News

In this issue ...

Page Page Address for Communications 2 Summertime at The Firs 27 Keep in touch 2 Membership Matters 37 Letter from the Chairman 2 Elgar Works 39 From the Editor 4 Obituaries 42 Coping with Lockdown 6 Letters to the Editor 51 Zoom ! 13 Branch Reports 52 AGM 2020 15 Branch Events 63 Reviving the SW Branch 23 Delius Society 65 Elgarian Researches Dates for your Diary 66 in Lockdown 24 Crossword 70

No. 71 – August 2020 Address for Communications

Contributions for the December 2020 edition of the Elgar Society News should be e–mailed to the Editor:

Peter James: [email protected]

Full contact details can be found on the back cover. The latest date for submissions for the December 2020 issue is 25 October 2020. Keep in Touch

Remember: you can keep up to date with the latest Elgarian news online at

Facebook: www.facebook.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com

London Branch Account: https://twitter.com/ElgarLondon

YouTube: www.youtube.com

or, search for ‘Elgar’ or ‘Elgar Society’ or ‘Elgar Birthplace’.

Letter from the Chairman

Spare a thought for the horns!

Thus ended my last little homily, penned at the very close of 2019. It was a jocular reference, but, widening it to include all performing musicians, it now bears a distinctly hollow ring. Distinguished members of the profession had all work cancelled and music examiners were instructed to return home with 24 hours’ notice.

Perhaps you assume both groups thus contracted were still remunerated? Guess again.

2 Elgar Society News Letter from the Chairman

I dare say many of you know performing artists from every discipline, who have been similarly affected, with countless numbers experiencing very real hardship. We turn to music for all sorts of reasons and it is rather ironic, is it not, that we find so much comfort and solace in the very arts that are so much under threat. Let us hope that once we finally emerge from the present dire situation all those wonderful musicians, actors, writers and artists are still there for us. Having purchased the new compact disc Elgar from America, naturally I read Arthur Reynolds’s review in the April edition of the Journal with great interest. Understandably and rightly he concentrates on the Toscanini and Barbirolli issues, but I confess that the performance which fascinated me most was the totally unexpected appearance of a 1943 live broadcast performance of Falstaff. Well, about two thirds of it – the usual running time of some 35 minutes is rather crudely hacked down to around 26. It is unclear why, but the most likely reason is to do with radio timings and their limitations. I have a live Beethoven Ninth Symphony from New York conducted by Bruno Walter where the sound is faded in about eight minutes from the start of the performance, with the announcer breezily informing us that ‘Mr [sic] Walter has already started’. (How rude of him not to have waited!) In view of all this you will be wondering why on earth I am even giving this effort houseroom. Well, firstly, the conductor, Artur Rodziński, was, as our American friends say, ‘no slouch’ when it came to wielding the baton and the New York Philharmonic was a high–powered virtuoso ensemble, able to negotiate with ease the considerable technical demands of a score which must have been totally new to them. True, Sir John and his motley associates do tend to emerge more as Mafia hitmen than the rather homespun loveable rascals we know so well – the former impression strengthened by the orchestra’s unofficial title of ‘Murder Incorporated’! Perhaps this is why Rodziński was reputed to keep a loaded revolver in his back pocket during rehearsals … It is indeed good news that Arthur was able to reveal in his review that the next Elgar in America CD will include Toscanini’s 1940 broadcast of the Introduction and Allegro for Strings. I think

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it should prove to be a revelation. Perhaps space might be found to include some at least of the surviving rehearsal material, where one is moved to hear the loving care with which he works with the wonderful strings of his NBC Symphony Orchestra. To conclude in a rather lighter vein than I began, here is a little brain teaser for you: which conductor, in discussing a major work by Elgar, claimed that one particular passage had been written by his cook? Take care, all, and let’s look forward to better times ahead, strengthened by our love of music and of course Elgar in particular. Neil Mantle

From the Editor

The April edition of the News was compiled and printed in February and early March, when we were only just beginning to be aware of the threat from Covid–19. By the time it reached members’ letterboxes, however, we were in full lockdown, and for many there was no doubt a cruel irony in seeing Branch events and concerts listed as usual. At the beginning of July, as this edition of the News goes to press, lockdown rules are in the process of being eased and we have to hope that measures taken to stimulate the economy do not trigger a second wave of the virus. But while shops, pubs and restaurants are being allowed to reopen, the prospect of concert life returning to normal seems sadly distant. This despite some encouraging efforts like Radio 3’s live lunchtime concerts from an empty Wigmore Hall. Fortunately we still have the consolation of recorded music – and I’m grateful to the contributors to ‘Coping with Lockdown’ for sharing their locked–down listening. Incidentally, this may be the first time in the history of the News that Schoenberg has been compared to Elgar, as Julian Rushton teasingly does in his article.

