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SEA PICTURES. Op.37 BY SIR : A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE FOR STUDY AND PERFORMANCE

D.M.A. DOCUMENT

Presented in partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School o f The Ohio State University

by

Lynnette Borman, B.M.E., M.M.

*****

The Ohio State University 1998

D.M.A. Document Committee: Approved by: Dr. Robin Rice, Adviser

Professor Eileen Davis L Adviser ^ Professor Loretta Robinson School of UMI Number; 9900786

UMI Microform 9900786 Copyright 1998, by UMI Company. All rights reserved.

This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.

UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Lynnette Borman 1998 ABSTRACT

On October 5, 1899 the premier performance of . Op. 37, took

place at the Festival in . This cycle written for

and / mezzo-soprano soloist and contains the poetic verses of the Honorable

Roden Noel, C. A. Elgar, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Dr. , and Adam

Lindsay Gordon. With this work. Edward Elgar, began an exploration into the new

territory of English solo song.

This document is designed to enhance future performances of Sea Pictures by offering a discussion on each of the poet’s lives and their literary works. A performer's analysis of the composition in relationship to the poems as well as Elgar’s life, follows. The document is divided into six chapters that include information on the life of Elgar, the history and status of the British Empire while Elgar was compos­ ing, the history of English solo song, Elgar’s compositional style, and finally an in- depth discussion of Sea Pictures. Deeper knowledge of Edward Elgar and his possi­ ble reasons for text choices furnish performers with an increased perception and in sight into Sea Pictures. Op. 37. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I wish to acknowledge the efforts of all those who assisted with this project. I would like to thank my D.M.A. Document committee for their guidance and expertise:

Dr. Robin Rice. Chair. Professor Loretta Robinson, and Professor Eileen Davis.

My deepest gratitude to Jennifer and Brian Crain for the untimely use of their computer and the continuous inspiration and encouragement they gave me. My sincere thanks to Mr. John Norris and The for answering my vast amount of questions throughout this project. My sincere appreciation to Professor Loretta Robin­ son. Professor Eileen Davis, and Dr. Robin Rice who so generously took their summer vacation to share their editing skills. 1 would also like to thank both sets of my parents.

.Art and Lynn Borman / Jane and Mike Parker, and my grandparents Ben and Karen

Montgomery/ Ernie and Mary Jo Parker who supported and encouraged me through­ out all of my educational endeavors. Finally and most importantly, I would like to thank God. For without his strength the completion of this project would have never taken place.

Ill VITA

1971 ...... Bom - Houston, Texas

1994...... B.M.E. Baylor University Waco, Texas

199 6...... M.M. The Ohio State University Columbus. Ohio

1994-1998...... Graduate Teaching Associate The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio

199 7 ...... Apprentice Young Artist Des Moines Metro Opera Des Moines, Iowa

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major Field: Music

Studies in Voice, Vocal Pedagogy, Vocal Literature, Music History, Diction, Performance Techniques, Music Education, Choral Conducting

IV TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT...... ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...... iii

VITA...... iv

LIST OF FIGURES...... vii

INTRODUCTION...... I

CHAPTERS:

1. EDWARD ELGAR (1837-1934) Family History ...... 4 Education and Employment ...... 6 Influences ...... 7 Interest in music recording ...... 14 Chronology ...... 15

2. THE BRITISH EMPIRE The Forming and Failing of an Em pire ...... 20 Elgar's Relationship to English Royalty ...... 23 The First World War ...... 25

3. ENGLISH SOLO SONG...... 29

4. EDWARD ELGAR’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE The Beginning of Elgar’s composing career ...... 36 Compositional techniques ...... 37 Elgar as a song ...... 38 His choice and setting of tex t ...... 39

5. SEA PICTURES. OP. 37 ...... 43 6. THE

"” ...... 50 P oet ...... 51 Poem ...... 54 Music...... 55 Setting of text ...... 65

"” ...... 69 P oet ...... 69 Poem ...... 75 Music...... 76 Setting of text ...... 80

"” ...... 82 Poet ...... 83 Poem ...... 88 Music...... 89 Setting of text ...... 95

"” ...... 98 P oet ...... 99 Poem ...... 99 Music...... 100 Setting of text ...... 105

"”...... 107 P oet ...... 108 Poem ...... 112 Music...... 114 Setting of text ...... 120

EPILOGUE...... 123

APPENDIX A : EDWARD ELGAR’S SOLO SONGS...... 125

APPENDIX B : DEGREE PERFORMANCES...... 130

LIST OF REFERENCES...... 131

VI LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. mm. 1-12 p. 59 of Michael Hurd Book ...... 47

2. mm. 12-16. p. 5 of orchestral score ...... 56

3. m. 1. p. 4 of /vocal score ...... 57

4. mm. 10-11, p. 4 of orchestral .score ...... 58

5. mm. 17-19. p. 6 of orchestral .score ...... 60

6. mm. 27-28. p. 7 of orchestral .score ...... 62

7. mm. 44-49. p. 9 of orchestral .score ...... 64

8. mm. 20-21. p. 6 of piano/vocal score ...... 66

9. m. 1. p. 11 of orchestral score ...... 77

10. m. 1. p. 4 of piano/vocal score ...... 78

11. mm. 1-2. p. 14 of piano/vocal score ...... 78

12. mm. 23-26. p. 13 of orchestral score ...... 79

13. mm. 5-9. p. 14 of piano/vocal score ...... 90

14. mm. 22-27, p. 17 of orchestral score ...... 91

15. mm. 37-42, p. 18 of orchestral score ...... 92

16. mm. 64-65, p. 20 of orchestral score ...... 93

17. mm. 76-77. p. 23 of orchestral score ...... 94

18. mm. 14-17, p. 29 of orchestral score ...... 102

vii 19. mm. 23-24. p. 25 of piano/vocal score ...... 103

20. mm. 48-51, p. 33 o f orchestral score ...... 104

21. mm. 1-5, p. 29 of piano/vocal score ...... 115

22. mm. 16-18, p. 38 of orchestral score ...... 116

23. mm. 50-52, p. 43 o f orchestral score ...... 117

24. mm. 16-17, p. 29 of orchestral score ...... 118

25. mm. 58-61, p. 35 of piano/vocal score ...... 119

Vlll INTRODUCTION

“Mention Sea Pictures and you have exhausted the list of songs by Elgar that have a regular place in today's repertory.” ' Thus writes , in a 1949 arti­ cle printed in the Musical Times. There is truth to Mr. Jacobs statement, yet the famil­ iarity among musicians with Elgar’s song cycle. Sea Pictures, is still lacking today .

In November of 1997.1 performed Sea Pictures.Qp. 37 on my first Doctoral recital. In researching for the program notes. I discovered that there was not a great deal of information published on the work. 1 was also intrigued by different poets Elgar chose to set, and wanted to explore the possible reasons for his choices.

During any study of vocal literature, it is necessary for a potential performer to examine the text. Text, gives the music life and is the defining element of song. Knowing about the poet's life, the inspiration for the poem, and why the composer chose the poem can only enhance the understanding and performance of a work. It is my intent to provide this source of information for any person interested in studying Edward Elgar’s

Sea Pictures.

The document is divided into six chapters. The first chapter addresses the life of Edward Elgar. Elgar WTOte much of his music while England was still heavily con­ trolled by the royal family. Chapter Two traces the history of the British Empire and how it influenced Elgar’ s compositional career, music, and ultimately his life. When

1 studying any piece o f music, it is helpful for a performer to know the time period in which it was written. Sea Pictures was written during a time when there was not a great deal of solo song output from England. Chapter Three traces the history of English solo song through the present. Various , including Elgar, are discussed, identify­ ing how each one of them contributed to the development of song in Britain. Chapter

Four of this document is reserved for a discussion of Edward Elgar’s compositional style. The amount of song literature he contributed is small, and often times not very memorable. Chapter Four also includes Elgar’s choice of text and a discussion of his success in setting verse to music.

Chapters Five and Six are completely devoted to Sea Pictures Op.37. The song cycle premiered at the Norwich Festival in 1899 with Elgar conducting and as the soloist. Chapter Five provides a history of the song cycle and how it was received by the public. The sixth and final chapter is an in depth discussion of Sea Pictures. In keeping with Elgar's structure of the cycle, the chapter is divided into five sections.

Each section provides information on each poet and their individual literary achievements, a section addressing specifically the poems Elgar chose to set, and possible reasons for his choices, followed by a musical discussion of each song.

For the musical discussion I have included examples from both the orchestral and piano/vocal scores. Finally, I conclude each section in Chapter Six with a brief discussion of Elgar’s skill in prosody.

In the years that followed Elgar’s death, there was a slow decline in the popularity of his music, including Sea Pictures. However, in the 1960’s, an ■‘Elgar renaissance"’ took place including a revival of interest in this song cycle. ‘ Mr.

Higgins continues by saying, that “for its time of composition and country of origin, it is

remarkably forward looking in its vocal impressions.” ' Many people feel that Elgar’s

solo songs are trite and without true substance. They sound today “almost like a British

equivalent of ‘Carry me Back to Old Virginny’ and other souvenirs of a more innocent

day." ^ However, I agree with the Elgar scholar Michael Kennedy when he says that “if

their sentiments seem out-of -date today, that is our loss”. ' It is my hope that through

this document the sentiments of Elgar’s solo songs, and especially Sea Pictures, will

never be lost, but only deepened.

Arthur Jacobs. “Elgar’s Solo Songs," The Musical Times 90 (August 1949): 267.

‘Tom Higgins, "Reviews,” Musical Opinion 111 (May 1988): 173.

Ibid.. p. 173.

Taul Moor "Opus Record Review: Elgar- Songs," Musical America 109 no. 2 (March 1989), p. 61.

Ibid., p.61.

3 . CHAPTER 1

EDWARD ELGAR

(1857- 1934)

Family History

Edward Elgar was bom on June 2. 1857 at Broadheath. near Worcester. He was the second son and fourth surviving child of seven children bom to William Henry El­ gar and his wife Ann Greening Elgar. Edward's father played and taught violin and piano and was of St. George for forty years. He became an ap­ prentice of piano tuning at Coventry & Hollier in at a very young age. Arm

Greening, Edward's mother, was the youngest child of a farmer. She was an avid reader and loved tales of "masculine chivalry” and "feminine honor". ' Ann's love of nature had a strong influence on her son, Edward.

The family lived in an old house near , a convenient loca­ tion for William Elgar’s career as a piano tuner. Edward’s three older siblings were bom there. Harry - 1848, the oldest of the children, died in 1864 of scarlet fever. The next child, Lucy - 1852, was remembered by friends as “frumpish, difficult to converse with because of her deafness as an older woman, and isolated by a childless marriage.” ' The second daughter, Pollie - 1854. was liked by everyone and had a well balanced per­ sonality and calm manner. In 1856, Ann convinced her husband that a cottage in the country was the best place in which to raise their children. They “found a remote cot­ tage at Broadheath, a hamlet between three and four miles northwest of Worcester in gently rolling countryside surrounded by farms, woods, and little streams, and with the

North Hill of the Malvems just in sight.” ’ Elgar was the first to be bom in the beautiful countryside at Broadheath. During the spring and winter months, the roads going to and from Worcester were often muddy. Traveling, now being difficult, caused William to stay many week nights in the city. Finally, in 1859, a decision by the family was made to move back to Worcester. The small cottage could no longer hold the expanding fam­ ily, and the move to the city would make traveling easier for William. Edward's three younger siblings, Frederick Joseph - 1859, Francis Thomas - 1862, and Helen Agnes -

1864 were all bom in the city of Worcester. It is interesting that Edward, unlike his other siblings “remained the only child bom at Broadheath. And he was to be the only genius." ^

In the early 1860’s William Elgar took a shop in the Worcester High Street for the sale of and music, later moving his family into the rooms above the shop.

These rooms became their permanent residence. Edward and his younger brother Fred­ erick Joseph, “Jo”, were very close. Jo’s “very remarkable aptitude for music in every way from the time he could sit up in his chair”, gained him the nickname “the

Beethoven of the family.” ’ However, in 1866, Jo died leaving another hole in the Elgar family, especially affecting Edward. Education and Employment

Edward Elgar was completely educated in Catholic Schools, finishing at Littleton

House when he was fifteen. In June of 1872, he became an apprentice in the office of

William Allen, a Catholic solicitor who was a lawyer by profession. * a year as an apprentice, Edward begged his parents to be released from his duties. They reluctantly agreed with the stipulation that he was to help with his father’s music shop accounts. At an early age. like his brother Jo, Edward showed an interest in music. After discovering

Edward's gift for the piano, his father would take him around to his influential clients and get him to display his musical skill. ’ At the age of twelve, he joined the Worcester

Glee Club playing violin. In 1873, Edward declared that he was a musician and no other career would satisfy him. He told his mother that he would not rest until he received a letter addressed "Edward Elgar, England”. * Edward had wanted to go to the Conserva­ toire that Mendelssohn had founded in , but the family did not have enough money to send him. Instead, Edward worked, saved his money, and eventually went to

London. There he took violin lessons with Adolphe Pollitzer. and in 1881 the Royal

Academy of Music announced that Elgar had passed its examinations with honors.

However, for Elgar, his town became his own private university, where he looked for any opportunity to make music. While working in his father’s shop, Edward was exposed to many different scores of music, instruments, and textbooks about music. ^ He was appointed assistant organist at St. George Catholic church and played in a wind quintet with his brothers. Edward conducted the Worcester Glee Club and was the leader and instructor of the Worcester Instrumental Society. In 1879, he

became bandmaster of the County Lunatic Asylum at Potwick, where he conducted an

orchestra of attendants in a weekly concert. “The hospital felt that music would be

soothing and helpful to the patients.” " Edward arranged and wrote music for the Asy­

lum, WTOte songs for the Glee Club, and for the Catholic Church . Even

without a university or conservatory education, Edward Elgar, created the foundation for

a career that would one day make him famous.

Influences

One of the most important influences on Edward Elgar's life and music was his marriage to Caroline Alice Roberts. In fact, Elgar’s first important work was written a year after their marriage. In the autumn of 1886, Caroline Alice Roberts, who was nine years older than Elgar, applied to Edward for lessons in piano. She was a writer who had published a two volume novel, a long poem, and many other smaller works. Her

father was a Major - General in the , stationed in , elevating her families social standing above that of the Elgars. Neither of the two

families approved of Edward and Alice’s relationship. Edward’ s parents could not understand how a woman of forty could give him any romantic fulfillment. Alice's aunts were appalled at the prospect “of this misalliance to a tradesman’s son - in their view a mountebank fiddler of no fortune and uncertain temper who would be sure to lead Alice a difficult life.” '* Despite both families opposition, Edward and Alice were married on May 8, 1889. At the time of their marriage Alice was Anglican, however, to support her husband she later converted to Catholicism. Alice admired and recognized

Elgar's creative ability. She had the ultimate satisfaction of "knowing her presence, gentle encouragement, agreement, and dog-like devotion in the face of all his moods were absolutely essential to the music of her man.” She knew how to gently urge Elgar out of the severe de­ pression that often afflicted him.

After completing a major work, Elgar would often go into a post natal depression in which he would complain that the entire musical establishment was against him, that there was no point in music anyway and that he was going to throw it all up and become a coal merchant.'^

Edward and Alice had only one child, a daughter named Carice. Edward devised the name by combining his wife's first and middle name, Caroline Alice. Alice experienced social trouble after her marriage to Elgar. She had many “friends” who cut her out socially for "marrying beneath her." ' However, the friends that did remain loyal to Alice, also became friends of

Edward" s. (More on Edward and Alice’s marriage can be found in Chapter 6 in the discus­ sion of "In Haven”.) Alice often encouraged Elgar to write music about a certain subject.

For example, after a walk through the ‘' where Caractacus fought the Roman

Army, Alice said "Can't we write some tale about it?” From this suggestion Elgar wTote the cantata Caractacus which was premiered at the Leeds Festival in October of 1898. Alice was also the initial supporter for Elgar in his composition of . One night after the two had dinner, Elgar sat at the piano improvising, letting his fingers move across the keys of their own will. Suddenly Alice shouted, “Edward, that’s a good tune!” He replied:

“Eh, tune? What tune?” That “What tune” became the famous Enigma Variations.

In April of 1920, Alice Elgar fell ill and died within a few days. Elgar did not write music of great significance after Alice’s death.

8 With her, Elgar's creative impetus had also died. Interestingly enough, Alice was not the first romantic interest in Elgar’s life. While he was in his twenties, he met and fell in love with He­ len Weaver. Helen, the daughter of a shoe merchant, was intelligent and musically inclined.

The two traveled to Leipzig where they attended many opera and concert performances. They became engaged, but in 1883 Helen broke off the engagement after the illness and death of her mother.

Another powerful influence on Elgar and his music was his love of the country side.

Whether the countryside makes the genius or however that may be, it is certain that no one was ever more imbued with the very spirit and essence of his own country than Elgar, it was in his very bones. was everything to him -the very look of spring coming, the cottages, the gardens, the fields and fruit orchards were different to his mind in Worcestershire . . . from walking, driving and bicycling there was very little of the country he did not know, and his memory for every village however remote and every lane twisty and bewildering was extraordinary.'"’

The above lines were written by Elgar’s daughter, Carice, in memor\' of her father. Obviously, the countr>'side had been important to Edward Elgar from the time he was a small boy. Elgar's mother sent her children back to the countryside for summer holidays and when Elgar was ten. he went and stayed with some former neighbors at Broadheath. The little streams, fields, paths and fountain in the cottage garden became the backdrop for Elgar’s first composition. This first scrap of dated music was entitled *‘a tune from Broadheath”. Further examples of how the countryside influenced Elgar can be seen throughout his entire compositional career. At the age of 21, Elgar wrote the “Hymn Tune in F Major”, which was later published under the title

Drakes Broughton. Drakes Broughton and Wadborough are two villages located south-east of

Worcester. Elgar once told a friend that he intended to haunt the narrow wooded lane that con­ nected the tv/o villages. The also served as a constant source of inspira­ tion to Elgar and his composition. They are a chain of hills with such names as Hang­ man's Hill, , , and . Elgar once said to a friend, “If ever after I’m dead you hear a little tune amongst the bracken on these Hills, don't be frightened as it will only be me humming the opening bars of my ‘ Con­ certo'." ■' While living near the Malvern Hills, Elgar composed such works as Enigma

Variations. . and Land of Hope and Glorv. The “Three

Festival", which took place in , Worcester and Gloucester, also influenced the music of Elgar. On one of his visits to Hereford, Elgar and his close friend Sinclair were walking along the banks of the . “ At one point in their conversation, Sin­ clair's dog, Dan. rolled down the bank and fell into the water. Sinclair exclaimed to El­ gar. “Set that to music!" Elgar did just that including “Dan’' in his Enigma Variations.

Elgar wrote:

The first few bars were suggested by his great bulldog, Dan, (a well-known character) falling down the steep bank into the River Wye; his paddling up stream to find a landing place and his rejoicing bark on landing!

Another composition that was influenced by Elgar’s surroundings was The Music Mak­ ers, a setting of Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s poem. While on the Mordiford bridge, Elgar made many of his sketches for . Elgtir loved being by the river be­ cause it conjured up peaceful feelings from when he was a child. Another place that provided Elgar with peace and solitude, was a lonely place called London Marsh. His close friend W.H. Reed wrote, “Here he used to sit and dream. A great deal of The

10 Apostles took, shape in his mind there. He told me he had to go there more than once to think out the climaxes in the Ascension.” One could list many more examples of how the countryside influenced Elgar and his music. However, one fact remains clear. The countryside was a retreat and creative catalyst in which Elgar created some of his most

famous works.

Like most children, Elgar was heavily influenced by his parents. Tn later years

Edward acknowledged openly that his mother was the great and shaping influence of his life: 'the things she told me. I have tried to carry out in my music’.” From his mother he learned the love of imagination in reading. Ann, Elgar’s mother, would read and tell her children numerous stories that allowed them to retreat into a world created with their imaginations. Elgar's early exposure to books undoubtedly explains the countless number of books Elgar owned throughout his life.

