [a career]’. History may conclude, then, that her accomplishment was, in Dora Penny’s not very politically correct words, to be ‘an ideal wife for a genius!’ For that she deserves our gratitude. Readers will no doubt remember David Packman’s presentation to last year’s AGM on ‘A Way Ahead for the Elgar Society’ (reprinted in the August News). Now, West Midlands Branch Chairman John Harcup has reported that David ‘is continuing to lead an initiative to bring classical music, and Elgar’s in particular, back to our state schools. We are now receiving support from the Elgar Society Executive and the local Severn Arts Group. One of our initiatives is to hold a series of short concerts for young people which will be available to them at a nominal charge. It is still proving a battle to interest other authorities but David and our “Think Tank” are determined to win!’ You may also remember Derek Holland’s rather fulsome tribute to the conductor Adrian Brown in the April 2019 News. Derek described him as ‘our greatest living Elgar conductor’ and suggested that our Society should ‘make a gesture of recognition to this great man and musician who has served our composer so tirelessly’. Well, that recognition materialised on 8 March, at a concert at St John’s Church, Waterloo, when Adrian Brown was presented with the Elgar Medal. Read the full report on page 19. No. 70 – April 2020 5 From the Editor Elgar found himself in unusual company in January when Sheku Kanneh–Mason’s recording of the Cello Concerto made it into the Top Ten of the UK Album Charts. Here he is nestling between Junk Food and Hollywood’s Bleeding. Sheku is reported as saying, ‘Thank you, Edward Elgar, for writing such a fantastic piece of music!’ Indeed, and many congratulations to all involved. Peter James Excellent News! As this edition of the Elgar Society News was going to press, we heard that a man had been charged in connection with the theft of Elgar’s OM and GCVO medals from The Firs, and the medals recovered. The medals (described in the August 2019 edition of the News, pages 18 and 19) were stolen on 27 June 2019 after burglars had broken down the door at the Elgar Birthplace Cottage. Happily, the medals, valued at approximately £50,000, were apparently undamaged. Richard Smith 6 Elgar Society News Birthday Weekend : Elgar Festival and AGM Elgar Festival As you will have seen, this mailing contains details of the 2020 Elgar Festival which will take place in Worcester from Thursday 28 May through to Sunday 31 May and is supported by the Elgar Society. As before, the Festival is timed to coincide with the Society’s Birthday Weekend. This year the Festival has been extended to four days and includes additional events including late night concerts, an additional concert in the Cathedral and a number of other talks, exhibitions and musical performances. The Gala Concert to be held on the Saturday evening will feature Elgar’s Symphony No.1 performed by the English Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Woods. The concert will be preceded by the 2020 A.T. Shaw Lecture, to be given by Stephen Darlington and entitled ‘Elgar’s First Symphony in the English Canon’. Tickets for all of the Festival’s events can now be purchased from Worcester Live Box Office, Huntingdon Hall, Crowngate, Worcester, tel. 01905 61142, on line from Eventbrite at https:// www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the–elgar–festival–patron–membership– tickets–90796212917?aff=ebdssbeac or go to the Elgar Festival website and click ‘Book Now’. By quoting the promotion code ElgarSociety20, Society members can receive a 10% discount on all bookings. Stuart Freed Annual General Meeting 2020 Nominations for Council Officers and Members of Council The date agreed for the AGM is Sunday 31 May 2020. The arrangements have had to be adjusted because the Cathedral has a Confirmation Service at 4pm and Evensong is not until 6.30pm. The arrangements are: AGM at 1.30pm at The Firs, followed by the Birthday Toast and Tea. Evensong at the Cathedral at 6.30pm, followed by the laying of the chaplet at the Elgar window. No. 70 – April 2020 7 Birthday Weekend and AGM Officer Nominations In line with the constitutional requirement I have received valid nominations for the following Officer posts: Chairman Neil Mantle Vice–Chairman Stuart Freed Hon. Treasurer Peter Smith Hon. Secretary George Smart Council Members Two other Council members have completed one term – Peter Newble and Roy Whittaker. Valid nominations have also been received for both to seek a second term. Two members of the existing Council will be stepping down at the AGM in 2020, having completed two terms of four years – Geoff Scargill and Ruth Hellen.