There is quite a lot about Zoom in this issue. Few of us had heard of this piece of technology a few months ago, but now its use is becoming ubiquitous and routine. The ability to attend virtual

4 Elgar Society News From the Editor meetings must offer some relief from the isolation we have been enduring. Joining a Zoom call is relatively straightforward (and Stuart Freed offers help to the faint–hearted on page 14), so I hope people will be encouraged to ‘attend’ the Zoom AGM on 20 September – as notified on page 15.

I’ll close with a must–read and a must–see. It would be remiss not to mention that it’s 50 years since Sir John Barbirolli died (on 29 July 1970). Many will have come to know and love Elgar through his recordings and concerts; he is fittingly celebrated in David L. Jones’s comprehensive article in this month’s Journal. And on YouTube, don’t miss a moving performance from Dame Sarah Connolly accompanying herself in ‘An die Musik’ – Schubert’s sublime tribute to music, that ‘sweet art’ which, as the poet says, can in sad times transport us into a better world … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAaXLMfLHY Peter James

Barbirolli in 1965 [Photo: Joost Evers]

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With no live music to be had, we asked some distinguished Elgarians to write about the recorded music that they have most enjoyed during lockdown. As a music critic, many of my evenings are spent reviewing live performances in concert halls and opera houses, but during lockdown I have been confined to barracks listening to recorded music. Much of that has in fact been piano music. I am a lapsed pianist myself, though I could never have got my fingers around much of what I have been listening to: Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Song (Cyril Smith the soloist), de Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (both Steven Osborne), Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto (Wilhelm Backhaus – who had played for Brahms – and the Saxon State Orchestra conducted by Karl Böhm), and the Schumann Etudes Symphoniques and Carnaval played by Alfred Cortot, peppered with wrong notes but so grippingly musical. Most of all, though, I return again and again to a recording of the Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto, set down in 1932 with the composer himself as soloist and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Piero Coppola. I first heard this concerto when I was at the Last Night of the Proms in 1966. Martha Argerich was the pianist and Sir Malcolm Sargent conducted, the very last time he conducted here. I was bowled over by the work. In this recording, which has kept me company all these weeks, Prokofiev reveals his amazingly steely–fingered pianism, his capacity for both lyricism and glitter, his sheer strength of personality; and I also admire Coppola’s conducting, both efficient and shrewd, and the LSO is on top form. I wonder if Elgar knew this remarkable recording? Christopher Morley

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I feel I should submit something solemn and serious, by Elgar. Not so. For someone of my age the comparisons of today with the 1939–45 war are inescapable. For me, that meant Myra Hess and her National Gallery concerts. So I’ve been listening to my friend Piers Lane’s recording of her arrangement of Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy’, which I often heard her play. That led me on to other pieces on his disc, Piers Goes to Town: the delicious ‘A nightingale sang in Berkeley Square’, and Billy Mayerl’s ‘Marigold’, both cheerful wartime memories. And no matter how often I hear it, his performance of Dudley Moore’s Beethoven parody always makes me laugh aloud. Then because the Critics’ Circle should have been giving a lunch in May to Janet Baker (postponed of course), I have been searching her on YouTube, and often late at night watch her incomparable, anguished performance of Dido’s ‘Remember me’, thinking as I listen of a close contemporary friend, my bridesmaid many years ago, who died in May of Covid–19. Diana McVeagh –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– O Hearken Thou – Anthem, Opus 64 Elgar put the finishing touches to his Second Symphony on the last day of February 1911, duly designating it Opus 63. It will be noted that the above work, with its consecutive numbering, followed directly. It was composed during March for the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary which took place in Westminster Abbey on 22 June, five days after Elgar had been awarded the Order of Merit. Sung during the newly created monarch’s taking of Communion, its text is taken from verses two and three of Psalm Five:

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O hearken Thou unto the voice of my calling, my King, and my God: for unto Thee will I make my prayer. My voice shalt Thou hear betimes, O Lord: early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. Although it occupies barely four minutes in performance and a mere 50 bars in length, it is quite complex harmonically. Although the key is ostensibly A flat major, it is constantly restlessly shifting away from that tonality before being almost dragged back to the home key at the conclusion of each verse. It is an excellent example of that side of Elgar to which so many of us are powerfully drawn: that emotional vulnerability, uncertainty and diffidence, so far removed from that image of him which still persists with the public at large as a kind of militaristic Colonel Blimp. Once heard, it inhabits one’s sense for days afterwards and I offer it, in case you don’t know it, as an affecting miniature. Neil Mantle –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– As I’m an avid listener to music on CD at the best of times, this lockdown has not really increased my listening habits. But one thing that has given me immense pleasure is re–acquainting myself with the works of Camille Saint–Saëns, a composer I have been passionately fond of for over 50 years – since the time when he was often considered a bit of a second–rater, a rather shallow purveyor of a few good works and a lot of dross. How times change! I’ve noticed that recent critical reception of recordings and performances of his music has improved dramatically, especially since CDs in particular have increased our knowledge of a wider range of his music. So I’ve listened again to some of his operas, not just the ever–popular Samson et Dalila but also Proserpine, Les Barbares, Hélène and Ascanio, several of them presented in lavish booklet form, with notes, photographs and libretti by the excellent French company Bru Zane. His orchestral music and concertos are generally well known now, but I’ve listened also to much of his wickedly difficult piano music, and in particular to his chamber music – two violin sonatas, two cello sonatas, two piano trios and the wonderfully delightful Septet for trumpet, piano and strings, its joie de vivre guaranteed to

8 Elgar Society News Coping with Lockdown bring a smile to your face. But the work that has again particularly impressed me is his great Piano Quartet (Op.41). After a lyrically flowing first movement, the second, instead of the usually expected gentle Andante, is a stern, uncompromising movement alternating a serious chorale theme with a grim, rhythmic pattern that stamps its way through the movement with its implacable tread, before the abrupt, dramatic ending. An astonishing movement. There follows a fleeting, furtive Scherzo, Mendelssohnian in texture but with a slightly anxious, indeed sinister, spirit. The serious and lengthy finale, again dramatic with much rhythmic and contrapuntal interplay, finally brings back themes from the first two movements, thus neatly encompassing the French ideal of cyclic form long before it was advocated by Franck and d’Indy. Incidentally, on his first visit to Paris in 1880, Elgar went to hear Saint–Saëns (the finest organist in the world, according to Franz Liszt) play the organ at La Madeleine church. Then there is a delightful photograph of the two composers, along with other worthies, on the lawns outside Gloucester Cathedral in 1913, where Saint–Saëns had come to conduct his new oratorio The Promised Land. What did they talk about? We know that Elgar knew, and indeed conducted, the Frenchman’s music. Has any record survived of his Worthies in Gloucester: Saint–Saëns opinion of Elgar’s work? He (seated) with (standing, left to must have been aware of it, right) Charles Harford Lloyd, not least because his friend Herbert Brewer and Elgar and favourite pupil, Gabriel Fauré, was an Elgar devotee. Barry Collett

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The recordings that have affected me are not, it must be admitted, exactly news. Some go back to my father’s collection: in the 1950s: on 78 rpm, the Busch Quartet playing Beethoven, and 1930s recordings (incomplete) of Götterdämmerung. Recordings at school were available when I had a free period; other than those played for examination purposes (I was the only one in the school doing O and A level music): Ravel’s Boléro, also on 78s, memorable because (as I changed sides) I thought ‘It can’t go on the same’ (but it did). My first experience of an Elgar symphony was at school, on LP, but the impact of playing in Gerontius in my first undergraduate year was greater. About this time, the first LP I owned was Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde, under Bruno Walter with – in order of singing – the wonderful Julius Patzak and Kathleen Ferrier (the CD transfer’s cover, disgracefully, names only Ferrier, ignoring the others). Elgar’s own performances of his symphonies, and Barbirolli’s No.1, sealed my love for these works. Karajan, whom I don’t always like, revealed through Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces that this bogeyman isn’t just interesting but could be a thrilling colourist. Soon afterwards, his String Quartet in D minor (No. 1, Op.7) reminded me of Elgar, when the middle parts are doubled in octaves (viola above the second violin). Paul Kletzki’s Mahler Fourth Symphony, Toscanini’s Debussy (La Mer), Colin Davis’s Berlioz cycle, Boult’s Apostles … I could go on, but there’s a word limit! Julian Rushton