His shelves were crowded with standard English works, old-fashioned collections of anecdotes, ghost stories, modem plays and poems often with presentation inscriptions from their admiring authors, history, chemistry and scientific works, classical lexicons biblical commentaries and religious tracts.

These books which provided Elgar with some constancy in his life also inspired many of his compositions. As Elgar’s mother influenced his literary interest, his father influ­ enced his musical style. William Elgar was a member o f the ‘'” orchestra. The festival provided an avenue for renowned composers to write and often conduct the premiere performances of their works. In 1866, William obtained permis­ sion from the festival, for his son, Edward , to attend the final combined rehearsal of the week’s music. Without knowing it, Edward was absorbing many different kinds of

11 music that would later affect his own compositional style. William was also involved in

many music-making opportunities around the city. He would often take Edward to St.

George church, where he was the organist, or to rehearsals of the instrumental ensem­

bles in which he participated. Edward’s gift as a violinist flourished in this

atmosphere. As his skills improved, Elgar was invited to play in his father’s ensembles

and in 1874 he was asked to play violin in the "Three Choirs Festival orchestra”. ‘ Even

though Elgar's parents discouraged his pursuit of a career in music, they unconsciously

gave him the fundamentals which inspired in him a deep love and passion for music.

To support his composing career, Edward Elgar would often teach private violin

and piano lessons, a job that he despised. A typical week of teaching for Elgar would

include private lessons in Worcester on Monday, private violin lessons at "The Mount

on Tuesdays, teaching at the Worcester Girls’ High School on Wednesdays, private

teaching in Malvern on Thursdays, and on Friday or Saturdays Elgar would find himself

teaching a Ladies Orchestral class.” The many hours of teaching left Elgar with little

time or energy to compose. In November of 1904, Elgar became the first Professor of

Music at the University of . He had not wanted the job but because of fi­ nancial struggles he felt obligated to take it. Although the job provided stability, Elgar did not enjoy teaching. His lectures would often consist of his saying true, yet hurtful things to his lesser English colleagues of music. " After these offensive lectiu-es, Elgar, feeling guilty, would retreat into a deep depressive state which prevented him from composing any music at all. Finally in 1907, Elgar resigned from the University and be­ gan to compose full time again. "

12 One of the most influential aspects in Elgar's life was his devotion to Roman

Catholicism. Ann Elgar saw to it that her children were brought up in the Catholic church and educated in the Catholic schools. At the last Catholic school Edward at­ tended, one of the superior priests gave him an engraving of the “Death of Joseph” with the inscription:

YOU SHALL LIVE AGAIN FROM OUT OF THE TOMB HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE and this passing death is nothing but a sleep to make entry into Eternal Life.

Elgar kept this engraving for the rest of his life. Much of Elgar’s faith can be found in the subjects he chose to set for his major religious choral works. One of the most re­ markable affirmations of the Catholic faith can be found in Elgar’s The Dream of

Gerontius. "The Dream of Gerontius” was a long mystical poem by Cardinal John

Henry Newman written in 1865. The priest of St. George’s Catholic Church gave Ed­ ward a copy of the poem as a wedding present. "The poem depicts the agonizing death of Gerontius. his experience of the , and his passage to the seat of judgment, es­ corted by his guardian angel. After judgment, his soul departs for purgatory.” Elgar was passionate about how The Dream of Gerontius should be performed. At one of El­ gar’s rehearsals for “Gerontius,” he asked the who were singing the “K.yrie” to sing with, “more tears in the voices as if they were assisting at the death of a friend”.

During the “Demons chorus”, he is recorded as telling the tenors again, “You’re not bank clerks on a Sunday outing, you’re souls sizzling in hell.” ”

13 Not only was Elgar passionate about "Gerontius”, but his devout Catholic upbringing also in­ spired such works as. and . King Olaf. and The Light of Life.

Interest In Music Recording

Edward Elgar had always been fascinated in things scientific and took a special interest in the early techniques of gramophone recording. Elgar was the first composer to record a great deal of his own music and to realize how helpful recordings would be to musical study.

The luckier student of today can hear the finest orchestra perform the work of his choice as often as he pleases. Complicated passages, a single bar if desired, - can be repeated until the innermost secrets of a score are analysed . .. The use of the instrument for faithful demonstrations at lectures on any branch of musical study seems illimitable. "

Robert Philip says that Elgar was the "first composer to take the gramophone seriously” and was even paid a retainer of 500 pounds by The to conduct records of his own music. In the middle 1920's, with the introduction of the microphone, Elgar em­ barked upon a recording project that included almost every work he wrote for orchestra, as well as small pieces and some choral extracts.

Not only was Elgar the first composer to record a great deal of his music, but by con­ ducting the recordings he was also able to leave his own interpretations of his music for per­ formers and conductors who followed him. " If one were to listen to Elgar’s own recordings of his works, following along in a score, it would become clear that Elgar’s flexibility of tempo far surpassed the indications that he gave in the score. He once wrote that he liked his music to be “played elastically and mystically, not squarely and like a wooden box.” This varying of tempi was not only a trait of Elgar’s performances, but was a fundamental part of performance practice in the early 20th century. Another trait of Elgar’s own recordings is the presence of

14 the portamento. Not only do all of Elgar’s recordings contain the portamento but it was in gen­

eral use in British of the 1920’s. The change, to what is now known as ‘modem

playing', did not come about until the 1930’s, with the elimination of the portamento and a

trend toward cleaner playing. Most performances today of Elgar’s music do not resemble the

style found in Elgar's original recordings. The orchestras today do not use a great deal of porta­

mento or , and they play with more rhythmic clarity than those of the 1920’s.

In 1933. Edward Elgar was initially diagnosed with sciatica, but it was discovered later

that he may have had a malignant brain tumor. In January of 1934, Elgar supervised his last

recording. Through land lines, a microphone, and loudspeaker. Elgar was able to give explicit directions for the recording of Caractacus from his bedroom. ' Elgar knew that he was dying and was worried about his unfinished . He said to his friend W.H. Reed, “Don't let anyone tinker with it... no one could understand ... no one must tinker with it." * On Febru­ ary 23. 1934 Elgar passed away.

*Note* (There is only one acoustic recording of Elgar conducting Sea Pictures. It was recorded on November 10, 1922 and January 8, 1923 at H.M.V’s studio in Hayes, Middlesex.

The soloist was Leila Megane, contralto, and she was joined by the orchestra. )

Chronology

1857 - Bom at Broadheath, near Worcester, Jime 2. 1859 - Elgar family retumed to live in Worcester. 1863 - Family moved to rooms above W.H. Elgar’s music shop at 10 High Street, Worcester. Here Edward lived with his family imtil 1879. 1863-65 - First schooling at Miss Walsh’s School, Britannia Square; piano lessons. 1864 - Death of elder brother Harry at the age of 15 from scarlet fever. 1865-68 - School at Spetchley Park. 15 1866 - Death o f "Jo” Elgar, ‘the Beethoven of the family' at the age of 7 from tuberculosis. Edward heard the first Three Choirs festival rehearsal: Beethoven’s Mass in C 1868-72 - School at Francis Reeve’s Academy, Littleton House, Lower Wick. 1869 - Three Choirs Festival rehearsal o f inspired Edward to learn the violin. 1869-71 - Music for the children’s play (later orchestrated as The Wand o f Youth Suites 1 and 2 - 1872 - Played organ for first full service at St. George’s Roman Catholic Church, Worcester. 1872-3 - Apprentice in William Allen’s law office. 1873 - Shop assistant in father’s music business, began giving violin lessons. 1878 - First played in Three Choirs Festival Orchestra. Attempt to model a Symphony after Mozart’s G minor. 1879-84 - Conductor at Potwick Lunatic Asylum. 1883 - Visit to Leipzig; engagement to Helen Weaver. 1884 - Engagement broken. performed at . 1886 - Accepted Caroline Roberts as pupil. 1887-89 - Organist at St. George’s Church. 1888 - Salut d 'amour written as engagement present to Alice Roberts. 1889 - Married Alice Roberts (bom 1848) at Brompton Oratory, London. 1889-91 - Residence in London. 1890 - Froissart . Birth of only child, Carice Irene. 1891-9 - Living at Forli, Alexandra Road, , Worcestershire. Teaching violin to school and private pupils in the district. 1892 -Finished for Strings and from sketches. First trip to Bavarian Highlands and Ba>Teuth. 1894 - . 1895 - Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands; 1896 - The Light o f Life (Lia Christi); Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf 1897 - : The Banner o f St. George 1897-98 - Caractacus. 1898-1903 - Tenancy of Birchwood Lodge summer retreat. 1898-99 - Enigma Variations 1899-1904 - Living at Craeg Lea, Wells Road, Malvern 1899 - Sea Pictures 1900 - The Dream o f Gerontius. Took up cycling. 1901 - Cockaigne Overture: Pomp and Circumstance Marches Nos. 1 and 2. 1902 - . 1902-03 - The Apostles 1903-04 - First visit to Italy. 1904 - , first performed in three-day Elgar Festival at Covent Garden, London; Pomp and Circumstance March No.3. 1904-11 - Living at Plas Gwyn, Vineyard Road, Hereford. 1904-08 - Professor of Music at the .

16 1905 - Introduction and Allegro 1905-11 - Visits to the United States 1905-06 - The Kingdom 1907 - Pomp and Circumstance March No.4; Part songs written in Italy. 1907-08 - The Wand o f Youth Suites 1 and 2 realized from old children’s play mu­ sic; Symphony No. 1. 1910 - Violin . 1911 - Symphony No. 2; Coronation March and Offertory. 1912-21 - Living at Severn House, 42 Netherhall Gardens, London, N.W.3. 1912 - The Crown o f India; The Music Makers 1913 - . 1914 - Part songs. First gramophone recording. Outbreak of First World War. . 1915 - . 1915-17 - The Spirit o f England 1917 - ; The Fringes o f the Fleet. 1917-21 - Tenancy of Brinkwells, near , . 1918 - ; . 1918-19 - ; 1920 - Death of Alice Elgar 1921-29 - London residence in a flat at 37, St. James Place. 1923 - .Arthur incidental music. 1923- 27 - Living at Napleton Grange, Kempsey, near Worcester. 1927 -28 - Living at Battenhall Manor, Worcester. 1928 -29 - Living at Tiddington House, near Stratford-upon-Avon. 1929 -34 - Living at Marl bank. Rainbow Hill, Worcester. 1930 - Severn Suite', Pomp and Circumstance March No.5; . 1931 - Opened EMI studios at Abby Road, London, by conducting the first gramophone recording of Falstaff 1932 - Beginning work on opera. The Spanish Lady, recording with 16-year old . 1932-33 - Work on Symphony No. 3. 1934 - Death at Marl Bank, Worcester, February 23rd.

(Chronology taken from Moore’s Spirit of England)

17 ', Spirit o f England: Edward Elgar in his World. (London: Heinemann Ltd.. 1984). p. 4.

‘Ibid.. p. 4.

'ibid.. p. 4.

■“ibid.. p. 6.

'ibid.. p. 8.

'’Michael Hurd. The Great Composers: Elgar. (London: Faber and Faber. 1969). p. 21.

Moore, p. 9.

'ibid.. p. 10.

"Hurd, p. 21.

'“Ibid.. p. 22.

"Ibid.. p. 23.

'"Moore, p. 15.

"ibid.. p. 15.

"Patrick Little, “Songs of Love and Death.” The Elgar Society Journal 9 (March 1996): p. 169.

''Moore, p. 22.

16 «*«« An ‘Elgar’ Tour. London. England. 1998. Available from http://\vw\v.geocities.com/Vi- enna/4056/tour07.htm. Accessed 13 January.

"ibid.. p. 30.

"'Moore, p. 21.

'"ibid.. p. 99.

’■"ibid.. p. 101.

"'An ‘Elgar’ Tour. London. England. 1998. Available from http://www.geocities.comA/ienna/ 4056/tour07.htm. Accessed 13 January.

“ Ibid..

"'ibid..

'•'Ibid..

" ib id ..

18 ■“Moore, p. 8.

■ Moore, p. 9.

'*Ibid.. p. 130.

■"Hurd., p. 20.

’“M oore., p. 10.

’'Ibid.. p. 10.

’'ibid.. p. 116.

'’Hurd., p. 41.

’"ibid.. p.42.

'’Moore., p. 55.

'“An ‘Elgar’ Tour. London. England. 1998. Available from http://\vw\v.geocities.com/Vienna/ 4056/tour07.htm. Accessed 13 January.

’I b id .. p. 2.

'“M oore, p. 138.

'"Robert Anderson, “Elgar's Musical Style," Musical Times 134 (December 1993): 690.

"“Moore., p. 138.

"'Anderson, p. 481.

"'ibid.. p. 487.

"’Stewart Craggs. (compiled by) Edward Elgar: A Source Book (Aldershot: Scolar Press. 1995), p. 119- 1 20 .

Moore, p. xxi-xv.

19 CHAPTER 2

THE BRITISH EMPIRE

The invention of the airplane, automobile, telephone, radio and film all took place during the course of Edward Elgar's life. It was a time of change and growth.

The majority of Elgar's life was lived during the reign of Queen and the ascen­ sion of the British Empire. In 1857, the year of Elgar's birth, the American Civil War was Just four years away, the Crimean War had just ended, and in England the upper and middle class were the only ones with the right to vote. ' 1857 was also the year of the Indian Mutiny, where hundreds of British men, woman, and children were massa­ cred for constantly trying to impose their more "civilized” Western Tradition on the

Natives of India. ' Because of the mutiny. The was required to hand over the administration of India to the British government. The acquisition of In­ dia was the beginning of the British Empire.

The Forming and Failure of an Empire

In 1814, England was becoming one of the leading industrial nations and also felt that it was it’s duty to take up “the white man’s burden - to outlaw slave trade and to take enlightenment in the form of education and Christianity to the natives.” ^ By the

2 0 1850's. Britain was the dominant ruling power. The Great Exhibition took place in 1851

at the Crystal Palace, which had been built especially for the event in Hyde Park. At the

Exhibition the entire world was shown how much material progress had been made since

the Industrial Revolution. The Empire began to grow with the construction of a new

headquarters between Whitehall and St. James Park in 1861 and with the news in 1869,

that the opening of the Suez Canal would guarantee Britain a faster route to the "Jewel in their Crown". India. ’ In 1870, who was an art historian, painter, and social reformer, gave his inaugural lecture stating the purpose of the British Empire.

.. . Will you youth of England make your country again a royal throne of kings; a sceptred isle, for all the world a source of light, a center of peace; mistress of learning and of the Arts, faithful guardian of time-honoured principles? That is what England must either do or perish; she must found colonies as fast and as far as she is able .. . teaching these her colonists that their chief virtue is to be fidelity to their country, and their first aim is to be to advance the power of England by land and sea... *

1885 was another year that touched the nationalistic nerve of the British people. In Jan­ uary, the famous General Gordon was killed in Khartoum, elevating him to a Christian martyr who faced death calmly for the cause of humanity. His death "epitomized the heroic British soldier" and was the subject of many English publications. Novels, such as

Jungle Books by Kipling, King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard, and The Four

Feathers by A.E.W. Mason were works that valued the Victorian values and the Pride of the Empire. ^

No Empire can flourish forever, and in 1897, Britain no longer held the highest rank among industrial and commercial nations. In 1857, the year Elgar was bom, England

2 1 had 65%, 70% and 50% of the worlds coal, steel, and cotton production. However by

1897. these figures fell to 33%, 20%. and 22.5% placing England behind the United

States and in close competition with Germany. * In addition, all of the colonies that

England had acquired began to cost them a large sum of money. They were becoming expensive to police, costing the Empire 13-22 million pounds between the years o f 1886 and 1896. They also had developed their own manufacturing industries, resulting in a shortage of trade with the Mother land. ^

The years of 1901-1914, the , marked the age of transition for

England. King Edward moved his court from Windsor to Buckingham Palace and began to take interest in the affairs of state. He wanted to improve the status of the armed forces and move England out of her isolation status. Ireland and India continued to be focal points of the Empire. England had exploited Ireland for some time, even though it was not a colony. Many English citizens felt that the Home Rule of Ireland would threaten the stability of the Empire. However, the situation climaxed resulting in the

Easter Rising of 1916. " Ireland became an independent self-governing jurisdiction in

1922 and finally in 1949 became the Republic of Ireland, breaking all of its ties to Eng­ land. The Amritsar massacre that took place in India in 1922 was the result of Ghandi’s campaign of passive resistance. India finally received her independence in 1947 and marked the end to the largest empire in the history of the world.

2 2 Elgar’s Relationship to English Royalty

Elgar reached middle age in the hey day of new Imperialism, in that provincial society which was perhaps most susceptible to its dazzle, and for a time he succumbed to the glory of it all. In Elgar’s Worcestershire of the nineties, the innocent manifestations o f imperial pride must have been inescapable, drumming and swelling all aroimd him; but if at first his response was conventional enough, in the end it was to give the imperial age of England its grandest and saddest memorials ... His was not the clean white line, the graceful irony, the scholarly allusion. He plunged into the popular emotion of the day with a sensual ... He was forty years old in the year of the Diamond Jubilee, and he saw himself then as a musical laureate, summoned by destiny to hymn Britannia’s greatness.

Many of Elgar's compositions contain a heroic voice that is undoubtedly associated with the British Empire. Froissart, composed in 1890, was his first piece to display a tie to the Empire. This composition displays the noble and heroic flare that has become asso­ ciated with English music. Between the years of 1892 and 1896, Elgar wrote three more works that have been said to parallel the progress of the British Empire; The Black

Knight. Sursum Corda, and King Olaf. 1897 was the Diamond Jubilee year for Eng­ land, and on June 22nd (Diamond Jubilee Day) had a massive proces­ sion through the streets of London. Elgar’s Imperial March, written in the Jubilee Year, was “popular music for the popular mood, broad simple, and richly garnished.” The

Imperial March furthered Elgar’s career as a composer. It was performed at the Crystal

Palace on April 25, at a Royal Garden party on June 28, at the anniversary of the

Queen’s coronation, at a State Concert on July 15th and was performed by the Royal Ar­ tillery band at Albert Hall on October 24th.

23 Queen Victoria, who favored Elgar and his music, gave a Royal Command for the performance of two songs from Sea Pictures and requested that Elgar compose a madrigal in honor of her birthday on May 24th. Elgar was brought to Windsor for the occasion and for the first time he met the Queen. Even though Sea Pictures was written in 1899, when there was a definite decline in the status of the British empire, Elgar in­ cluded heroic elements that were so often found in British music. For example, in songs number three and five, Elgar concludes each piece with the vocalist sustaining a high note as the orchestra cadences with a forte chord.

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901 and Edward VII began his reign. Elgar and King Edward developed a significant relationship. In fact, it was the King who first suggested to Elgar that the Pomp and Circumstance March in D-Major be sung. The work was first included as the final movement of the Coronation Ode and eventually be­ came a work of its own in Land of Hope and Glorv . The be­ came a second national for England as well as one of the great war songs of the day. '' In 1904. Elgar was knighted Sir Edward Elgar fulfilling his own prophecy made when he was a small boy in school.

"What is your name?” asked the headmaster. "Edward Elgar”, said the boy. “Say ‘Sir’, said the headmaster The boy replied, "Sir Edward Elgar”. '*

24 Seven years later, in 1911, Elgar received the Order o f Merit. The was instituted by King Edward VII to be “'personally awarded by the sovereign, to those who excelled in the arts, public life, or in other fields.” ” Elgar was self-satisfied, rightly so, with his stately music.

1 like to look on the composer’s vocation as ± e old troubadours did. In those days it was no disgrace to a man to be turned on to step in front of an army and inspire the people with a song. For my part, I know there are a lot of people who like to celebrate events with music. To these people I have given tunes. Is that wrong? Why should 1 write a or something which won’t appeal to anyone, when people yearn for things which can stir them.

Even though Elgar's music contained heroic and noble elements associated with

British Empire, his music also began to display the change that the Empire was about to undergo. Elgar’s Symphony No. I was the last piece Elgar wrote that captured the great­ ness of Britain. In 1909 it received over 100 performances in all comers of the world and includes a beautiful Adagio section which conjures up images of the Worcestershire countryside. Elgar's music, in the following years, took on "an increasingly sadder, and much less confident tone.” "

The First World War

Edward Elgar, like most Europeans, was altered by the First World War. The secure and prosperous British Empire was beginning to change, and with it so did El­ gar’s music.

25 In his Second Symphony, first performed on May 24, 1911, the audience seemed puz­

zled by the quiet finale and the second movement , which was written as a

lament for the death of Kind Edward Vll. Up until this point, the British people had de­

pended on Elgar to end his large scale works on a confident note praising the great land

of Britain.

On June 28, 1914, the “Great War” began, claiming 1,115,000 lives. Much to

Elgar's distress his Land o f Hope and Glorv had become the rallying cry for Britain. So

many friends of Elgar's were German and he could not deny that a great deal of his suc­

cess was owed to Germany. However, even though Elgar never saw the fighting line

during the war, he wrote a number of patriotic works for the war effort and served as

Staff Inspector in the Hampstead Special Constabulary. As the war progressed, Elgar

became sad and troubled longing for days of peace and solitude. He even banned Alice

from shopping at Army and Navy stores saying, “No because 1 don't make it my busi­

ness to kill my fellow men.” In 1917, Elgar was approached by Lord Charles Beres-

ford to set a few verses from Kipling’s Fringes of the Fleet. These four songs for bari­ tone were completed and recorded on June of 1917. Kipling had objected to his verse being set to music, considering it disrespectful to his son who had been reported as missing in action during the war. Elgar’s need for peace and solitude was finally found in the later part of 1917, in a small cottage in rural Sussex. Here he composed three of his last works, one being the Cello concerto, his last great masterpiece. Incidentally the

Cello concerto was written in the key of E-minor, producing the feelings of sadness and regret. '*

26 Britain more than survived the ‘‘Great War” which ended on November 11,

1918. "Nearly a million square miles were added to the Empire with 13 million new subjects”. However, as the 1920’s approached, the British people no longer had an interest in the "Great Empire”. The war had changed their old world and a "progressive opinion began to despise militarism, imperialism, and the darker side of nationalism.”

The "Great War” also was responsible for altering people’s preference in music. They no longer wanted , but desired music that was "elegant, witty, sharp- edged, percussive, and dissonant.” For Elgar, much of his music had been written dur­ ing the days of the "Great Empire”. Despite his appointment as the "Master of the

King's Musik" in 1924, "the feeling of being out of joint with coupled with his depression after the death of Lady Elgar, inhibited” Elgar from composing new works of any merit.

‘lan Lace, "Elgar and Empire” The Elgar Societv Journal 10 no. 3 (November 1997): p. 129.

’ibid., p. 130.

ibid., p. 130.

ibid., p. 130.

ibid., p. 131.

ibid., p. 131.

ibid., p. 132.

ibid., p. 133.

ibid., p. 133.

27 ’"ibid.. p. 136.

"ibid., p. 136.

’’ibid.. p. 128.

"ibid., p. 134.

"ibid., p. 134.

'Percy M. Young, Elgar P.M.: A Study of a Musician (London: Purnell Book Services Lim­ ited, 1973), p. 79.

"'Lace, p. 135.

"Michael Hurd, The Great Composers: Elgar (London: Faber and Faber, 1969), p. 47.

"Diana M. McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His Life and Music (London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD., 1955), p. 41.

Lace, p. 136.

="lbid., p. 135-136.

"ibid., p. 137.

"Ibid., p. 137.

"ibid., p. 138.

"Hurd, p. 47.

"ibid., p. 47.

■“Lace, p. 133.

■’Lace, p. 138.

■"Hurd, p. 49.

■’Lace, p. 139.

’", “Elgar’s Use of Literature,” in Edward Elgar: Music and Literature, ed. Ray­ mond Monk (Hants, England: Scolar Press, 1993), p. 277.

"Hurd., p. 55.

’■Lace., p. 139.

28 CHAPTERS

ENGLISH SOLO SONG

The beginnings of English solo song can be traced back to the Tudor years

(1550-1650) and King Henry VIII. The King himself wrote a number of part songs

(consort songs) that included a number of voices. As time progressed, instruments were substituted for the voices until one voice was left soaring over the ensemble. In 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, the Italian Madrigal made its way into England. The

English adopted the Italian Madrigal style, with the exception of changing the text to

English. This style consisted of four parts in strophic form, with a treble dominated harmony and repeated text. Out of this new came the English Lute Song.

The British are not known as the forerunners in the development of music.

However, with the lute song, they were able to create a sympathetic marriage between text and music. The lute song, strophic in form, contained a simple vocal line, lute chords, and open cadences with some mixed meters. The dominant composers of lute songs in the 16th and early 17th century were John Dowland, Thomas Campion,

Henry Lawes, Robert Jones, and Philip Rosseter. Lute song composers set wonder­ ful , especially that of . '

Henry Purcell was the last great English composer o f the 17th century. He composed during the relaxed reign of Charles II who was responsible for bringing a re­

29 newed interest to the arts. Purcell’s great interest in solo song produced works that con­ tained spectacular and text painting. Purcell’s solo songs were often sectional, written with a figured , dotted rhythms and florid melismatic passages, and most surprisingly within a small vocal range. The editor of Orpheus Britannicus. the main collection of Purcell’s songs, stated that Purcell had, '‘a peculiar genius to express the energy of English words.’’ ‘ This is no doubt true, and to this day, Purcell’s genius in set­ ting the English language is still recognized. Between the years 1710-1780, also known as the Georgian Period, the music that England produced was characterized by formality and refinement. Vauxhall was the first pleasure garden where musicians began to give formal concerts in the park. Composers began to write music, Vauxhall songs, that would fit the atmosphere of the pleasure gardens. Thomas Arne (1710-1778) was an important composer of music during this time. He wrote “Rule , Britannia!”, the unoffi­ cial anthem of Britain, and cantatas for the keyboard and voice. Unlike the German style. Arne's cantatas were a series of arias and and did not include choral pieces.

It was not until Edward Elgar, and his composition of Sea Pictures that a sub­ stantial amount of English solo song began to emerge again from the country. Preceding

Elgar, the dominant song form in England was the drawing-room or parlor ballad.

There was no English tradition of the art song recital, as we are accustomed to hearing today. ’ It is not to say that Elgar did not write any parlor ballads, but a significant turn­ ing point can be seen in the development of the solo song during his life. Frederick

Delius (1862-1934), living during the reign of King Edward VII, contributed 65 solo

30 songs to the growing range of vocal music that emerged from England. "The Bird’s

Tale” and "Let Springtime Come” stand out as significant. He wanted to write like De­

bussy and , but his music never seemed to reach that dimension. "His

songs are characterized by his highly developed and personalized harmonic approach

that influenced a new style in English song. Delius believed the essential elements in

music were intensity of expression and emotion.” '*

As the progressed, English Song flourished. (1848-

1918)and Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) were highly influential to British

song, not only as composers but also as teachers. ^ (1874-1934), who was

one of their students and the composer of Vedic Hvmns. was largely responsible for re­

educating England about its own music and re-discovering sacred choral music of past

English composers. Holst’s music combined ideas from other cultures with that of Eng­

land. His vocal music is described as having a wide range, wide leaps for the voice, and

a sustained vocal line that demands expressiveness. (1878-

1959), another student of Stanford and Parry’s, was the founder of the English National­

ist movement. He searched out folk melodies and incorporated them into his music.

Vaughan Williams’s research and compositions contributed to what became a folksong

movement that inspired a re-birth of British song and influenced a generation of British

composers. A musical style was established with a distinctly British sound. “ Vaughan

Williams became a towering figure of the 20th century. His music contains rhythmic

freedom, beautiful melody lines and is set to a high caliber of poetry. The quality of po­ etry was important to Vaughan Williams and he set such poets as A.E. Houseman in A

31 Shropshire Lad. Tennyson, in Songs of Travel. , and the

Rossettis in House of Life. Roger Quilter (1877-1953) also made a large contribution to the wealth of English solo song. His 112 songs are described as graceful, beautiful, gentle, and deceptively difficult. Quilter wrote songs where the harmonic elements never interfered with the dominance of the melody. He, like Vaughan Williams, set the works of well-known poets, and is known for his fine prosody. His song cycles To Julia. Seven

Elizabethan Lvrics. and Three Shakespeare Songs are considered three of his most fa­ mous cycles for the voice.

During the 20th century, English composers began to reflect the ideas of German

Romanticism, French Impressionism, neoclassicism, and modernism in their works. ’

John Ireland (1879-1962)was a British composer whose style combined German ro­ manticism. English ruralism - containing pastoral and folk qualities, and French mod­ ernism. He is responsible for influencing English composers to leave behind the overused Victorian poetry that so many of them were using. Ireland’s "harmonic style is what gives the text its clearest voice, underscoring and intensifying moods and images within the verse”. * For example, in his song cycle Land of Lost Content. Ireland creates a dream - like quality by alternating between duple and triple. ’s

(1885-1916)use of folk idiom resembles that of Vaughan Williams. He was a collector of folk song, and although he never directly quoted folk material in his works, one can hear the simplistic and clear folk style in his melodies. He often set the poetry of A.E.

Houseman and Thomas Hardy. In his Houseman settings of A Shropshire Lad, one can hear the outside influences of Debussy and Wagner. Butterworth, who’s music is often

32 referred to as "British Salon music’\ wrote a large amount of vocal literature for the medium voice. Ivor Gurney (1890-1937),who was gifted as a composer and poet, wrote 1700 poems and published 86 songs. The effects of World War I weighed heavily on Gurney, for after the war, he lived almost like a vagabond and died within the walls of an insane asylum. Ironically most of his well known songs, such as his song cycle

Five Elizabethan Songs , were written during the war. (1894-1930), a pseudonym for Philip Heseltine, was one of the most gifted song writers of the 20th cen­ tury. " He was a distinguished editor, critic, and transcriber of Elizabethan song. He composed 119 solo songs, wrote 57 reviews, 73 articles and 9 books. His singular musi­ cal style was influenced by the works of Delius and Anglo Dutch composer, Bernard van

Dieren (1887-1936). Warlock’s solo songs were often melancholy in nature though he tended to choose poetry that had a sense of humor.

English song of the 20th century is highly indebted to the work of Gerald Finzi

(1901-1956). Even though Finzi was not highly productive, the approximately 65 solo songs he did write are of first-rate quality. Finzi's melodic and harmonic approach re­ semble those of the traditional English school as seen in the songs of Vaughan Williams and Elgar. Finzi’s songs are characterized by a “skillftil interaction between the voice and piano, in a sort of close imitative texture”. " His complex rhythmic patterns, and effective use of harmony work together to emphasize the poetic atmosphere. Finzi, al­ though being a devout pacifist, chose quality texts which were often about war or intro­ spection. His Let Us Garlands Bring contains some of the most beautiful settings of

Shakespeare’s poetry. Of his 65 songs, 50 were to the poetry of Thomas Hardy. Ben­

33 jamin Britten (1913-1976),along with Ralph Vaughan Williams, was the 20th cen­

tury's most distinguished and significant British composer. '* Britten showed a special gift in writing for the voice. Not only did he write solo songs, but he made many no­ table contributions to opera and choral literature. Much of Britten’s music addresses such universal themes as beauty and its destruction, the loss of innocence, the individual versus society, and war and peace. In his vocal style, one can find the influence of

Henry Purcell, especially in the repeated note patterns. Britten was also very familiar with the Lieder of . This influence can be heard when Britten, like Schu­ bert, uses the piano part to support the vocal line as well as color the text. Most of Brit­ ten's songs are in sets and cycles. Seven Sonnets of Michaelaneelo, On This Island, and

Charm of Lullabies are just a few of his well known song cycles. He also was quite suc­ cessful in his arrangements of British and French folk songs. Like Edward Elgar, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 1965.

Edward Elgar did not have a large effect on the history' and the development of

British solo song. No British composer of significance studied with Edward Elgar, nor did he belong to a large circle of musicians. However, Elgar acted as a bridge between the parlor ballad and the flourishing of British solo song in the 19th century. Elgar’s

Sea Pictures provided an introduction to the many chapters that would follow in the

’ book” of English solo song.

'Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Style and Literature (Seattle: Pst. . .Inc., 1996), p.301.

'Ibid., p. 301.

34 ’Brian Trowell, “Elgar’s Use of Literature,” in Edward Elgar: Music and Literature, ed. Raymond Monk (Hants, England: Scolar Press, 1993), p. 276.

'Ibid., p. 310.

'ib id ., p. 302.

“Ibid., p. 312.

Ib id ., p. 302.

'ibid., p. 319.

“ibid., p. 327.

'“Ibid.. p. 328.

"ibid., p. 332.

'-Ibid., p. 335.

'’ibid.. p. 302.

35 CHAPTER 4

EDWARD ELGAR’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE

The Beginnings of Elgar’s Composing Career

Edward Elgar's composing career began to flourish in 1884 with the perfor­ mance of his Sevillana conducted by at the Crystal Palace in London.

His work Romance for violin and piano was accepted by a London publisher about this same time. Compared to other composers of his generation, Elgar developed late as a composer. His lack of formal music training and the necessity to maintain numerous jobs hindered Elgar’s composing efforts. ' However, in 1899 with the Enigma Varia­ tions . Elgar took his place among the great composers.

Elgar’s music was very much a product of his time. His early choral music now seems "hopelessly dull”. ' However, dull as it may seem, the style in which Elgar com­ posed was being accepted all over England . ' Even though Elgar composed in a Ger­ manic style reminiscent of Mahler, Brahms, and Strauss, he proved that English music had come to life again. Michael Hurd states that what makes Elgar’s music so wonder­ ful is “that he was able to combine the popular style music with his deeper contemplative moods.” ^

36 Compositional techniques

Even though Elgar's music was extremely popular during his lifetime, it was not

going to determine the future of English music. Elgar, along with Richard Strauss, Gus­

tav Mahler, and Gabriel Fauré, was among the last of the “Romantic” composers. In­

stead of exploring new ways of composition, Elgar spent the majority of his time bring­

ing an accepted style to perfection. ’ Elgar would compose by writing a passage here

and there, creating numerous musical fragments. The fragments would ultimately be

pieced together until they began to take on the shape of a larger musical work. Elgar’s

melodies can be identified as repeated patterns, rising and falling in pitch exhausting the original musical idea. The mood of his music was on one hand heroic, with echoes of military marches and ceremonial pageantry, and on the other hand, melancholy and heavy laden. Elgar's instructions in his orchestral scores are very detailed, due to his

first hand knowledge of the violin. *

Elgar’s music fell under criticism due to his romantic style o f composition. One of the most note-worthy examples of this criticism was found in an article written by

Professor of Music at Cambridge, Edward J. Dent. His article entitled “Modem English

Music” was published in the German Handbuch der Musikgeschichte, and stated:

He was a violin player by profession, and studied the works of Liszt, which were abhorrent to conservative academic musicians. He was, moreover, a Catholic, and more or less a self-taught man, who possessed little of the literary culture of Parry and Stanford . . . For English ears Elgar’s music is too emotional and not quite free from vulgarity. ’

As purposely sneering as Dent’s comments were, they could not have done more for the popularity of Elgar’s music. When the words finally made their way to England, they

37 touched the nerves of a growing number of persons who felt that Elgar's music had not been given its due justice. Philip Heseltine, a prolific composer also known as Peter

Warlock, organized a letter of protest that was sent to newspapers in England and Ger­ many. The letter states:

We, the undersigned, wish to record an emphatic protest against the unjust and inadequate treatment of Sir Edward Elgar by Professor Dent.. . At the present time the works of Elgar, so far from being distasteful to English ears, are held in the highest honor by the majority of English musicians and the musical public in general. Professor Dent’s failure to appreciate Elgar’s music is no doubt temperamental; but it does not justify him in grossly misrepresenting the position which Sir Edward and his music enjoy in the esteem of his fellow-countrymen. "

The letter was signed by numerous English composers and only solidified the fact that

Elgar’s music was respected and admired by many.

Elgar as a Song Composer

I am not a song writer although a few such things have achieved some popularity. (Edward Elgar) ’

The above statement, which gives definite insight to where Elgar saw himself as a song composer, was written in August of 1921 to his fiiend William Starmer. Although Elgar denied himself a song-composer, Brian Trowell states that “he wrote much better pieces than were heard in a Victorian drawing room.” ° One of the major reasons Elgar’s solo songs are not well known today is because he was writing in an element in which he was least comfortable, the keyboard. “Elgar’s genius rose to its greatest height in his orches­ tral works. Music came to him in orchestral clothing.” " His comfort in writing for the

38 orchestra explains why Sea Pictures, have stood the test of time. Even Elgar's more simple solo songs have survived in the repertoire because he orchestrated those that were dearer to him.

Edward Elgar had many sketchbooks full of possible song ideas. However, many of them remained just that, sketches. Of the solo songs with piano accompani­ ment that he finished. Elgar’s pieino parts are said to be serviceable rather than id­ iomatic. '■ Dunhill states that:

Most of those with piano accompaniment are indeed definitely poor, and scarcely distinguishable form the ‘pot-boilers’ which some many lesser English composers were wont to turn out in the days of ballad concerts. "

The vocal melody of Elgar’s songs are often times doubled too long by the piano, possi­ bly indicating that he was writing in terms of a vocal score reduction. " In spite of the neglect of Elgar’s solo songs, he did give definite contributions to the development of

English song by branching out of the confinements that were placed on solo songs by the Victorian drawing room. "

His Choice and Setting of Text

Elgar’s choice of texts contributes to the lack of popularity of his solo songs. El­ gar himself said that it was better to set the best second rate poem to music, for the most

immortal verse is music already. '*

A great poem could only be expressed in music which, following the aspirations of the verse developed its own life. The words of minor poetry may more easily be assimilated directly to music, for while they may armotate mood and atmosphere they will by reason of poetic indifference make no impediment to the music.

39 Elgar's choice of poems was greatly influenced by a number of factors. First of all, since Elgar did not have any higher education, he often felt insecure within society. In an attempt to appear well read, Elgar would pursue a number of deserted paths in litera­ ture. From these paths would emerge such poems as “Come gentle night" by Mr.

Clifton Bingham. '* Secondly, Elgar also relied on others to choose text for him.

Boosey and Hawkes, for example, would send him single copies or books of poetry.

Within these books Elgar might choose poetry based on some aspect of the poet's life which fascinated him or if the poet’s life had paralleled his own. Elgar's middle class background may have been another reason for his choice of texts. Brian Trowell states that “Elgar wanted to reach out to an audience who did not understand such an exalted use of language, yet could appreciate the simpler texts. Finally, Elgar’s real interest was finding words that he simply wanted to set. There are many themes that weave their way through the poetry that Elgar chose.

The loss of loved ones through death or parting, the fear of madness and even suicide, the regeneration through the hope offered by religion and the renewal of positive and fruitful artistic activity...'"