Arnold Schoenberg in 1905 by Richard Gerstl [Wien Museum]

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Denied any live events and Branch meetings, I rediscovered my old cassette collection. Playing recordings from Aachen Cathedral Choir to ZZ Top, I have covered with delight a lot of musical ground. In addition, the violinist Tom Bowes sent me his new recording of Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for solo violin (completely unknown to me and brilliantly played) whilst a programme note from a German friend, the critic and broadcaster Michael Schwalb, on Elgar’s In the South overture led me quickly to hearing that fine work and to reading Michael’s monograph on Max Reger, which he kindly sent me.

However, two particular musical pleasures stand out. As I walked over the derelict Newton Airfield near Bingham, I summoned up on my phone The Dam Busters March by Eric Coates. Composed before Coates received the commission from the film company, the work contains his greatest melody, set off with a swaggering introduction and orchestrated with tremendous verve. Whisper it softly – and look away now, if you are delicate – I prefer it to all of Elgar’s P&C works.

Less contentiously, listening to Leonard Cohen’s 2009 ‘Live in London’ performances made me think what a fine poet he was, what a rotten singer he was, but how brilliant he was at speaking the melodies. Born in the year of Elgar’s death, he was 75 when he made the album and was the epitome of cool, as he had been all his life. After my own lifetime of tepidity, is it too late for me to be cool, I wonder? Steven Halls

No. 71 – August 2020 11 Coping with Lockdown

During lockdown I revisited many of my favourite recordings by great cellists of the past and I would like to introduce readers to five cello concertos that may not be familiar to all, played by five different cellists – the first three of whom have impeccable Elgarian credentials! The C.P.E. Bach Concerto in A would make a welcome alternative in concert to the oh–so–familiar Haydn. I have chosen a DG recording by my teacher, Pierre Fournier. Fournier was sometimes referred to as ‘the slow movement’ cellist and listening to his beautiful bel canto line in this concerto’s gorgeous Largo it is easy to see how he acquired this soubriquet. Fournier’s compatriot Paul Tortelier produced a lean, sinuous sound eminently suited to such bitter–sweet romantics as Honegger, Walton and Hindemith. His recording of Hindemith’s 1940 Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic under Karel Ančerl is superb. Zara Nelsova is a nowadays underrated cellist who regularly recommended the Elgar Concerto to conductors. Her recording of Samuel Barber’s Concerto, conducted by the composer, is one of her finest achievements. The Russian cellist Daniil Shafran tended to employ his frenetic vibrato to everything he played. But it certainly suits Dmitry Kabalevsky’s First Concerto on a Melodiya recording, again conducted by the composer.

Miaskovsky’s Cello Concerto is a wonderful work. It is easily available in an EMI recording by Mstislav Rostropovich conducted by Malcolm Sargent. But if you can uncover a ‘live’ performance, lurking on the internet, by Rostropovich and Svetlanov you will hear one of the greatest cello performances of all time. Julian Lloyd Webber

12 Elgar Society News Zoom !

The unanticipated results of human actions may well be the defnition of the law of unintended consequences. If this is so, then the efforts of the Elgar Society to compensate for the lack of Branch meetings through the use of technology is most certainly an excellent fit.

The Society’s first foray into on–line meetings took place in late June of this year and was comprised of two components. The first of these was an excellently compiled and presented video of Peter Newble’s talk ‘Elgar and the Gramophone’. This was made available to members through a link and could be viewed prior to a Zoom question and answer session, chaired by Neil Mantle, at which time members were able to ask Peter about the talk and about production techniques. Judging by the attendance at the Q&A and the number of e–mails we received after the meeting, the whole event was a resounding success and proved that there is a real demand for this kind of presentation. Particular thanks are due to Peter for his superb video, which has set the bar so high that it is going to be diffcult to maintain the standards of presentation and production value that he achieved.