These are not the only themes of the poetry he chose to set, but are themes which can be identified with Elgar’s own situation in life and emotional difficulties. It would be unfair to say that Elgar never chose poetry o f first rate quality for his solo songs. As a young man Elgar admired and set Tennyson’s Birthdav Book and the poems of the Hon­ orable Roden Noel. He also set the Rossetti translation of early Italian poets, a number of poems from The , and was inspired by Poley’s Greek Wit. "

40 Not only did Elgar receive criticism for the poetry he set but he was also chas­ tised for how he set the verse. Elgar has been highly criticized for his obvious lack of concern for the syllabic value of the words. Newman states that sometimes Elgar’s ver­ bal phrasing is startlingly bad and other times the words are made to fit the music by a process of lengthening this or that syllable. " Basil Maine claims that Elgar had a

"sublime disregard of the natural qualities and emphasis of verse.” In a letter to his friend Jaeger, Elgar addresses his apparent lack of concern in setting texts:

One word as to my treatment of the words , not only in this op. but always. I hold that short syllables may be sustained occasionally for the sake of effect just as an actor does. There is one dear man whom 1 would not think anything but the greatest admiration and that is Parry. But he almost if not quite annoys me in the way he sets words which swarm in our language - two syllables, both short, the first accented, ex. petal. Set in an ordinary way a poem sounds like reading a newspaper paragraph.

Edward Elgar did not achieve popularity as a composer until he was in his forties. He was a self - taught composer who, like tine wine, bettered with age. He is known primarily as an orchestral and choral composer. Even though Elgar wrote many solo songs that have undergone heavy criticism, his Sea Pictures stand out as a work of true value.

Michael Hurd, The Great Composers: Elgar (London: Faber and Fabar, 1969), p. 28.

'Ibid., p. 28.

'Ibid., p. 28.

41 'Ibid.. p. 40.

Ibid.. p. 45.

"Ibid.. p. 41.

’jerrold Northrop Moore. Edward Elear: A Creative Life (Oxford: . 1984). p. 789.

'Ibid.. p. 790.

'Robert Anderson. The Master Musicians: Elgar (New York: Schirmer Books. 1993). p. 286.

“Brian Trowell, "Elgar’s Use o f Literature.” in Edward Elear Music and Literature, ed. Ray­ mond Monk (Hants. England: Scolar Press. 1993), p. 275.

' W.H. Reed. Elgar (London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1939), p. 148.

'Anderson, p. 286.

'^Thomas F. Dunhill. Sir Edward Elgar (London: Blackie & Son Limited. 1938), p. 188.

'Anderson, p. 286.

'*Basil Maine, Elgar: His Life and Works (London: G. Bell & Sons, Ltd.. 1933), p. 231.

“Moore, p. 280.

'’Percy M. Young, Elgar P.M .: A Study o f a Musician (London: Purnell Book Services Limited, 1973), p. 306.

", The Music of the Masters (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906), p. 119.

"Trowell, p. 278.

■“Patrick Little, “Songs of Love and Death,” The Elgar Society Journal 9 no.4 (March 1996): p. 170.

’'Trowell., p. 279.

"Ibid., p. 182.

’“Newman, p. 123.

’'Maine, p. 218.

’“Diana M. McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His Life and Music (London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD., 1955), p. 137.

42 CHAPTER 5

Sea Pictures by Edward Elgar

A Cycle of Five Songs

Op. 37

1. “Sea Slumber-Song” Text by The Hon. Roden Noel 2. “In Haven” Text by Caroline Alice Roberts Elgar 3. “Sabbath Morning at Sea” Text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning 4. “Where Corals Lie” Text by Richard Garnett 5. “The Swimmer” Text by

Sea Pictures by Edward Elgar is nestled between two of his most famous works, the

Enigma Variations and the Dream of Gerontius. The orchestrated version of Sea Pictures was not written until after Elgar’s first rehearsal with Clara Butt, a 26 year old promising contralto, on August 11, 1899. On September 18, 1899, the final proofs were in hand and

Sea Pictures was slated for its first performance. ‘ The cycle was written for and first per­ formed at the Norwich festival on October 5, 1899 with Elgar at the podium. Ms. Butt premiered the pieces for voice and orchestra. James Mottram, Elgar’s host for the festival wrote,

I likened him as he raised the baton to a hawk dreaming poetry in captivity and at his side Clara Butt had a wonderful dress, the material which, it was whispered, indicated appropriately the scales of a mermaid’s sinuous form. '

Sea Pictures premiered along with “Meditation” from Lux Christi. and was a great success with the public and critics. Elgar wrote, “The cycle went marvelously well and we were re-

43 called four times- I think after that I got disgusted and lost count. She sang really well.” '

The London Times reported that “Both singer and composer were recalled over and over

again... and the songs have undoubtedly been launched on a prosperous career." ' Two days after the premier, Clara sang Sea Pictures again with Elgar at the piano, to a sold out St. James Hall in London. Elgar's close friend August Johannes Jaeger and even his

host Basil Nevinson were turned away at the door due to the large crowd. Alice Elgar, his wife, wrote about the evening, “Wonderful scene and thrilling when Clara Butt re­ peated Tn Haven ” ’ On October 20, 1899, two songs from Sea Pictures were per­ formed by Royal Command at Balmoral Castle for Queen Victoria. " Many other perfor­ mances of Sea Pictures were given in the following years. On November 22, 1900, Ed­ ward Elgar received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the .

Under his new title of Dr. Elgar, he conducted Sea Pictures at the farewell concert for famous , . On February 16 in Bradford, Elgar conducted Froissart and Sea Pictures with as the soloist. Ms. Foster was a young mezzo- soprano who had just completed her vocal training at the with

Anna Williams. “Miss Foster proved to be the first of a group of young singers who would come forward as Elgar specialists during the next few years.” * Muriel Foster be­ came one of Elgar’s favorite soloists and for her son’s first birthday he inscribed the song,“” to him for “his mother’s singing.” " Elgar required singers who had a general level of intelligence and a subtle response to words. In addition to being intelligent, a singer had to posses a lovely tone. " In 1908, Elgar conducted a concert at

Ostende that included. In the South. Wand o f Youth, and accompanied Tilly Koenen

44 singing Sea Pictures. Elgar said the concert went well and even though he admired her voice, he had to give Tilly extra piano rehearsals because she did not know her part. "

As early as 1883, Elgar began sketching for Sea Pictures. In fact, in his fifth sketch book dated, October 17, 1883 for Malvern, a brief phrase was to become the opening to "Sabbath Morning at Sea”. Elgar had just completed the Enigma Variations without his usual depression, and immersed himself in his new project. Michael Kennedy states that Op.37 “as a whole, shows signs of being completed in haste to meet the com­ mission” for the Norwich Festival. '' The starting point for the cycle was the "Lute

Song" (“In Haven”) which was written on May 30, 1897 and published in The Dome in

January of 1898. The remaining songs in Sea Pictures were written at Birchwood in July of 1899. At first, Elgar did not have a concrete theme for his cycle. He wrote to his friend Nicholas Kilbum in February of 1899 saying, “I wish you could give me another idea for a song cycle for the Norwich Festival. 1 have sketched out a plan and music but you may have an idea.” ' However, as the Norwich Festival grew closer so did the "sea metaphor” The song cycle was published by Boosey and Hawkes instead of his usual publisher, Novello, because of a temporary break concerning the Enigma Variations.

However, after a conference with Alfred Littleton of Novello on September 8th, a recon­ ciliation came about, much to Alice’s relief. Interestingly enough, Boosey and Hawkes published the majority o f Elgar’s songs after 1900. ‘ Jaeger, an employee of Novello and

Elgar’s close friend, would often make suggestions to Elgar on how to improve his com­ positions. However, Jaeger played no part in Elgar’s Sea Pictures and offered no advice to see that the work and score were perfectly alike.

45 Many people feel that Sea Pictures is the most successful work in Elgar’s vocal

output. One reason for the cycle’s success is the simple fact that it is orchestrated.

“Elgar was happier with the orchestral canvas than with the narrower range of the piano,

for which instrument he confessedly had no great liking.”'^ Another reason for the suc­

cess of Sea Pictures is that the songs are thematically connected with cross musical quo­

tations. Elgar is able to unite diverse strands of material and create a dramatic piece of

music. ° Kennedy states that Elgar’s orchestral taste and a performance by a sensitive

singer, are the only things that keep Sea Pictures from becoming drawing room balladry.

In the cycle,

..the lone voice is pitted against the immense resources of the orchestra becoming a single spirit battling against overwhelming odds of nature. And so Elgar’s growing skill as an orchestrator was made a metaphor of deepening personal experience, where battles were fought within a world of interior landscape. "

Sea Pictures has also been subjected to scrutinizing criticism by purists concerning El­ gar’s treatment o f the verse. The purists feel that the “qualities and natural accents of the verse should be exactly reproduced in the vocal phrases, and that the composer’s speech should follow the literal outline of the poet’s.” Elgar would often alter the text to fit his music. Not only is Elgar criticized for his setting of the text but also for his choice of text. Michael Kennedy states that, “Today these songs have only to appear in a program for someone to severely criticize the words of the poems Elgar chose to set.”

Despite the criticism that Sea Pictures has undergone, there is a general opinion that El­ gar proved his song writing ability with this cycle.

46 Musical themes from Sea Pictures are often quoted in Elgar’s later works. Elgar quotes the “wave figure” from “Sea Slumber Song”, which is the first song in Sea Pic­ tures. in The Music Makers. He also borrows from the Dream of Gerontius. both sym­ phonies, and his violin concerto.

From TT/jtf Afusic Afakers

Fig. 1. mm. 1-12 p. 59 of Michael Hurd Book

Even though, the Enigma Variations were written before Sea Pictures. Dunhill says that the 13th variation, “Romanza”, is clearly derived from one of Elgar’s Sea Pictures. In

47 this variation, Elgar illustrates the gentle movement of waves, much like in "Sea

Slumber-Song'One of the themes that is found in both Sea Pictures and Enigma

Variations is the love Elgar had for Helen Weaver. Mr. Little feels that Weaver, though never mentioned by name, is involved in both pieces of music.

The five poems that Elgar assembled for his cycle make a varied assortment.

However, in addition to the purely beautiful music, the text " gives an insight into this most autobiographical of composers, his wishes, hopes, fears, his strengths and his weak­ nesses." ■" Many people do not see the true merit in Elgar's song cycle. One London

Times critic even referred to them as “Sea Shrimps" instead of “Sea Pictures. ' Nonethe­ less, Sea Pictures claims the “right to be considered on its own ground and not as a work overshadowed by the composers achievement in the Enigma Variations."

'Pcrc> M. Young. Elgar P.M.: A Study of a Musician. (London: Pumcll Book Services. 1973). p. 88.

■Robert Anderson. Elgar. (New York: Schirmer Books. 1993). p. 43.

t)a\ id Nice. Edward Elgar: An essential guide to his life and works. (London: Pavilion Books Lim ited. 1996). p. 4 3 .

T)iana M. McVeagh. Edward Elgar: His Life and Music. (London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD.. 1955). p. 27.

Jcrrold Northrop Moore. Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1984). p. 291.

“McVeagh. p. 28.

W.H. Reed. Elgar. (London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd.. 1939). p. 57.

“Moore, p. 347.

“ibid.. p. 3 4 7 .

'“Brian Trowell. "Elgar's Use of Literature,” in Edward Elgar: Music and Literature, ed. Ray­ mond Monk (Hants. England: Scolar Press. 1993). p. 276.

48 E. Wulstan Atkins. The Elgar-Atkins Freindship. (London: David & Charles, 1984). p. ISO.

Robert .Anderson. Elear in manuscript. (London: The . 1990). p. 15.

■ 'Michael Kennedy. Portrait of Elear. (London: Oxford University Press. 1968). p. 72.

■'ibid.. p. 101.

"M oore, p. 2 7 7 .

"Kennedy, p. 71.

.Anderson, p. 286.

'Kennedy, p 71

'Jacobs, p. 2 6 8 .

-°lbid.. p. 268.

■'Kennedy, p. 72.

■'Moore, p. 83.

■'Basil Maine. Elear: His Life and Works. (London: G. Bell & Sons. Ltd.. 1933). p. 225.

■‘Michael Kennedy. Portrait of Elear (London: Oxford University Press. 1968). p. 72.

•'Thomas F. Dunhill. Sir Edward Elear. (London: Blackie & Son Limited), p. 89.

■"Ibid.. p. 176.

■ Y oung, p. 92.

■"Maine, p. 2 2 7 .

49 Chapter 6

The Songs

I.

“Sea Slumber-Song" text bv The Honorable Roden Noel

Sea-Birds are asleep. The world forgets to weep. Sea murmurs her soft slumber-song On the shadowy sand Of this elfin land; “I, the Mother mild. Hush thee, O my child. Forget the voices wild! Isles in elfin light Dream, the rocks and caves. Lulled by whispering waves. Veil their marbles bright. Foam glimmers faintly white Upon the shelly sand Of this elfin land; Sea-sound, like violins. To slumber woos and wins, I murmur my soft slumber-song. Leave woes, and wails, and sins. Ocean’s shadowy might Breathes good-night. Good-night !”

(Kynance Cove)

50 The Poet

Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel was bom on August 27, 1834 the son of

Charles Noel. Earl o f Gainsborough, and his fourth wife. Lady Frances Jocelyn Noel.

At the age of fourteen, he began to study privately with the Reverend Charles Harbin. A strong interest in philosophy and the ultimate decision to study clerical duties at Trinity

College, Cambridge, undoubtedly came from the five years Noel spent being tutored by

Reverend Harbin. ' Noel himself, as well as his poems, were greatly influenced by his surroundings and station in life. Impressions from his surroundings at Exton Park may be traced in the openings of "A Modem Faust” and 'To my Mother”. He also visited his grandfather. Lord Roden, and ancestral home at Tollymore. The beautiful Irish country side and his memory of Irish legends are seen in some of his most descriptive po­ etry "Melcha” and “Water Nymph and the Boy”. ^ During his middle and late twenties,

Noel traveled abroad to France, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Nubia, the "Holy land”.

Palmyra, Lebanon, Greece, and Turkey. From these specific travels he formulated the subjects of the poems “Mencheres: A Vision of Old Egypt” and “Palmyra”. After his travels, he also began to question the religious teachings of his youth and ultimately de­ nounced a vocation in the church. ^ Noel also made numerous trips to the Orient. After his travels to the Orient, Noel’s feelings for color, the sense of the sublime qualities of nature, the infinity of the desert and the abysses of the mystic past were stimulated. It is here, in the Orient, that many scholars feel Noel found his voice as a poet. ^

His numerous travels not only influenced his writing but also introduced him to his wife. In 1863, after becoming severely ill from sunstroke, Noel was transported to

51 Beirut where Madame de Broë cared for him in her private home. Mr. Broë was the di­ rector of the Ottoman Bank in Beirut and a very prominent social figure. While staying in their home, Noel met and quickly fell in love with their eldest daughter, Alice Broë.

The two became married on March 21, 1863. * During their marriage Alice and Noel lost one of their three children, Eric, who died when he was five years old. The death of his son. not only altered Noel’s outlook on life, but became the subject for one of his finest books of poetry, A Child's Monument. This book of poetry records the grieving process that Noel went through for his son ; first doubt and despair, and finally faith.

"The experience of the death of his young son permanently altered Noel’s religious and philosophical principles”, and ultimately changed his style of writing. ’ Noel himself said, " For more than a year 1 cared for nothing, not even literature, not even nature. Yet nature was something to me even then, I suppose, for I went alone to Sark and swam a great deal in the sea among the wonderful caves.” *

The many friends of Roden Noel described him as being low key in nature with an intense sensitivit>' to "all things beautiful in nature and in all things noble and pa­ thetic in human life.” ’ The sea and the mountains were especially attractive to him.

Noel's numerous poems about nature are wonderful for their insight and natural pas­ sion. Noel was not a poet who only observed nature but was a sharer of '‘Nature’s ele­ mental joy.” He was a member of the English Alpine Club and an excellent swim­ mer. Many of his books of poetry overflow with the deepest understanding of the sea and its many moods. Another theme that weaves its way through Noel’s poetry is his preoccupation with social justice.

52 Whene'er there comes a little child. My darling comes with him; WTiene'er I hear a birdie wild Who sings his merry whim. Mine sings with him:

And if one woundeth with harsh word. Or deed, a child, or breast, or bird. It seems to strike weak Innocence Through him

The above lines, taken from the poem “That They All May Be One" . clearly shows the new direction of Noel's own life. He began to visit children in hospitals, lecture for fund raising drives for children's charities, and began to work closely with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He was a tenderhearted Christian who wanted to help the poor. His fight for social justice can be seen in many of his poems. For example, in “The Red Flag", Noel warns his readers that if “urban suffering" is not eliminated in the city a cataclysmic disaster would fall upon London and ultimately all of England. The poem "A Lay of Civilization'’, from Songs of the Heights and Deeps. presents the plight of the city and offers hope and redeeming faith through nature and human goodness. In Livingston in Africa Noel’s almost autobiographical account of

David, the romantic hero/ explorer, focuses on a man who is a seeker for truth and hu­ man values. The House of Ravensburg. according to Noel, was the “most human thing 1 had ever done, and expresses my pity for all tremendous problems of human destiny.”

Noel has been classified as one of the first “philosophical” poets of the I890’s.

His true strength as a writer comes from his ability to combine "hhe full sensuous feel­ ings for the material world with an ever present sense of the spirit informing it and bringing all its products into vital harmony.”

53 Robert Buchanan further states that '‘No singer of our time is so eager to perceive, so

quick to apprehend the problem of evil. He shows himself alive to sorrow and pain of

humanity."

The Poem

"Sea Slumber-Song" comes from a section entitled “Lyrics” found within Po­

ems of the Honorable Roden Noel. This individual poem was published in 1892, pre­

sented in a volume for the first time by a publisher. The poem refers to Kynance

Cove near the Lizard in Cornwall. Noel often felt a sense of melancholy when he gazed

upon a storm at sea. He describes the caves that are found in the sea cliffs, like those of

Kynance Cove, as huge church windows.

Noel has a spectacular way of sympathizing and interpreting the mood of nature, especially that of the sea. In “Sea Slumber Song” the Sea, the "eternal mother”, sings a mothering lullaby to lull her children to sleep. However, there is an undercurrent of death in the words of the poem. The “elfin land”, or garden under the sea, is "beautiful and alluring, but there is a price for admission;” and that price is death.

A number of reasons may be given as to why Elgar may have chosen Noel’s poem for his song cycle. Elgar, like Noel, had a fascination with nature and was often rejuvenated by it. Elgar never liked living in the city and most of his well known works were composed while either taking a walk along the countryside or gazing at the

Malvern Hills. The text of “Sea Slumber Song” with it’s “caves and arched rocks” may have recalled for him the honeymoon he and Alice had taken ten years earlier at the Isle

54 of Wight. Elgar may also have been attracted to the poem because he was “half in love with easeful death.'’ He would often go through serious times of depression where he would evaluate the importance of his own life, concluding that the idea of death seemed easier than living. Noel’s text, especially “Leave woes, and wails, and sins.’’ undoubtedly appealed to Elgar and his search for inner peace which he thought could only be achieved through death.

The Music

Elgar, through the orchestra, evokes numerous sea images which are inspired by

Noel’s text. In the orchestra alone, one can hear the swell of the sea. the crashing of the waves, and the “elfin land”. "Sea Slumber Song” contains a vocal line that lies in the middle-lower part of a woman’s voice, never going above D on the staff. The relatively passive vocal line only draws more attention to the orchestra and its function in portray­ ing the sea. The , though it appears light, is weighty in the winds and brass, requiring a singer with a middle and low register that will project above the instruments.

The piece is scored for two , two , two in A, two , four horns in F, two in A, three , a , , a , harp, 1 st and second violins, , , and bass. Elgar combines the instruments together to evoke various images.

55 For example, in the poem the mother hushes the wild voices from her child “in a monotonous vocal part which is accompanied by a mysterious tremor provided by the sponge-headed stick striking the timpani, a faint clang of the gong, arpeggios for the harp and the equally mysterious octaves for the strings.*’ ^

B V . , . Tnm*illln J.M. ______...

. ^ ^ A».—#*' ______1

« .« 1 ^ r i 1 Am.—#»

me»» 1 ...... U ■ lé» 3 W -1-W ■ -iJ ■ J T y-.— j ^ 5 ^ ËT • ^ J ■ J

fr- — #=— = = = = # = = -

- *•- * *■ ■ «• *• ^ .»t—, #- f iWP i<------1 - 1------1 - - _ ri— i------hr - r ^ ^ — -- A# P I

éÊ» àmd, AW. i , # WWw av • ft I# 4t «

Fig. 2 mm. 12-16, p. 5 of the orchestral score

56 The overall musical form of “Sea Slumber Song”, ABACAB codetta, is designed so that

it reflects the poem. Elgar introduces the “wave flgure” in the first measure of the cycle and

continues the motion of the waves through measure 11.

A.ndantisu.

I C B

P I AHO.

Fig. 3 m. 1, p. 4 of the piano-vocal score

The rising and falling eighth notes, coupled with crescendi and descrescendi, give the listener the feeling of a wave cresting and then crashing. Elgar begins section A in the key of e-minor, a key that is often associated with mystery. Throughout section A, waves can be heard rising and falling (m. 4.6, and 9). The “motion” of the sea stops on the word “slumber”, bringing attention to the title and the overall point of the piece. In this form ABACAB, the text of A simply intro­ duces the sea and the mystery it possesses.

A - “Seabirds are asleep, the world forgets to weep, sea murmurs her soft slumber song

On the shadowy sand of the elfin land.”

57 In measure 10, scored under the words "elfin land”, Elgar writes sextuplets in the first

violins and the . These sextuplets provide a bridge to the next section. "The mur­

muring song of the sea turns to a slow ground-swell in E-major, the shifting of the water

repeated in the accompaniment bar by bar.”

Fig. 4 mm. 10-11, p. 4. o f the orchestral score

58 The B section, measures 12-19, is in the key of E-major. The text is:

B- "I, the Mother mild, hush thee, o my child, forget the voices wild!

Hush thee, o my child, hush thee”.

The tempo has slowed down from the tempo primo. The octaves in the strings, begin­ ning in measure 12 and continuing through measure 16, repeat the same rhythmic and melodic pattern. This pattern, combined with the slower tempo creates a hypnotic, rock­ ing mood which is perfect for the mother trying to calm her child to sleep. The fact that

Elgar changes the key to a major one, takes a little mystery and sombemess out of the song, as well as depicting the mother’s success in calming her child.

59 In measure 17, beat 4, marked accelerando, the sixteenth note scale leads upward to measure 18

and briefly back into e-minor as the waves are heard once again.

I

Fig. 5 mm. 17-19, p. 6 of the orchestral score

Measure 19 modulates to C-major, the key of Section C.

60 The central section C, paints the foam glimmering on the elfin shore. The hypnotic effect of the sea has caused the child to fall asleep and dream about the beauty of the is­ lands.

C- "Isles in elfin light dream, the rocks and caves lull’d by whispering waves.

Veil their marbles, veil their marbles bright, foam glimmers faintly, faintly white

Upon the shelly sand of this elfin land;”

Thomas Dunhill describes this section of music as "an unforgettable orchestral picture of calm loveliness which perfectly matches the charming poem.” Measures 20-28, C, are in the "bright” key of C-major. The waves of the sea are still present in the sixteenth note accompaniment pattern, but remain quiet and unobtrusive as the child dreams. The dynamics of "Sea Slumber Song”, up until this point, have been piano.

61 The climax of the piece takes place as the voice sustains the word "land” in measure

27. moving to the downbeat of measure 28. The forte piano in measure 28 is the sud­ den end of the dream, as if a huge wave came and disturbed everything. The chro­ matic wave figure moves downward, decreasing in volume gradually until finally there is a return of the A material in measure 30.

E *

Fig. 6 mm. 27-28, p. 7. of the orchestral score

62 The return of A takes the listener back to e-minor and the tempo primo. Measures 31,

33. and 36 once again contain the rising and falling of the waves.

A- Seasound, like violins, to slumber woos and wins, I murmur my soft

Slumber song, my slumber song, leave woes and wails and sins.

The text suggests that the sound of the sea can take away pains and should not be feared. Death also takes away pain and should not be feared. The persona of the poem decides not to fear the sea and leaves his woos behind. In measure 37 on the words "leave woos” the flute plays the sextuplet pattern as the harp introduces a thirty second note passage to combine and evoke a glimmer of hope to the listener.

B returns, measure 38-43, in E major repeating the same hypnotic rhythm.

This time the ocean itself is rocking the person to sleep.

B- Ocean's shadowy might breathes good night, good night! Leave woes and

Wails and sins. Good night, good night.

63 Beginning in measure 44 . Elgar includes a coda that is worth exploring. Measure 44 continues the key of E-major using the music from section C, until the downbeat of measure 45 where it cadences on a V7 in A-flat. The music, again taken from section

C. modulates and finally cadences on beat three of measure 46 as a V7 in C Major.

C-major continues throughout measure 47 but returns to e-minor, the beginning key, in measure 48 and continues in that key until the end. The last thing Elgar provides for the listener is the rising of yet another wave.

1 f 1 ^ 1

Fig. 7 mm. 44-49, p. 9 o f the orchestral score

64 One could speculate as to why Elgar choses not to have the wave fall. One reason may be that because "Sea Slumber Song” is the first song of the cycle, Elgar chose not to end it on a final note. Another may be that if the wave were to fall asense of hope would be gone for the rest of the cycle.

Elgar’s setting of the text

"Occasional infelicities of phrasing and accentuation do occur, but in each of the songs the atmosphere has been so unerringly caught that it would be churlish to complain of detail.” Ms. McVeagh's opinion concerning Elgar’s gift for prosody is not shared by all the critics of Elgar’s music. Despite the song’s realism, there are

"glaring instances of the music ignoring not so much the verse sense as the verbal sense.” For example, in the lines

"Isles in elfin light Dream, the rocks and caves Lulled by whispering waves. Veil their marbles bright” the poet intended the first clause to end at "dream”.

65 “'Elgar's melodic sentence however ends definitely at ‘light’, and the verb “dream’ in­ stead of belonging to the first melodic phrase, is thrust into the second which becomes.

“Dream the rocks and caves. Lulled by whispering waves’”. The first melodic sentence should run from ““Isles” to “'dream” and the second “The rocks and caves” to '“marbles bright” without a break.

a tempo f> iTanonillo iim. _ f p

Ixlcs in it . fin Dream, the rocks mud eaves whis - p*ring

c r r r

Fig. 8 mm. 20-21, p. 6

Newman claims that Elgar’s ear is plainly insensitive to the defects of phrasing of this kind, stating further that his tunes are conceived for their own sake, and the words have to be made to fit them as best they can. However, despite some of its criticism, Elgar took the text of “Sea Slumber-Song” and “pressed it into his service, and out of its sub­ servience has created a little world of his own, with an unmistakable quality of atmo­ sphere and imagery.”

Honorable Roden Noel, Poems O f The Hon. Roden Noel: A Selection. With An Introduction Bv Robert Buchanan. (London: , Limited, 1892), p. 13.

‘William B. Thesing, “Roden Noel” in Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Romantic Po­ ets 1789-1832 ( : Gale Research, 1990), p. 162.

66 'Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel. The Victorian Muse: Selected Criticism and Parody of the Period, vol. 2: ed. William E. Fredeman. Ira Bruce Nadel. John F. Stasny, (London: Garland Publish­ ing, 1986). p. 81.

riTiesing, p. 162.

'Fredeman. p. 82.

"Ibid.. p. 163.

Thesing, p. 168.

"Stewart M. Ellis. Mainlv Victorian. (London: Hutchinson and Co.. 1924). p. 163.

'Ibid.. p. 163.

"Honorable Roden Noel. Poems O f The Hon. Roden Noel: A Selection. With An Introduction Bv Robert Buchanan. (London: Walter Scott. Limited. 1892), p. 163.

"Thesing, p. 168.

"ibid., p. 163.

"ibid., p. 168.

"ibid., p. 165.

'"john Addington Symonds, The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from AH. M iles’s The Poets and the Poetry o f the Nineteenth Century, vol. 2: Image- Ruskin ed. William E. Fredeman (London: Garland Publishing, Inc.. 1986), p. 87.

'"Buchanan., p. xiii.

"ibid.. p. 369.

"Hoxie Neale Fairchild. Religious Trends in English Poetry, vol. IV: 1830-1880 Christianity and Romanticism in the (London: Columbia University Press, 1964), p. 220.

"Patrick Little. “Songs of Love and Death,” The Elgar Society Journal 9 no. 4 (March 1996) : 170.

"jerrold Northrop Moore, Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984), p. 278.

"Little, p. 170.

J.F. Porte, Sir Edward Elgar. (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1921), p.71.

Robert Anderson. Elgar (New York: Schirmer Books. 1993), p. 289.

Ibid., p. 289.

67 ■'Thomas F. Dunhill, Sir Edward Elear (London: BIackie& Son Limited, 1938), p. 189.

■‘’Diana M. McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His Life and Music (London: J.M. dent & Sons LTD, 1955), p. 138.

■^Basil Maine, Elear: His Life and Works (London: G.Bell & Sons, LTD, 1933), p. 225.

■'Ernest Newman, The Music o f the Masters: Elear (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906), p. 122.

■‘’Maine, p. 225.

68 “In Haven” (Capri) text by Caroline Alice Roberts Elgar

Closely let me hold thy hand. Storms are sweeping sea and land; Love alone will stand.

Closely cling, for waves beat fast, Foam-flakes cloud the hurrying blast; Love alone will last.

Kiss my lips, and softly say : "Joy, sea-swept, may fade to-day; Love alone will stay.’’

The Poet

Caroline Alice Roberts Elgar the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Gee

Roberts and Julia Maria Roberts, was bom in India in 1848. Alice's father had serv'ed with distinction in India as an active English officer on the northern frontier under

Napier. Even through he died in 1860 o f throat cancer when Alice was only a child, his militai")' legacy elevated the social status of Alice and the rest of her family.' Like her father, Alice displayed an affection and understanding of animals, especially horses and

Persian cats. ' Caroline Alice had two older brothers, Frederic Boyd and Stanley Napier who influenced her childhood. When her brothers were at home, she would play a vari­ ety of "boy games” including, bowling, cricket, and even horseback riding.

69 Even as a child, Alice displayed other characteristics that later were to be seen as complimentary to those of Edward Elgar. She had a rich vein of curiosity, and also an inventive urge. Thus in her teens, she designed a revolving summer-house which was duly built by the village carpenter and, having read about the instrument, she insisted on having an Aeolian harp set up in the grounds. ^

Alice read a wide variety of literature and had an above average knowledge of modem languages. However, she was put under the regime of a governess while her two older brothers attended the College in Cheltenham. Alice, the only daughter in the Robert’s family, ultimately would find that it was her responsibility to take care of, and be a companion to her widowed mother, resulting in a life of “spinsterhood". * Any aca­ demic inclinations that Alice may have had, found their release in translations, and poems.

Alice wrote and had works published long before she met Edward Elgar. In

1873. though there is some uncertainty about the date. Alice wrote the essay “Worlds from my Window: a Geological Essay”. This first writing by Alice describes the world as seen in the 1870’s The opening essay begins with..

My window commands a view of a large tract of country stretching away towards far blue horizon. The worlds I see from it exhibit not the busy stir of a populous town, neither the ceaseless labor and gloomy chimneys of mines and factories, nor the more healthful activity of a sea-side port or fishing town. Nothing of this kind can be seen from my window, but, in their place, lies a broad expanse o f inland scenery, varied only by the undulations of hill and valley, cultivated fields and green woods. The worlds I would speak of then, are the worlds which have long since passed away, but the history of which, thanks to the labors of me and of science, has gradually been brought to light... The grassy slopes glitter in the summer sun, hills rise in picturesque chains, or stand isolated, and covered with woods, old timbered farmhouses, once stately manors, can be discemed, the smoke from cottages, half buried amongst the foliage of the coppices, curls tranquilly above them, such is the world of today. ^

70 Marchcroft Manor , Alice's first novel, was published in 1882, four years prior to her

meeting Edward Elgar. Not only did the novel rank Alice as an “intellect”, it is de­ scribed by Diana McVeagh as:

quite an accomplishment, entertaining, indeed touching tale, with a control of pace and situation, and a humor that might well surprise anyone knowing Alice only from her later verses and diary. The theme that runs throughout the book is ‘amor pu6 molto più che ne voi ne io possiamo’ (Love, whom you know, can do more than you or me). Alice’s novel reveals that she is a youngish woman looking for a man of ideals and ambition through whom she could dedicate herself. *

Despite its romantic overtones. Marchcroft Manor shows just how limited her home.

Hazeldine, was to Alice. She was destined to a life of seclusion and “perpetual virgin­ ity". However, her life of eternal spinsterhood would change on October 6, 1886 when

Alice became one of Edward Elgar’s piano students. At last she had found the man to whom she would dedicate the remainder of her life. In 1887 Alice wrote a poem which began to unveil the romantic feeling she was having towards Edward.

“An Admonition against Despondency”

Love the earth a little while. For shadows swiftly flee across Meadows lit with summer’s smile, Joy must not faint, all is not loss.

Love thy life, grief may not claim To hold thy soul for evermore, Nor with its touch thy spirit lame; Demand the joy thou had’st before.

Art and music are thine own, And thine the soul to whom must speak The higher voices heard alone By those who long and those who seek.

71 Gifts may come of fnendship, love. And human service gladness brings: Rejoice, the sky is blue above And hark! the lark exulting sings. *

She publicly declared her interest in Elgar when she invited him to Hazeldine for an af­ ternoon of tea with her mother and other high society guests. However, their interest in one another and their potential marriage was greatly opposed by Alice's family. Gen­ eral Roberts, Alice's father, was a man of high social status and wealth, while the

“lowly" piano teacher. Edward Elgar, had a father who owned a music shop and did not have much money. ’ Edward was also not very successful in his chosen career, and this was an enormous offense to the society to which Alice belonged. In addition the differ­ ence in their religions. Alice was not Catholic, was said to doom any marriage from the start. Despite the disagreement from her family, Alice and Edward were married on

May 8, 1889. Any literary ambitions that Alice may have had for herself she quickly abandoned on behalf of her husband and what she knew, was his promising career as a composer. " Alice became a central figure and means of support in Elgar’s life. "She proved to be a wife in a thousand, providing him with inspiration as well as shielding his over-sensitive nature." ‘‘

She “laid out” his scores, copied in the voice parts, planned the barring - all this for several thousands of pages of forty-five scores; the score of “The Music Makers”, for instance, alone contains 150 pages of thirty-one lines.

Elgar signed the first draft of The Black Knight “C. Elgar and Edward Elgar” in August

29, 1889. Elgar also acknowledges Alice’s help towards Serenade for Strings saying,

“Braut (his pet name for her) helped a great deal to make these little tunes.” The page is even headed “Braut’s May 3/May 13: 1892”. On August 14, 1890, Alice and Edward

72 had their one and only child, Carice Elgar. Being the child of a composer was not easy

for Carice. She was frequently told to stay inconspicuous during her father's working hours and was kept under the supervision of a governess while her parents were fre­ quently away on trips.

It was Alice who convinced Elgar that moving to London would be the best place for someone pursuing a composing career. On October 10, 1889, the Elgars moved to near the Crystal Palace. There they frequently attended con­ certs where Elgar heard and absorbed the music of his peers. Since private students were hard to come by in London, and the city was one of competitive stress and strife for Edward, the Elgars were forced to return to the provinces. Even though, at the time.

“London wanted little from Elgar, he took in all it could offer, and Alice made it possi­ ble." Alice was also instrumental in helping Elgar choose texts for other works. Once

Boosey and Hawkes wrote, “Just you write me those two short songs, Mrs. Elgar will find you some words." Frequently, Alice would leave her poems lying around the house with such comments as "Words free” or “In case my beloved might like it”. Her life became one of providing ceaseless support for her husband. Any literary aspirations that she may have had faded into her duty of being the finest wife any man could ask for.

Similar to the theme of her novel Marchcroft Manor, Alice exposed her soul and experiences in life through the many poems she wrote. The following poems are consid­ ered to be two of her best, even though they were never published, titled or dated. They give a sincere and correct account of her relationship with Elgar at the time of their mar­ riage and at a later date, when he began to grow apart from her.

73 (i) No. 3 of a set of three Sonnets

Bring me thy tired heart and let it lie All burdened as it is upon my breast And win perchance some soothing in such rest. New hope may light those eyes, dear, bye and bye. And smiles may come to lips more used to sigh. My pulses quicken at thy least behest; My touch scarce quickens thine, and pain, thy guest. Still clouds thy brow while doubts thy joy outvie. But all, for thy sake all, I will forget Nor loving, wish thee other than thou art. Though deep the gloom. Love yet may lift the pall. I am content, and e’en forswear regret That in past brighter days 1 had no part. Thou giv’st me what thou canst, 1 give thee all.

The second of the poems was included in a list sent to a prospective publisher before she left Malvern in June of 1904.

(ii) Untitled

Thy love doth fade, too like a winter sun; I watch it grow as cold; The summer’s joy is done. Although its radiant hours seemed scarce begun. Dark night must it enfold.

Deceive anew and smile as if no part Were thine in my lost life; Leave me my wasted heart And buy new joys from out the world’s gay mart; Leave me the bitter strife. ”

The price for Edward’s fame and recognition was that of Alice’s own personal­ ity. She devoted her entire life to Elgar and his music, ceasing to be the Alice Roberts who had literary ambitions of her own and who championed the emancipation of women. Instead, she became a “dedicated helpmate, a hostess who observed all the reg­

74 ulations concerning etiquette, a parent with rigid principles, and a contemner of all that seemed to be destructive of established values.” Her identity, unfortunately, became his. On April 7, 1920, after a life devoted to her husband, Alice died of kidney and heart failure. Edward requested that the title of her obituary read ‘'Devoted Helpmate of

Master Musician”. '' Whether or not Elgar knew the extent of what Alice gave up for him is still unknown. However, this fact remains true. Before his marriage to Alice, Ed­ ward was not well - known as a composer. After his marriage, however, he was intro­ duced to Alice's acquaintances, who served as a catalyst for his career as a musician, by extending his name throughout the region.

The Poem

Alice authored "Lute Song”, later altering and re-naming the poem, "In Haven”, before she even met Elgar. She suggested to him that it was reminiscence of a long dis­ tant visit to Capri before their engagement even took place.

In this poem, one is concemed with the haven provided by love. Alice's love presented is one tougher than might be expected. Alice was not a silly Victorian lady, but rather far less sentimental. "

Elgar originally composed "Lute Song” as a single song, not belonging to any cycle.

However, in 1897, the publishers at Novello suggested that Elgar might expand it with a different setting for each stanza. The only textual revision that Alice had to make was the re-ordering of the first two stanzas to increase the “sea imagery”. Alice’s "Lute

Song” was thus made into the second Sea Picture. “In Haven”. Next to her name as au­ thor, Elgar playfully wrote ‘Bag poet’ , obviously one of the many private jokes the two

75 of them shared throughout their marriage. The other poets that Elgar chose to in­

clude in the remainder of the cycle comment and reflect on Alice’s 'Tn Haven”.

The Music

Because of its simplicity and charm, 'in Haven” has become popular among

many amateur singers. The vocal line spans only an octave and is accompanied by a calm and sparsely scored orchestra, ’in Haven” has been described as "a little seascape

in water-colors.” The song is scored for flute, , in A, bassoon, two horns

in F. harp. 1st and 2nd violin , , cello and bass. Even though appearing to have a heavy orchestration, the main function of the orchestra is one that provides an accompa­ niment full of colorful interjections. Each of the three verses moves between C major and A minor. The time signature is 4/4 with a tempo of J — 72, Allegretto. "In Haven” does not have any musical gestures referring to the sweeping storms or beating waves found in the text, as heard in ''The Swimmer”, the final song of the cycle. With "In

Haven". Elgar’s melodic line took precedence over the text.