Peter Newble giving his presentation

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To move on to the unintended consequences, I certainly did not expect to receive e–mails suggesting that this has enabled a member in Arizona to ‘attend’ his first meeting or that the use of subtitles for those with some hearing loss makes this kind of presentation far more accessible. In addition, many UK members who cannot attend their local Branch either through travel diffculties, mobility issues or simply that they cannot attend on the day because of other commitments have also been in contact to express their appreciation of this new initiative and to ask if virtual meetings could be continued after the current crisis has passed. The Council and Executive will most certainly have to consider this in the coming months. For the present the Society plans to present a series of on–line, virtual meetings whilst the current social restrictions continue and these presentations will be announced as they become available. Notice of Peter’s talk was sent to all members who have registered an e–mail address with the Membership Secretary. If you did not receive an e–mail to let you know that the event was to take place, then you need to make sure that the Society has a record of your e–mail address. You can do this by sending an e–mail to [email protected]. All of this refers to the provision made by the Society in general. Many of you will know that some Branches have presented, or are in the process of presenting, their own programme of on–line Branch events and members are encouraged to support these wherever possible. Lest anyone should be alarmed by this, fearing that there is any intention to abandon Branch meetings altogether, let me assure you that no such plan exists and that once we are able to resume normal meetings, Branches will do so. Should there be anyone who would like to join a Zoom meeting, but is nervous about how to do so, get in touch with me at vice. [email protected] and I can e–mail a set of simple instructions for you to follow. Alternatively you might want to call me on 01905 339371. Stuart Freed Vice–Chairman

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June 2020 Dear Member In a notice dated 18 March 2020, George Smart, our Hon. Secretary, informed you (which will not have been a surprise) that the AGM of the Society, which was to have been held on 31 May 2020, had been postponed to a date to be announced. This letter explains the arrangements for the postponed AGM. The constitution requires the AGM to be held by 30 September. In the current situation what we have decided to do is to hold the AGM by Zoom on 20 September 2020. The details are set out below. Deciding what to do about it has not been easy and there is no ideal option. The Charity Commission appreciates the difficulties that the lockdown is causing charities and, in particular, recognises the need that there has been to postpone AGMs. It does not however prescribe what is to be done in the light of any such postponement. From its point of view, it would like to receive approved copies of the Annual Report and Accounts as soon as possible. Although as I write this there is no certainty about the matter, it does look as if it might be possible to hold a meeting requiring physical attendance on a date before 30 September. But in practice, it is likely that it would be difficult for many of our members to attend; and the business of such a meeting, although important, is largely formal. It would not be possible to guarantee a quorum and, in any event, with a small attendance, it would not be an intrinsically valuable meeting. It would be possible to postpone the AGM until next year. However, the approval of the accounts would be better not left over for a period of nearly eighteen months after the end of the relevant accounting period; and for there to have been no input into the running of the Society by its general membership for a period of two years is not inherently desirable. It is this that has led to the decision to hold the AGM by Zoom. I do appreciate that not all the membership has access to the internet/ e–mail and that of those who do, not all will have access to Zoom. Nonetheless it has seemed to the Executive and Council that, whatever the drawbacks, holding the AGM in this way will facilitate

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the involvement of a greater number of the membership than trying to hold a meeting requiring physical attendance; and it will enable the meeting to be held before 30 September, as required by the constitution. Members do not need to download Zoom but it will be necessary for members who wish to be involved in the meeting to register in advance so that they can be given a link. Members who wish to attend should contact Stuart Freed at [email protected], or by others means, to enable him to send details of how to join the meeting on the day. Do attend the AGM if you can; you are assured of a warm welcome even if the cup of tea and birthday cake will be virtual ones! Yours faithfully Neil Mantle MBE Acting Chairman

SEVENTIETH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE ELGAR SOCIETY TO BE HELD ON 20 SEPTEMBER 2020 AT 2.30pm BY ZOOM

AGENDA

1. Chairman’s welcome and opening remarks

2. Apologies for absence

Please send apologies for absence to George Smart, Hon. Secretary, by e–mail or post as shown on the back cover. All the apologies will be read out at the meeting.