76 Just as Alice's poem served as a textual focal point for the remainder of the cycle, the

“lute or wave figure'’, present in the strings, became the source from which Elgar drew the rest of his music for the cycle.

N92. In Haven. (c$frO N9 2. Im Hafen. (c^rt) N9 2. Au port (Cmpi)'

FMm.

CUlM* ■ A.

1.0 ia T.

aacf.

IWaL TWaO.

tOICX. S M S . r r . y ss s s w t o PMitaitoaita, j» I* ar'iK L'a*.n-paM CH&

Fig. 9 measure 1, p. 11 of orchestral score

77 The “wave figure”, consisting of an arpeggio up and down, is marked at a slower speed in the harmonic opening for “Sea Slumber Song”. (As seen in Fig. 10)

Andmitinu.

VO IC «.

PIANO.

Fig. 10 m.l. p. 4 of piano-vocal score

A new upward version of the “wave figure” in C Major also opens “Sabbath Morning at

Sea”.

C C

K 0 PP

Fig. 11 mm. 1-2, p. 14 of piano-vocal score

78 Elgar strengthens the vocal line by occasionally doubling it in the wood-winds. With each stanza of the poem , the narrator beckons the reader to “come closer’. Finally with the third stanza 'Kiss my lips, and softly say: Joy, sea-swept, may fade to-day” the narra­ tor is becoming more forward and passionate. Elgar emphasizes this passion by doubling the voice line for four measures in the first violins.

u ____ 5 m ^

m — ^

m A— -i—

» . - —

L it

1

Fig. 12 mm. 23-26, p. 13 of orchestral score

The song ends with a Neapolitan chord, followed by the return of the tonic key.

79 “In Haven” is the shortest and most accessible piece of Elgar’s cycle. The complacency

and transparent texture, reminiscent of the Enigma Variations, leaves the listener with a

satisfied feeling of completeness.

Elgar’s setting of the text

“In Haven” is a song that closely represents the parlor ballad, in that it is simple

in style. A possible reason for Elgar’s simple setting is that he wrote “In Haven” a few

years before the other four songs in the cycle. He did not write the song with the depic­

tion of the sea in mind.

' Ian Lance. "Elgar and Empire/’ The Elgar Society Journal 10 (November 1997): 128-141.

"Percy M. Young, Alice Elgar: Enigma of a Victorian Ladv. (London: Dennis Dobson, 1978), p. 40.

Ibid., p. 40.

'ibid.. p. 39.

'ibid., P. 58-59.

‘Diana McVeagh, "Mrs. Edward Elgar” Musical Times lz5 (February 1984): 76-78.

Young, p. 81.

'ibid., p. 86.

’Michael Hurd, The Great Composers: Elgar. (London: Faber and Faber. 1969). p. 24.

'°Young, p. 100.

"Brian Trowell, “Elgar’s Use o f Literature,” Edward Elear: Music and Literature . ed. Ray­ mond Monk (Aldershot, England: Scolar Press, 1993), p. 191.

80 ‘Christopher Redwood, "Elgar and Delius”, An Elgar Companion . ed. Christopher Red­ wood (Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Sequoia Publishing, 1982), p. 191.

"Young, p. 11.

"McVeagh, “Mrs Edward Elgar,” p. 77.

"ibid., p. 78.

"Ibid., p. 79.

Brian Trowell, "Elgar's Use of Literature,” p. 279.

"ibid.. p. 298.

"Ibid., p. 298.

■“Young, p. 176.

■'Young, p. 182.

“Patrick Little, "Songs of Love and Death, ” The Elgar Society Journal 9 no.4 (March 1996): 171.

■’McVeagh, "Mrs. Edward Elgar” , p. 78.

■’Jerrold Northrop Moore, Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984), p. 277.

■’Ernest Newman. The Music of the Masters:Elear. (London: Ballantyne Press, 1906), p. 124. ■“Jerrold Northrop Moore. Spirit o f England: Edward Elgar in his World. (London: Heinemann, 1984) p. 105.

■’Moore, p. 281

■*Moore, p. 280.

81 ^Sabbath Morning At Sea” text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The ship went on with solemn face: To meet the darkness on the deep. The solemn ship went onward. I bowed down weary in the place; For parting tears and present sleep Had weighed mine eyelids downward.

The new sight, the new wondrous sight! The waters around me, turbulent. The skies, impassive o’er me. Calm in a moonless, sunless light. As glorified by even the intent O f holding the day glory!

Love me, sweet friends, this Sabbath day. The sea sings round me while ye roll Afar the hymn, unaltered. And kneel, where once 1 knelt to pray. And bless me deeper in your soul Because your voice has faltered.

And though this Sabbath comes to me Without the stoled minister. And chanting congregation, God’s spirit shall give comfort. He Who brooded soft on waters drear. Creator on creation.

He shall assist me to look higher. Where keep the saints, with harp and song, An endless Sabbath morning. And, on that sea commixed with fire. Oft drop their eyelids raised too long To the full Godhead’s burning. '

82 The Poet

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was bom on March 6, 1806 at Coxoe Hail in

Durham. She was the oldest of eleven children and her father’s favorite. Her father,

Mr. Edward Barrett Moulton, was a wealthy slave owner and considered himself the

owner of his children as well. While Elizabeth was still young, her family moved to the

Hope End estate, near Ledbury, where Mr. Barrett built a country house with windows

that looked out upon the extensive beautiful gardens. ' At the early age of eleven, Eliz­

abeth began to write poetry about the ancient Greeks. Her childhood fascination with

the Greeks can only help to explain why a child so young would go around the house

reading Homer. The influence of the Greeks in fact inspired her first epic. "The Battle

of Marathon". At the age of fifteen, Elizabeth fell from her pony and permanently in­ jured her spine. The accident crippled Elizabeth, condemning her to years of recovery.

In addition, five years after Elizabeth’s accident her mother died and her family left the

only home Elizabeth knew. ^

A life that began with such hope and strength now seemed to be constantly over­

shadowed by death and illness. Living in Sidmouth and London, Elizabeth was still a

constant invalid.

At first Elizabeth missed the fresh sea breezes and the sound of the waves, and disliked her new setting because of the ever-present soot and fog and the long, narrow streets lined with attached stone or brick houses which all looked alike. But before long she was content to be living in a great metropolis, the center of the nation’s literary and artistic activities.

While living in London, Elizabeth became known as a poet. Her The Seraphim and

Other Poems caused critics to hail her as a young poet with extraordinary ability and

83 still greater promise. This volume of poems, which she claimed was “the first utterance

of my own individuality”, became the first work with her name attached to it. ^ Because

of her health, doctors advised Elizabeth to leave London and move to Torquay, on the

south coast of Devonshire. During her stay there, Elizabeth’s brother, Edward , tragi­

cally drowned to death, leaving Elizabeth with a painful memory that would affect her

the rest of her life. Three years later Elizabeth moved back to London, where, due to her

invalid condition, she was confined to her bedroom. Elizabe±’s frail state might have hindered her physically, but because she was relieved from household duties and finan­ cial concerns, Elizabeth was able to devote herself to reading English and French fiction memoirs and to writing letters, essays and poetry. * In 1844, her book. Poems was pub­ lished in two volumes, elevating Elizabeth beyond the status of a promising young poet to an international celebrity. Despite her inability to visit the outside world, Elizabeth stayed informed about various issues in society. Her fervent concern for human rights undoubtedly stems from “reports from the parliamentary commissioners of the terrible conditions of children’s employment in mines, trades and manufactures.” ^ One of the best known poems in the 1844 volumes was “The Cry of the Children” . In it, Elizabeth recounts the hopeless lives of boys and girls who fell victims to a capitalist society.

Elizabeth’s two volumes of poetry not only elevated her in literary circles, but was the initial link between her and the man that would change her life forever. She was greatly familiar with Robert Browning’s work and paid a nice tribute to him in “Lady

Geraldine’s Courtship”, a poem that was included in the 1844 volumes. She kept an en­ graving of Browning in her room. She also admired such poets as Homer,

84 Chaucer. Tennyson, and Wordsworth. * In 1845, Robert Browning wrote to Elizabeth,

in one of his many letters “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett.” ^

The two corresponded until their relationship became an actual courtship, despite a se­

vere objection by Elizabeth’s father. Elizabeth’s father was not fond of any suitor for

his daughter and proved to be a constant wedge between the two. However, against her

father’s wishes, the two eloped and were married on September 12. 1846 in the church

of St. Marylebone.

Because of her health. Elizabeth’s physician insisted that she leave England dur­

ing the upcoming winter months. Robert and Elizabeth therefore moved from London to Florence. Italy, which would become her final home. In 1849. their only child,

Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning, was bom notwithstanding the responsibilities

Elizabeth would now have being wife and mother. Eli/cabeth made numerous attempts to rebuild the relationship with her father; but she had no success. In fact, after Eliza­ beth gave birth to her son. she asked her father to come to Italy for a visit and see his grandson. Instead of a visit, Mr. Barrett returned all of Elizabeth’s letters, unopened. " Nevertheless, the rapid changes that took place in her life did not deter her from her literary career. During their courtship Elizabeth was composing numerous po­ ems that would eventually become “Sonnets from the Portuguese”.

A chronic invalid, worn down by a succession of griefs, robbed of the brighthued cheeks and resilience of youth, living without hope that a new life might some day be hers outside of her virtual prison, she expresses in the sonnets her sense of wonder that her life has been transfigured.

85 In 1849. Elizabeth shared the poems with Robert and he insisted that they be a part of her next collection of poems. The verses reflected her innermost feeling during her courtship with Robert. It is for this reason that the deceptive title “Sonnets from the Portuguese" was chosen so that the poems would not appear to have any connection between Robert and

Elizabeth and their love for one another. A writer for the Christian Examiner said the Son­ nets were the finest love poems in English: “Shakespeare’s sonnets, beautiful as they are, cannot be compared with them, and Petrarch’s seem commonplace beside them. ” As so­ cially conscious as Elizabeth was when she lived in England, she also developed a passion­ ate interest in the politics of her new home, Italy. Windows (1851), discusses the political events as "seen by the poet from the windows of Casa Guidi, the great stone palace in Florence where the Brownings had an apartment.’’

The first half of Casa Guidi Windows had been written when Mrs. Browning was filled with enthusiasm and was hopeful that the newly acquired liberal movements were moving toward the unification and freedom of the Italian states. In the second half of the poem she voices her disillusionment and her bitter disappointment that liberalism had been crushed almost everywhere in Italy.... In her poem Mrs. Browning expresses her disappointment with the pope, the grand duke, the English government for its failure to intervene on the side of the Italian patriots and the Florentines themselves because they had been unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices.

Politics, love, the Greeks, and the suffering of children in industrial England shaped many of Elizabeth’s famous writings. However, it was not until 1857 that Mrs. Browning wrote what she referred to as “the most mature of my works, and the one into which my highest convictions upon Life and Art have entered.’’ , dealt with some of the major problems of Victorian society. Elizabeth’s narration discussed the lack of oppor­ tunities for women in a society dominated by men, her fear that a society dominated by

86 radical socialists would not have a place for poets or artists of any kind, and even though she did not agree with sexual relationships outside the sanctity of marriage, she strongly believed that more compassion should be given to women who had been vic­ tims of sexual crimes.

On June 20, 1861. Elizabeth was stricken with a serious cold, and died in

Robert's arms on June 29th of that same year.

She lived in the shadow of human weakness, human sorrow, human disquietude but never failed in her witness to the light beyond the cloud; and we discern the constant attitude of her nature in the tender and triumphant utterance which closes "The Rhyne or the Duchess May” -

Oh, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west. And 1 said in underbreath, - All our life is mixed with death. And who knoweth which is best? Oh, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west. And 1 smiled to think God’s greamess flowed around our incompleteness, - Round our restlessness. His rest.'*

Elizabeth did not fear death, and even though she would be separated from her love for a short time, she was forever free of the emotional and physical pain she felt throughout most of her life. Despite criticisms that her work sometimes used obscure language and inappropriate imagery, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry was that of pure inspi­ ration. An inspiration that has left an eternal mark on all of literary society.

87 The Poem

In 1850, Elizabeth published a two volume work named Poems. The volumes contained revised poems from earlier books of poetry; 1838 and 1844. “A Sabbath

Morning at Sea” was taken from the 1844 collection of poetry. After being expanded and greatly improved, the poem was republished in the 1850 collection. Elgar chose to set five of Elizabeth’s thirteen stanzas. Patrick Little suggests there may be more than the need for abbreviation behind Elgar’s choice to shorten the poem. What Elgar leaves out of the poem is the description of the sunrise and reflections on its metaphysical sig­ nificance, as well as reference to a possible alternative to present separation. Since

Mrs. Browning was female, one would naturally think that the persona of the poem was a woman. Little states that this is a soliloquy of a woman who has left her home and friends:

1 am tired and sad at leaving home, and have slept badly. It is now dawn. The sun rises, but there is no land, and so nothing earthly, to profane its rising : only heaven and the sea share in this sacrament. But beautiful though it is, mere nature will not satisfy love, and it is better to enjoy friends and family. Therefore, love me, distant friends, at your Sunday worship, and though there is no formal service here, God’s spirit will comfort me too and lead me to heaven."'

Much speculation has been made concerning why Elgar may have chosen Elizabeth’s poem to be included in his Sea Pictures. “Sea Slumber-Song” and “Sabbath Morning At

Sea” emphasize the peace one achieves from death. As already discussed, Elgar fre­ quently contemplated his own death. Another possible reason for Elgar’s choice of Eliz­ abeth’s poem is his “nostalgia for what might have been.” " During Elgar’s youth he met and fell in love with the daughter of a shoe merchant in Worcester, Helen Weaver.

88 The two were engaged, but after her mother died she broke off the engagement, and de­

parted on a long sea voyage, leaving Elgar devastated. Though he never spoke to

anyone about Helen, he may have chosen Elizabeth’s poem because it was about a

woman going on a voyage or because it was about a lost love. The fact that Elgar was a

profoundly religious man may be yet another reason he chose to set Browning’s poem

about God providing strength in times of strife.

The Music

■’Sabbath Morning at Sea” is the most dramatic song of Elgar’s cycle thus far.

The dynamics range from “pp” to ‘Tf ’ with a vocal line that spans an octave and a sixth

( B 3 - G 5 ) . Its impressive climax is one of its outstanding features setting it apart from the ordinary, subdued ballad. The orchestration contains two flutes, two oboes, two clar­ inets in A, two bassoons, four horns in F, trumpets in A, three trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, organ. 1st and 2nd violins, viola, cello, and bass. The piece is in binary form with a closing coda :

A B coda

a bed ad’ ce c (1-18) (19-30) (32-35) (36-47) (48-63) (64-69) (70-74) (75-84) (85-89) CM CM CM BM Db M CM CM CM CM

Measures 1-18 (a) contain the text from stanza number one. This C-major section opens with chords over a tonic pedal which are identical, except for the pedal note, with

89 the chords that end the polka Helica which was written for the Potwick asylum in 1883.

The hypnotic rocking music of the first song is prominent in the first two stanzas of

“Sabbath Morning at Sea”. (See Figure 13)

s (tmpo piùmotao /-V a lent

piu m am

«o.li’nm <>fiip wriit on . . \Turd.

pp pii motto

Fig. 13 mm. 5-9 , p. 14 of the piano vocal score

Throughout this song Elgar adjusts tempi and rhythms to highlight the text of the poem. For example, in measures 20 and 22 the tempo becomes “piu mosso” quickening the ground swell motive into the turbulent waters surrounding the boat. The brass play­ ing triplet patterns also add to the turbulence of the water. At “Calm in a moonless, sun­ less light” the begirming tempo returns and the accompaniment moves from turbulent to calm.

90 tv-bahil, TkËW toim in m». Cila h 4 booiIm , Al nn^MiMi, Ar Ha4tmÊm»l •■tm, tm, Umàwméimé. w •|i . W, MâhlLbml, okm itMB,aukM f m I lin.

Fig. 14 mm. 22-27 p. 17 of orchestral score

91 The words of stanza three also contain a type of text painting used by Elgar. As the per­ sona says “sea sings round me while ye roll afar” there is a constant motion in the strings. However, as the persona begins to refer to kneeling and praying, the motion in the orchestra becomes placid.

# wlA.hr QitgrH n ■ W h r m fim . .mm Or . Ii, W Mdi| UmMmm l.a . m i>yi i h cmk. Acmob Mlk.ri.

Fig. 15 mm. 37-42 p. 18 of the orchestral score

92 Also at the beginning of stanza five as the persona begins to talk about God in the words

“He shall assist me to look higher” (m. 64), the harp begins to play 32nd note ascending arpeggios. Here Elgar may have wanted to draw special attention to the text about God by using the harp which is so closely associated with heaven and by the upward ascen­ sion of the arpeggios.

„umn«leie. J •

m ^ - 1-1 i-

Fig. 16 mm. 64-65 p. 20 of the orchestral score

93 The impassioned climax, that sets this song apart from other ballads, begins in measure

75. The violins bring back the cresting and crashing ‘"wave figure” , that was found at the beginning of “Sea Slumber-Song”. (See Fig. 3) According to Basil Maine, the re­ appearance of this figure contributes to the continuity of mood for the entire song and helps to musically unify the whole song cycle.

Fig. 17 mm. 76-77 p. 23 of the orchestral score

94 Elgar’s setting of the text

Some critics feel that Browning’s text should not have been set by Elgar. New- mann describes the poem as unequal and states that the words are not always suitable for music. For example, he believes the lines, “As glorified by even the intent of hold­ ing the day glory”, are muddled, thus making them difficult for a singer to communi­ cate. Furthermore the five stanzas that Elgar chose to set make an uneasy transition from the “progress of a solemn ship, via an on-shore church service she cannot attend, to the higher place where saints keep endless Sabbath mornings”. Anderson also feels that Elizabeth's invocation of God’s spirit is too simple, producing from Elgar an

“uncomfortable bluster, amid reminiscences of the “Sea Slumber-Song” that are more or less apt. Basil Maine states that “Elgar’s music seems hesitant, as if the composer had not quite taken measure of the poem.” Nevertheless, Elgar supports and adds to

Browning’s text leaving the listener with the peace that God is ultimately in control.

'Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Sabbath Morning at Sea,” in Sea Pictures: ACvcie of Five Songs. (London: Boosey & Hawkes LTD., 1899), p. 2.

‘James Ashcroft Noble, The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorain Po­ ets from A.H. Miles’s The Poet and the Poetry o f the Nineteenth Century, vol. 1 : Adams-Howitt. ed. Wilaim E. Fredeman (London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986), p. 345.

^Ibid., p. 156.

^Gardner B. Taplin, “Elizabeth Barrett Browning” Dictionary o f Literary Biography: British Ro­ mantic Poets 1789-1832 ^Detroit: Gale Research, 1990), p. 57.

95 'ibid., p. 57.

“Ibid., p. 59.

Ibid., p. 60.

“Ibid., p. 57.

“ibid., p. 60.

'“Noble, p. 157.

" Chard Powers Smith, Annals of the Poets: Their Origins, Backgrounds, Private Lives, Habits of Composition. Characters, and Personal Peculiarities (London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, Ltd., 1935), p. 39.

'‘Taplin., p. 60.

"ibid.. p. 66.

'"ibid.. p. 61.

"ibid.. p. 61.

'“Ibid.. p. 62.

' ibid.. p. 64.

'“N oble, p. 164.

'“Dorthy Mermin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning: The Origins o f a New Poetrv (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989), p. 151.

‘“Patrick Little, "Songs of Love and Death,” The Elgar Society Journal 9 no. 4 (March 1996); 172.

-'Ibid.. p. 172.

“Ibid.. p. 173.

‘"jerrold Northrop Moore, Spirit of England: Edward Elgar in his World (London: Heine- mann, 1984), p. 21.

-"j.F. Porte, Sir Edward Elgar (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 19 2 1), p. 71.

-'Basil Maine, Elgar: His Life and Works (London: G. Bell & Sons, Ltd., 1933), p. 226.

-“Ernest Newman, The Music of the Masters : Elgar (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906), p. 125.

- Robert Anderson, Elgar (New York: Schirmer Books, 1993), p. 290.

96 Maine, p. 226.

97 “Where corals lie” text by Richard Garnett

The deeps have music soft and low When winds awake the airy spry. It lures me, lures me on to go And see the land where corals lie.

By mount and mead, by lawn and rill. When night is deep, and moon is high. That music seeks and finds me still. And tells me where the corals lie.

Yes. press my eyelids close, tis' well; But far the rapid fancies fly To rolling worlds of wave and shell. And all the lands where corals lie.

Thy lips are like a sunset glow. Thy smile is like a morning sky. Yet leave me, leave me, let me go And see the land where corals lie.

Richard Garnett'

The Poet

Richard Garnett was bom at on February 27, 1835 to the Reverend

Richard Garnett. He was educated privately and at the age of 16 he entered the as an assistant in the “Printed Book Department”. He held the position of Su­ perintendent of the “Reading Room” from 1875-1884 and carried the general catalogue through the press from 1881 until 1890, the year he was appointed keeper. ‘ “The most important of the numerous remarkable acquisitions made for the library are commemo­ rated in a volume by Messrs. Pollard and Proctor, entitled Three hundred Notable

98 books.” ^ In 1883, the University of Edinburgh conferred upon him the degree of L.L.D.

Garnett retired in 1899 from the library, yet his humor, wit and fancy kept his literary soul alive.

Richard Garnett’s first book Primula and other Lvrics was published anony­ mously in 1859, later to be republished in 1893 with numerous additions and omissions.

In 1862, he published Poems from the German and in 1869 Idvlls and Epigrams, which was to be republished as A Chaplet from the Greek Anthology in 1892. Garnett’s most passionate, humorous, and dramatic work was a book of short stories he published in

1887. After a small number of additions, the work was republished in 1903 under the title The of the Gods . Even though beneath the surface Garnett touches the profoundest problems of humanity, it is his gift for humor that stands out. Garnett not only wrote poetry, he also translated a number of Greek and Italian poets. He also was an editor, anthologist, and wrote many notable biographies that appeared in the “Great

Writer” series. * Richard Garnett and his service to the library in combination with his literary works, exerted a great influence on the development of modem British writing.

The Poem

“Where corals lie” is a poem located in Richard Garnett’s collection lo in Egypt and Other Poems , published in 1859. ^ Edward Elgar admired the work of Richard Gar­ nett, especially his book The Twilight of the Gods. He not only set “Where corals lie”, but also set a translation by Gamett from his Greek Anthology. * Elgar wrote Garnett to secure his permission to use the poem, “Where corals lie” in his song cycle. Elgar

99 struggled for recognition and suffered much criticism from well known literary men of

his time, due to the fact that he was not a well known musician and because of his

choice in text. However, Alice is recorded as saying, “ Dr. Gamett was quite charming

about ‘Where corals lie’.” ^ There is also no recorded evidence that any member of the

Gamett family attended a single Sea Pictures performance, despite the fact that Elgar’s

setting of "Where corals lie” was rapidly becoming the favorite song of the cycle. *

Moore states that "human passion was left far distant in Edward’s choice of ’Where

corals lie'.” ’ He simply loved the poem.

Richard Garnett’s "Where corals lie” gives an indirect contrast to Alice Elgar’s

"In Haven”. "Love must now give place to the exotic charms and colors o f nature at the

bottom of the sea.” Patrick Little states that the strands of love and death are drawn

together. He suggests that...

‘the land where corals lie’ is the same place as the ‘isles in elfin light’ of the first song. The presence of another person restrains the singer from deliberately seeking the land, those isles, where they lie under the sea. However the final stanza begs for release, to go and see the land where corals lie. ' '

The Music

‘‘Where corals lie” is the most well known song in Elgar’s Sea Pictures. The

"hypnotic conjuring” of another world, the straightforward setting of the poem, the natu­ ral melody, and the fresh “Elgarian” accompaniment, all have contributed to the song’s popularity and longevity. The vocal line of “Where corals lie” is natural and singable, falling in the range of an octave and a third (A#-D). Voice and song, according to Basil

100 Maine, seem to be one element in this piece.

How true this is can only be fully realized when a mezzo-soprano, who has been taught to imagine that she is a contralto, undertakes to sing this cycle. Even if she stimulates the tone-quality in the first three songs, her notes cannot but ring falsely in the fourth.

The orchestration of “Where corals lie” is much thinner than the previous “Sabbath

Morning at Sea”. Elgar uses the two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in A, two bassoons,

two horns in F, timpani, harp, 1st and second violin, viola, cello, and string bass to pro­

vide a repetitive, sea moving accompaniment to the transparent vocal line.

"Where corals lie” contains essentially two sections of music (A B ). Unlike the

previous three songs that open with an ascending passage, “Where corals lie” begins

with a descending arpeggio in B-minor. Measures 1-15 contain the text of the first

stanza. The flute accompanies the vocal line and is joined by the horns at the text, “It

lures me, lures me on to go”. Elgar could have wanted to bring emphasis to the fact that the sea, or death, is beckoning to the persona of the poem.

101 The second stanza takes place in measures 16-28 to essentially the same music as num­ ber one. However, at the beginning of stanza number two (m. 16), Elgar adds a few del­ icate musical pastels in the woodwinds.

wlU nfte B» t«mpo

m Ua MTt«

tm iUt». M , 1*0! Waon* igTffffTT i tUf'iUJ SU^'^6/

Fig. 18 mm. 14-17 p. 29 of the orchestral score.

102 The rising of the wave figure that was heard in the orchestral accompaniment in songs one and three, can also be found for the first time in the vocal line, complete with crescendo and decrescendo, at the words. "It lure me, lures me on to go" and in the sec­ ond stanza, at the words "That music seeks and find me still.”

e r ê te . a iem tp o

nui-sir k«cIp> anil finds ma still, Ajid tells me where the eor.ul.*» lie,. . A u -—•** ----— 1 1___ k ^ ^ ffn ^'*^1 J -1 -1 ' '=■ \ r, t i ^ ' ' ^ ' E r r j — r— "] i—* i #um fo 1 V—" " V " ■■-} =1 1 T . :T s

Fig 19 mm. 23-24 p. 25 of the piano vocal score.

Only in measures 29-35. does Elgar deviate from the simple and hypnotic accompani­ ment. Here the orchestra is less rhythmically active and the vocal line moves up by thirds before "that hint of passion cooled in renewed descending steps reaching down and down to touch 'all the land where corals lie*.” Stanza four takes place in mea­ sures 36-49, as Elgar resumes the rhythmic accompaniment. The woodwinds interject with their delicate passage throughout this stanza.

103 "Elgar's cadences are always striking especially the final one of 'Where corals lie\ where a certain austerity is preserved that well suits the whole character of the poem and the music." The song ends in B-Major, leaving the prevailing key of the song, b- minor. The final chord in B-Major gives the listener a feeling of hope that finally re­ solves itself in the last and final song, "The Swimmer’.

Fig. 20 mm. 48-51 p. 33 of the orchestral score.

The ambiguity, the tonic pedal point, the small compass of most of the soothing vocal part, the simple rhythm of the accompaniment and its enchanting sound of harp and divided strings give the song an enticing dreaminess to 'Lure me on to go and see the land where corals lie’.

104 Elgar’s setting of the text

Of the five pieces that are in the cycle, “Where corals lie" includes a “vocal phrasing that meets with no difficulties because the verbal sense always terminates with each line, and Elgar has found a melody that exactly squares with the orderly rhythm and accent of the verse."’ ' ' Newman adds that the melody is generally expressive

.through it lacks distinction at the words, '‘But far the rapid fancies fly. To rolling worlds of wave and shell”.

Richard Gamett, “Where corals lie” in Sea Pictures: ACvcle of Five Songs. (London; Boosey & Hawkes LTD., 1899). p. 3.

'Cosmo Monkhouse. “Richard Gamett” The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from A.H. M iles’s The Poet and the Poetrv o f the Nineteenth Century, vol. 1 : Adams- Howitt. ed. Wilaim E. Fredeman (London: Garland Publishing, Inc.. 1986). p. 165.

'ibid.. p. 168.

'Ibid.. p. 167.

Barbara McCrimmon. Richard Gamett: The Scholar as Librarian (Chicago: American Library Association. 1989). p. 29.

“Ibid.. p. 145.

Jerrold Northrop Moore. Edward Elgar: A Creative Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1984), p. 353.

'McCrimmon, p. 145.

"Ibid., p. 2 7 9 .

'"Robert Anderson, The Master Musicians: Elgar (New York: Schirmer Books, 1993), p. 289.

"Patrick Little. “Songs o f Love and Death.” The Elear Society Journal 9 (March 1996): 173.

'David Nice, Edward Elear: An essential guide to his life an works (London: Pavilion Books Limited. 1996), p. 43.

"Basil Maine. Elear: His Life and Works (London: G. Bell & Sons. Ltd., 1933). p. 226.

105 '■'Moore, p. 282.

''Ernest Newman, Elgar (London; John Lane. The Bodley Head, 1906), p. 124.

'"Diana M. McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His Life and Music (London: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. 1955). p. 138.

' Newmann, p. 124.

106 “The Swimmer” text by Adam Lindsay Gordon

With short, sharp, violent lights made vivid. To southward far as the sight can roam. Only the swirl o f the surges livid. The seas that climb and the surfs that comb. Only the crag and the cliff to nor'ward. And the rocks receding, and the reefs flung forward. Waifs wreck’d seaward and wasted shoreward. On shallows sheeted with flaming foam.

A grim, gray coast and a seaboard ghastly. And shores trod seldom by feet of men - Where the batter’d hull and the broken mast lie. They have lain embedded these long years ten. Love! when we wandered here together. Hand in hand through the sparkling weather. From the heights and hollows of fern and heather, God surely loved us a little then.

The skies were fairer and shores were firmer - The blue sea over the bright sand roll’d; Babble and prattle, and ripple and murmur. Sheen of silver and glamour of gold. *********************** So, girt with tempest and wing’d with thunder And clad with lightning and shod with sleet. And strong winds treading the swift waves under The flying rollers with frothy feet. One gleam like a bloodshot sword-blade swims on The sky line, staining the green gulf crimson, A death-stroke fiercely dealt by a dim sun That strikes through his stormy winding sheet.

O, brave white horses! you gather and gallop. The storm sprite loosens the gusty reins; Now the stoutest ship where the frailest shallop In your hollow backs, on your high-arched manes. 1 would ride as never man has ridden In your sleepy, swirling surges hidden; To gulfs foreshadow’d through strifes forbidden. Where no light wearies and no love wanes. '

107 The Poet

Adam Lindsay Gordon was bom on October 10, 1833, in the Islands, where his grandfather owned a plantation . He was the only son of Captain Adam Gor­ don. a distinguished Indian officer, and a distant cousin of General Gordon of Khartaum.

He was sent to Cheltenham College at the age of seven, but after a year his name no longer appeared on the register. ' He became a cadet of the Royal Military Academy at

Woolwich, and remained there for three years. After the Royal Military Academy, Gor­ don was sent to the Royal Grammer School at Worcester. Gordon was "a wild, reck­ less. albeit honorable, and good natured youth, getting himself in and out of frequent and numerous 'scrapes' his father always coming to his rescue.” ^ A "scrape” of particular note was when he stole a mare from the riding stable in Worcester and rode her in the steeplechase. Gordon returned, for a year, to Cheltenham College at the age of eigh­ teen.

The next year Gordon fell in love with a farmer’s daughter. Jane Bridges. It did not matter that her father was well to do, because Gordon’s father would not hear of such a match for his son. Having exhausted the patience of his affectionate, though re­ served father, Gordon emigrated to Southern on the ship Julia, on August 7,

1853, saying farewell to ‘Triends, parents, kinsmen, native shore,” recording his feelings in verses that he sent to his sister, Inez.

Across the trackless seas I go. No matter when and where; And few my future lot will know. And fewer still will care.

1 08 Once in Australia, Gordon occupied a position with the mounted police, a posi­ tion his father was successful in obtaining for him. Passionately fond of horses and rid­ ing, Gordon finally found himself in a disciplined and exciting life. After two years with the mounted police, Gordon resigned and began “drifting about Southern Australia dealing in horses and riding in steeplechases.” ^

It is during these years, riding from station to station, that he acquired the knowledge of the bush and bushman displayed in his poems, and the intuition into the characters of horses which gave him such a wonderful command over his mount in a race. *

Gordon quickly gained the reputation as a reckless horseman. In fact, after leaving the police force seven years earlier, Gordon was injured in a severe fall at Robe, during one of his reckless escapades. It was here, that Gordon met and married his wife Miss Mag­ gie Park. She nursed him back to health, and after their marriage the couple lived for two happy years in Dingley Dell, a small stone cottage near the seaside settlement of

Port MacDonnell. In 1864, Gordon received news that he had inherited 7.000 pounds from his mother’s estate. With the money he bought a small number of properties, and due to his now elevated standing in society, was persuaded to run for Parliament. Gor­ don resigned from parliament, after only iwo sessions, due to boredom with the mun­ dane routine. The property investments that he made turned sour, and he lost a great deal of his fortune due to betting at the race course. Gordon sold his cottage home and moved to , where he decided to buy a livery stable business with his remaining money.

109 Another riding accident that left him with a permanent deficiency in his eyesight, the monetary failure of his stable business, and the death o f his infant daughter were the driving forces that caused Gordon’s departure fi'om Ballarat, and his move to Mel­ bourne. * In , after winning three steeplechases, Gordon anonymously pub­ lished “How We Beat the Favorite”. He would often scribble his poems on scrap pieces of paper, never revealing his identity as the author. “It was not until he discovered one morning that everybody knew a couplet or two of his verse, that he consented to forego his anonymity and appear in the unsuspected character of a verse maker.” ’ In 1867 his work was first published in book form, the volume being Sea Spray and Smoke Drift.

Despite his new found fame as a poet, Gordon had lost his heart for racing as well as anything else.

1 am heartily sick of the life I have been leading, and do not now care even for riding. If I could find any sort of work in which I could earn enough money to live by, and keep my wife in bread and clothes, I shall swear against ever 10 going near a racecourse again.

In January of 1869, Gordon was invited by his friends, the Riddochs, to join them in

Yallum. This is recorded as the most productive poetic time of his life. He composed

"The Sick Stockrider”, “From the Wreck”, and “Wolf and Hound” while staying in Yal­ lum.

On his previous visit he had taken a whimsical fancy to a gnarled old gum tree that stood in a sunny paddock a few hundred yards from the house. After breakfast he used to climb it, and sit in a natural armchair upon a crooked limb. There he would fill and smoke successive bowls of his old clay pipe, and those who were curious might see him from time to time jot down lines in pencil on a paper spread upon the branch, or sometimes on his hat. He never had any thought upon the time, and when meals came round he generally had to be specially summoned, whereupon he would slide down the trunk and apologize for causing delay. ‘ '

110 Gordon built up his hopes of obtaining the Esslemont estate in Scotland, which he thought he should inherit. His friends believed that since he was the head o f the family, he should be entitled to the fine mansion in Aberdeenshire. However, in June of 1870,

Gordon’s hopes of the estate plummeted and left him in despair. It was the final blow to a man who already was “subject to a restless sort of discontent, which at times almost impelled him to the idea o f putting an end to the weariness of life.” '' On June 23, 1870. the same day one of his most famous volumes of poetry Bush Ballads and Galloping

Rbvmes was published. Gordon went out into the bush just outside of Melbourne and shot himself.

Gordon has been labeled the national poet of Australia. He became the respected voice of Australia, due to the fact that he would “square up to anybody, put a horse to anything, loved the bush like a home, extorted the admiration of all bushmen, founded

Australia's school of grim fatalism and was someone who voiced Australia’s code of honor." He is the only Australian poet to be honored at Poet’s comer of Westminster

Abbey in London.

Adam Lindsay Gordon did not write for any particular class of society. He only wrote as the mood seized him. “His poems well up from his heart like strong springs, and sweep the reader along with them...he was not only a maker of verse, but a prophet and preacher who had a message to deliver.” All of his poems were composed out­ doors projecting an atmosphere full of open air. His melancholy verse was influenced by the sea and his love of horses, not to mention the surroundings of the bush. Gordon used sounds, light, darkness, heat and shade to produce poems that were truly dramatic lyrics. I l l He did not contemplate still life, scenery, or natural history. He was a poet of action.

He also had the rare gift of being able to compress an abundance of description into a single sentence. Some critics claim that Gordon’s carelessness in rhythm and rh>Tne de­ tracts frequently from the merit of some of his best verse. In spite of these criticisms, the poetry of Gordon remains extremely popular. Lambton Mount, a close friend of

Gordon's, claimed that English literature had suffered by his carrying out the instruc­ tions in the last letter Gordon sent to him.

Please bum that old trunk of mine. Give the shepherds my old clothes; take the trunk and put it on the fire - turn it upside down on the campfire without looking at or reading einything.

The climatic and social conditions of Australian life inspired the genius of Adam Gor­ don Lindsay.

The Poem

“The Swimmer”, taken from G ordon’s Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhvmes. is perhaps one of his most powerful poems. The first and second verses of the poem are an excellent description of the cliffs of Cape Northumberland, where Gordon would spend many Sunday afternoons scribbling down his expressions and thoughts. In the poem Gordon gives “fresh utterance to the soul-hungry prayer of the Psalmist - 'Oh that

I had wings like a dove and could flee away and be at rest’.” '* Gordon’s love of the sea, horses, and sunsets can be seen in “The Swimmer”. He was particularly fond of the changes in the sea from storminess to calmness. This fondness can be seen in the lines of “The Swimmer”.

112 “With short, sharp, violent light made vivid” (Storm)

“The blue sea over the bright sand rolled (Calm) Babble and prattle, and ripple and murmur”

There are numerous reasons why Elgar may have chosen to set Gordon’s poem

to music, and include it in his cycle. One reason presented is, that even though the song

was written ten years after the marriage of Edward and Alice, the lost love presented in the poem may have reminded Elgar of his own lost love, Helen Weaver, who had gone to New Zealand. Secondly, Elgar may have identified with Gordon in his struggle with depression and his ultimate decision to end his life. In Sea Pictures . and especially within the words of “The Swimmer” , we find Elgar’s ...

most explicit admission and confrontation of the fact that he was depressed. The conventions of the time, his own sense of responsibility to his family and his need for puzzles to mask his own self revelations all contribute to the hiding of depression. ”

However, Elgar could not hide his depression, and the presence of darkness or death of­ ten looked to him like a gift. Lastly, Elgar may have chosen “The Swimmer” because it was about a single human whose strength was challenged by nature. In the beginning of his career, Elgar had to fight to be recognized as a musician and as a man of high so­ cial standing. He fought his lower middle class roots like the swimmer fighting the cur­ rents of the sea. Elgar chose to set four and a half verses of the thirteen stanza work by

Gordon. A prose summary of Elgar’s selected text follows.

There is a violent thunderstorm on a wild and desolate (Australian) coast. When we (my love and I ) wandered here ten years ago, it was beautiful and peaceful. The Sim is setting in the storm, and the sea is like galloping horses, which I want to ride through forbidden strifes to the place where light and love do not fade. *'

113 “The Swimmer”, as powerful as it is, is criticized for Gordon’s use of rhyme.

Newman states that there is an absurdity of rhyme at the words, “One gleam like a

bloodshot sword blade swims on The sky-line, staining the green gulf crimson. .A. death

stroke fiercely dealt by a dim sun...” " Basil Maine further comments that “The Swim­ mer” is “no more than a mechanical shuffling of feet, but at least it has the merit of sug­ gesting a lively tune and a vivid descriptive passage.” ^ However, Elgar faithfully pre­ serves the verse and adds many orchestral colors to Gordon’s text.

The Music

Much disagreement exists as to whether or not Elgar was successful in his setting of "The Swimmer”. Dunhill states that “the music rises above the verbal tricks and jan­ gling rhymes of the text.” However, Diana McVeagh says that “The Swimmer” is the weakest song of the cycle, and that the opening is nothing more than a melo­ drama. and the beginning of the main tune is wrecked by its four squareness. Overall, the piece contains many beautiful passages, exquisite workmanship, tenderness, and a good deal of strength.

“The Swimmer” is the climax to Elgar’s cycle. The capacities of the voice and orchestra are increased in this song. The vocal line encompasses two octaves and a step

(G - A ), the widest range for the voice thus far. The orchestra is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in A, two bassoons, one double bassoon, four horns in F, two trumpets in A, three trombones, tuba, timpani. Grosse Caisse, gong, harp. Organ, 1 st and

2nd violins, viola, cello and bass. Since “The Swimmer” has the thickest orchestration

114 of the song cycle, the singer must have enough stamina to complete the extended work and enough energy to cut through the thick orchestration. Elgar chooses to move away from simpler musical forms, which shaped the earlier songs, into a complex and more varied group of sequences and sections.

The song opens with a graphic orchestral prelude that depicts the storm-swept sea. Elgar begins “The Swimmer” with an A pedal which prepares for D major, the dominant key of the song, through the descending scales which contain numerous aug­ mented intervals. The quick change in dynamics from piano to forte helps enhance the image of the stormy sea.

Allfgrm dl molto.(J «tlS.) I C B

A N O

If"" 1 ■ ------J . ------rr,------i „ i t u ' f f r ' i f r ¥ r craaa.

Fig. 21 mm. 1-5 p. 29 o f the piano vocal score

115 In measures 6-9, a heroic tune emerges only to be halted by the declamation of the first

stanza in Quasi Recitative style. Maine states that the tune forms an orchestral prelude

that paints the sea in storm. The picture is so convincing, that one resents the intrusion

of the text; “for after the succeeding tune has been once heard , the words impede the

progress of its proper development.” At measure 15, and continuing through 18, the

first violins and violas play 16th note passages which depict the “swirl of the surges” and the “surfs that comb.”

Fig. 22 mm. 16-18 p. 38 o f the orchestral score.

116 Elgar quotes musical material from two of the previous songs, giving continuity to the cycle. In measures 50-52, there is a from "Where corals lie” in the oboe. The tune and rhythm are not identical to the original statements, but the similari­ ties are obvious. (Compare Fig. 23 and Fig. 24)

«ulk ■ H, Pna tM u4 M • im cf (n W batk-ir, mm • i t , tl • It # p i t .h a m Pmrt tmi tm .it, CWWIM, Nw *1 . là • W fcl -w friim , M irti É

«a. H

Fig. 23 mm. 50-52 p. 43 o f the orchestral score

117 wlU fuie Bt uaft

eoUl

4*^-4 f i—p 1-1^ -f p "■ y C Ï Ï V ■T f 'if -/-t ^ f -jfi <=*r. f =fc,,:dt=;==e== ^ T "r =r^T^ && # ^ 1 ■ r-? ■ ■ ■ m . m ^ 1 * flir^ . 1 Û# £. m#/. . iM J? 4| 0».a r '— ^ ------w,c% p " ^ r r ^

Fig. 24 mm. 16-17 p. 29 o f the orchestral score.

118 At the center of the closing song, Elgar again quotes previous musical material . "The :s isles in elfin light” music is heard again in measures 58-74 at "The skies were fairer”.

The music from "Sea Slumber-Song” allows the persona of the poem to glimpse back at the calm past. (See Fig. 5)

poeo mtno tmoao

...... fair. _ er, ‘ thi* sbnrvs

l ± j L.r r_r i p r c u r

firm - . er_ Tbo bine e Ter t&a bright

Fig. 25 mm.58-61 p. 35 of the piano vocal score

The persona is suddenly jolted by the present situation, as the descending augmented scale returns in mm. 76 and 77. The last two stanzas echo the first, though with ele­ ments re-ordered. In mm. 83-86, we hear the 16th note patterns return to portray the

“strong winds treading”. At the beginning of the last stanzas, measure 96, Elgar does a wonderful job of depicting the “brave white horse” with his galloping rhythm. (Gordon would have been pleased).

119 The song ends in D-Major with a dramatic coda to emphasize the last words; ‘"where no love wanes”. The ending key o f hopeful D-Major, only solidifies the fact that the persona of the poem has achieved peace through death.

Elgar’s setting of the text

Elgar is, for the most part, successful in his very descriptive setting o f‘The

Swimmer”. A glaring textual error that many critics are quick to point out, is the dif­ ference between Elgar’s use of “strifes” and Gordon’s intended word choice of

"straits”; "To gulfs foreshadowed through strifes forbidden”. Elgar would often allow the words to yield to the music. Not only would he change text, but he would alter word emphasis, omit words, and repeat words, often entire phrases.

It is rather more surprising to discover that mezzo-sopranos have been happily singing nonsense all these years in so well-known a piece as ‘The Swimmer’... What on earth are strifes forbidden?

The difference in text may be no more than a printing error. However, all of Elgar’s sketches, manuscript, and even the published score, contain “strifes”. Patrick Little suggests that Elgar's substitution of “strifes” certainly disguises, intentional or not, the totally unambiguous “forbidden straits” of suicide the poet, and possibly the composer, yearn for.

Adam Lindsay Gordon, “The Swimmer” in Sea Pictures: ACvcle of Five Songs. (London: Goosey & Hawkes LTD., 1899), p. 3.

‘Douglas Sladen, Introduction to Poems of Adam Lindsay Gordon. (London: Constable and Co. Ltd., 1912) p. xiv.

120 Howlett-Ross, “Adam Lindsay Gordon” The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from A.H. M iles’s The Poet and the Poetry o f the Nineteenth Century, vol. I: Adams-Howitt. ed. Wiiaim E. Fredeman (London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986), p. 613.

■“, Preface to The Poetical Works o f Adam Gordon Lindsay. (London: Ward Lock and Co., 19— ), p. xiv.

’william Wilde, Australian Poets & Their Works: A Reader’s Guide. (Melbourne: Oxford Uni­ versity Press, 1996), p. 94.

"Sladen, p. xvi.

'Wilde, p. 94.

*Clarke, p. xv.

"ibid., p. vii.

"ibid.. p. xvi.

"ibid., p. xvi.

'"Ibid., p. xviii.

"ibid., p. XXV.

"Sladen. p. xxix.

"Clarke, p. xx.

'“Sladen, p. xx.

"Robb. p. 377.

'^Humphrey Milford and Frank Maldon Robb, Introduction, Notes, and Appendixes taken from Poems o f Adam Lindsav Gordon, (London: Oxford University Press, 1923), p. xci.

'"Patrick Little, "Songs o f Love and Death,” The Elgar Society Journal 9 no. 4 (March 1996): p. 173.

‘“Jerrold Northrop Moore, Edward Elear: A Creative Life, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984), p, 279.

-'Little, p.173.

"Ernest Newman, Elgar (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906), p. 125.

■'Basil Maine, Elgar: His Life and Works, (London: G, Bell & Sons, LTD,, 1933), p. 226,

'"Thomas F. Dunhill, Sir Edward Elgar, (London: Blackie & Son Limited, 1938), p. 189.

"Diana McVeagh, Edward Elgar: His Life and Music, (London: J.M Dent & Sons LTD, 1955), p. 138.

121 ‘'Newman, p. 126.

' Maine, p. 226.

'*Ibid.. p. 227.

■’Arthur Jacobs, “Elgar’s Solo Songs” The Musical Times 90 (February 1984): 268.

'“Brian Trowell, “Elgar’s Use of Literature,” in Edward Elgar: Music and Literature, ed. Ray­ mond Monk (Hants, England: Scolar Press, 1993), p. 203.

"Little, p. 175.

122 EPILOGUE

Edward Elgar would never have imagined, though I have no doubt that he would have loved the gesture, that his birthplace cottage would be converted into a museum for the public or that a society would be founded in '‘honor of the memory of

Edward Elgar with the object of promoting a wider interest in his life and music.” '

However, despite the efforts of the society and its members, knowledge about Elgar as a composer, and especially as a song composer, is still lacking.

It is my hope that Edward Elgar’s song cycle. Sea Pictures, through this docu­ ment and the work of The Elgar Society, will become a well - known and inspiring work among all musicians and especially singers of today. Elgar’s orchestration of Sea

Pictures conjures up many images that are found in the poetry of the cycle and it is the orchestration that gives Sea Pictures a place of merit among song cycles.

123 'Michael Hurd. The Great Composers: Elgar (London: Faber and Faber, 1969), p. 52.

-Ibid., p. 52.

'The Elgar Society Constitution, 2. OBJECTS: Approved and adopted June I, 1996.

124 APPENDIX A

LIST OF EDWARD ELGAR’S SOLO SONGS

Song Title Poet Date of Composition

1. An Early Song Andrew Lang Unknown

2. The language of flowers Percival 1872

3. If she love me Temple Bar Rondeau 1878

4. A soiider's song C. Flavell Hayward 1884

5. Three Songs.Op. 16

Shepherd’s song Barry Pain 1892 John Hay 1885 Froissart / trans. Longfellow 1894

6. Is she not passing fair? Charles d’Orleans 1886

7. Queen Mary's (lute) song Tennyson 1887

8. As 1 laye a-thinking Thomas Ingoldby 1887

9. The wind at dawn Alice Roberts Elgar 1888

10. Clapham Town End anon. 1890

11. Adam Lindsay Gordon 1890

12. 1588 (Loose, loose the sails) Alice Roberts Elgar 1892

13. A spear, a sword Alice Roberts Elgar 1892

125 14. The Mill Wheel Winter Alice Roberts Elgar 1892 May Alice Roberts Elgar 1892

15. anon. 1892

16. The poet’s life Ellen Burroughs 1892

17. Muleteer’s song Alice Roberts Elgar 1894

18. The Wave Alice Roberts Elgar 1894

19. Two Sones.OD.31 After Philip Bourke Marston 1895 A song of flight C. Rossetti pre -

20. Rondel: The little eyes that Swinburne 1897 never knew light

21. Dr>- those fair, those crystal eyes Henry King 1899

22. Sea Pictures.Oo. 37 Sea Slumber- Song Hon. Roden Noel 1899 In haven (Capri) Alice Roberts Elgar 1898 Sabbath Morning at Sea Elizabeth Barret Browning 1899 Where corals Lie Richard Garnett 1899 The swimmer Adam Lindsay Gordon 1899

23. The pipes of Pan Adrian Ross 1899

24. Come, gentle night Clifton Bingham 1900

25. Zygmunt Krasinski 1901

26.There are seven that pull thethread Yeats 1901

27. Two Sones.OD.41 A.C. Benson 1901 Speak, music A.C. Benson 1902

28. Land of Hope and Glory A.C. Benson 1901

29. Speak my heart A.C. Benson 1902

30. Shelley 1904

126 31. Op. 48 no. 1 Arthur Salmon 1908

32. The King’s way Alice Roberts Elgar 1909

33. A child asleep Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1909

34. Cycle, O d . 59 Oh. soft was the song Gilbert Parker 1911 Was it some golden star? Gilbert Parker 1910 Twilight Gilbert Parker 1910

35. Two Songs, On.60 The torch folksongs of Eastern Europe 1912 The river folksongs of Eastern Europe 1912

36. Callicles Arnold 1913

37. Arabian serenade Margery Lawerence 1914

38. John Brownlie 1914

39. Soiider's song Begbie 1914

40. Carillon: Chantons, Belges d’Emile Cammaerts 1914 chantons Op.75

41. The brook Ellen Soule 1914

42. The merry-go-round Florence C. Fox 1914

43. Une voix dans le desert Op.77 d’Emile Cammaerts 1915

44. Songs from incidental music to Violet Peam 1915 The Starlight Exness

To the children 1916 The blue-eyes fairy 1916 Curfew song (Orion) Night winds My old tunes 1916 They’re all soft-shiny now Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed I’m everywhere Oh stars, shine brightly

127 We shall meet the morning spiders Dandelions, daffodils The laugher’s song Oh, think beauty

45. Wiliam Morris 1916

46. Op.79 d ’ Emile cammaerts 1917

47. 1917 The Lowestoft Kipling Fate’s discourtesy Kipling Kipling Kipling

48. Ozymandias Shelley 1917

49. Kipling 1918

50. 1924 Shakespear’s kingdon The islands The blue mountains; a song of Australia The heart of Canada Merchant adventures The immortal legions A song of union

51.lt isnae me Sally Holmes 1929

52. Songs from the projects opera Barry Jackson 1932 The Spanish Ladv.Op. 89 Modest and fair Still to be neat

53. Tarantella Belloc 1932 (Sketches only)

54. Song of Liberty A.P. Herbert (set to Pomp and Circumstane March no.4 tune in 1940)'

128 'Stephen Ban field. Sensibility And English Song: Critical Studies o f the Eariv 20th Century, yol. 2, (Cambridge: Cambridge Uniyersity Press, 1985), p. 440-443.

129 APPENDIX B

DEGREE PERFORMANCES

**********************************************************************

LYNNETTE BORMAN, MEZZO-SOPRANO

Performance One: Performing the role of Orfeo May 2 & 3 , 1997 Weigel Hall Auditorium The Ohio State University

Performance Two: Recital November 12, 1997 Weigel Hall Auditorium The Ohio State University

Performance Three: Cosi Fan Tutte Performing the role of Dorabella May8& 10, 1998 Weigel Hall Auditorium The Ohio State University

Performance Four: Recital July 24, 1998 Hughes Hall Auditorium The Ohio State University

130 LIST OF REFERENCES

Books and Music Scores

Anderson, Robert. Elear. New York: Schirmer Books, 1993.

. Elear in manuscript. London: The British Library, 1990.

Atkins, Wulstan E. The Elear-Atkins Freindship. London: David & Charles, 1984.

Ban field, Stephen. Sensibility And Enelish Sone: Critical Studies of the Early 20th Century, vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. “Sabbath Morning at Sea,” in Sea Pictures: ACvcle of Five Sones. London: Boosey & Hawkes LTD., 1926.

Clarke, Marcus. Preface to The Poetical Works of Adam Gordon Lindsav. London: Ward Lock and Co.. 19—.

Craggs. Stewart, (compiled by) Edward Elgar: A Source Book. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1995.

Dunhill. Thomas P. Sir Edward Elgar. London: Blackie & Son Limited, 1938.

Ellis, Stewart M. Mainly Victorian. London: Hutchinson and Co., 1924.

Elgar, Edward. Sea Pictures: A Cycle of Five Sones. Boosey & Hawkes LTD., 1926

Elgar, Edward. Sea Pictures: A Cycle of Five Songs for Contralto. Boosey & Co., 1900.

Fairchild, Hoxie Neale. Religious Trends in English Poetry vol. IV: 1830-1880 Christianity and Romanticism in the Victorian Era. Londpn: Columbia Univer sity Press, 1964.

Garnett, Richard. “Where corals lie” in Sea Pictures: A Cycle of Five Songs. London: Boosey & Hawkes LTD., 1926.

Gordon, Adam Lindsay. “The Swimmer” in Sea Pictures: ACvcle of Five Songs. Lon don: Boosey & Hawkes LTD., 1926.

131 Howlett-Ross J. “Adam Lindsay Gordon” The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from A.H. Miles’s The Poet and the Poetry o f the Nineteenth Century, vol. I : Adams-Howitt. London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986.

Hurd, Michael. The Great Composers: Elgar. London: Faber and Faber, 1969.

Kennedy, Michael. Portrait of Elear. London: Oxford University Press, 1968.

Kimball, Carol. Song: AGuide to Style and Literature Seattle: Pst. . .Inc., 1996.

Maine,BasiI. Elgar: His Life and Works. London: G. Bell & Sons, Ltd., 1933.

McCrimmon, Barbara Richard Garnett: The Scholar as Librariain. Chicago: American Library Association, 1989.

McVeagh, Diana M. Edward Elgar: His Life and Music. London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD., 1955.

Mermin, Dorthy. Elizabeth Barrett Browning: The Origins of a New Poetrv. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1989.

Milford, Humphrey and Frank Maldon Robb, Introduction, Notes, and Appendixes taken from Poems of Adam Lindsav Gordon. London: Oxford University Press, 1923.

Monkhouse, Cosmo. “Richard Garnett” The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from A.H. Miles's The Poet and the Poetrv o f the Nineteenth Century, vol. 1 : Adams-Howitt. London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986.

Moore, Jerrold Northrop. Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.

. Spirit of England: Edward Elgar in his World. London: Heinemann, 1984.

Newman, Ernest. The Music of the Masters: Elgar. London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906.

Nice, David. Edward Elgar: An essential guide to his life and works. London: Pavilion Books Limited, 1996.

Noel, Honorable Roden. Poems Of The Hon. Roden Noel: A Selection. With An Introduction Bv Robert Buchanan. London: Walter Scott, Limited, 1892.

132 Noel, Roden Berkeley Wriothesley. The Victorian Muse: Selected Criticism and Parody of the Period. London: Garland Publishing, 1986.

Porte, J.F. Sir Edward Elgar. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1921.

Redwood, Christopher. “Elgar and Delius” An Elgar Companion. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Sequoia Publishing, 1982.

Reed, W.H. Elgar. London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1939.

Sladen, Douglas. Introduction to Poems of Adam Lindsav Gordon. London: Constable and Co. Ltd., 1912.

Smith, Chard Powers. Annals of the Poets: Their Origins, Backgrounds, Private Lives, Habits of Composition. Characters, and Personal Peculiarities. London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, Ltd., 1935.

Symonds, John Addington. The Victorian Poets: The Bio-critical Introductions to the Victorian Poets from A.H. Miles’s The Poets and the Poetrv o f the Nineteenth Centurv,\o\. 2: Image- Ruskin. London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986.

Taplin, Gardner B. “Elizabeth Barrett Browning” Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Romantic Poets 1789-1832 . Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.

Thesing, William B. “Roden Noel” in Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Romantic Poets 1789-1832 . Detroit: Gale Research, 1990.

Trowell, Brian “Elgar’s Use of Literature,” Edward Elgar: Music and Literature. Aldershot, England: Scolar Press, 1993.

Young, Percy M. Alice Elgar: Enigma of a Victorian Lady. London: Dennis Dobson, 1978.

. Elgar P.M.: A Study of a Musician. London: Purnell Book Services, 1973 Wilde, William. Australian Poets & Their Works: A Reader’s Guide. Melbourne: Oxford Uniyersity Press, 1996.

Periodicals and Reyiews

Anderson, Robert. “Elgar’s Musical Style.” Musical Times 134 (December 1993): 689-90+92.

Jacobs, Arthur. “Elgar’s Solo Songs.” The Musical Times 90 (February 1984): 267-268.

133 Lance, Ian. “Eigar and Empire,” The Elgar Society Journal 10 no. 3 (November 1997): 128-141.

Little, Patrick. “Songs of Love and Death,” The Elgar Society Journal 9 no. 4 (March 1996) 168-176.

Moor, Paul. “Opus Record Review: Elgar - Songs,” Musical America 109 no.2 (March 1989): 61.

McVeagh, Diana. “Mrs. Edward Elgar.” Musical Times 125 (February 1984): 76-78.

Internet Documents

An ‘Elgar’ Tour. London, England, 1998. Available from http://www.geocities.comA^ienna/ 4056/tour07.htm. Accessed 13 January.

An ‘Elgar' Tour. London, England, 1998. Available from http://wv\^v.malvem.net/attractions/ elgar.htm. Accessed 13 January.

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