3. Confirmation of the minutes of the Sixty–ninth AGM

The minutes of this meeting are to be found on pp. 9–13 of the April 2020 issue of the Elgar News.

4. Report of the Acting Chairman

There will be the opportunity to ask the Chairman questions at the conclusion of his Report.*

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5. Report of the Treasurer and presentation of the annual accounts

The accounts are on pp. T24 and T25 of the April issue of the Elgar News. They have now been approved by the Independent Examiner.

There will be the opportunity to ask the Treasurer questions at the conclusion of his Report.*

6. Adoption of the Trustees’ Annual Report

The Trustees’ Annual Report is on pp. T1–T23 of the April issue of the Elgar News.

7. Appointment of the Independent Examiner

Adrian Benselin has agreed to be appointed as Independent Examiner for the coming year.

8. Hon. Secretary’s Report – included in this edition of the Elgar News on page 18.

There will be the opportunity to ask the Secretary questions at the conclusion of his Report.*

9. Society Officers

The Hon. Secretary has received nominations as follows:

Chairman Neil Mantle MBE Vice–Chairman Stuart Freed Hon. Treasurer Peter Smith Hon. Secretary George Smart

There being no other nominations, the meeting is invited to confirm the election of the above–named.

10. Council Members

The eight members of the Council for 2019–2020 were: Paul Grafton, Ruth Hellen, Elizabeth Luder, Peter Newble, Philip Petchey, Geoff Scargill, Helen Whittaker and Roy Whittaker.

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Having completed two terms of four years, Ruth Hellen and Geoff Scargill have stood down.

Having completed one term of four years, Peter Newble and Roy Whittaker were eligible for re–election and have been re– nominated.

Paul Grafton has decided to stand down.

Prof. David Young has been nominated to serve on the Council.

There being three nominations for four places upon the Council, namely Peter Newble, Roy Whittaker and Prof. David Young, the meeting is invited to confirm their election.

(Note that the Constitution does not permit nominations for new Council members to be made at the AGM itself.)

11. Honorary Membership Nominations

12. Any Other Business*

* It will be helpful, if you do have questions or wish to raise an item in Any Other Business, if you could communicate them to the Secretary (by e–mail or post) in advance of the meeting, supplying the question or identifying the matter of business that you wish to raise.

REPORT OF HON. SECRETARY

KEY EVENTS OF 2019

Personnel Changes

2019 was a year of significant change in the personnel of the Society.

Julian Lloyd Webber chaired the 2019 AGM as his final contribution to the Society as our President, but continues his association as one of our Vice–Presidents. Sir Mark Elder was welcomed as President under the new arrangements for the presidency incorporated in the Constitution.

18 Elgar Society News AGM 2020

Steven Halls indicated that he wished to step down as Chairman during 2018 and Neil Mantle was nominated as his successor, although the nomination was not made until after the closing date. Stuart Freed covered the interregnum, as Acting Chairman, until the Council meeting in October, when Neil was co–opted as Acting Chairman and at this year’s AGM stands for election with the other officers.

Helen Whittaker relinquished the role of Treasurer and Peter Smith took over the reins.

Barry Collett had also indicated a wish to step down from co– ordinating the EiP programme, a role which Steven Halls agreed to take over from June 2019.

David Young stepped down as Membership Secretary and Chris Bennett took over the role.

At the end of the year Meinhard Saremba announced his resignation as the editor of the Journal. The Journal continues under an editorial board consisting of Kevin Mitchell, Andrew Neill, David Morris, Stuart Freed and Andrew Dalton.

Elgar Festival

The Festival continued to establish itself as a key event in the Worcester calendar. Since the date of Elgar’s Birthday coincided with the AGM and Evensong, a Civic Procession including both Society and Festival representatives took place from the Guildhall to the Cathedral for Evensong. After the service the Mayor laid the chaplet at the memorial window.

Theft of Elgar Medals

National publicity was given to the theft of Elgar’s OM and GCVO medals and a signed photo from The Firs on 27 June. Fortunately the medals have since been recovered undamaged.

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AWARDS

Elgar Medal Anastasia Vedyakova was presented with the Medal by Stuart Freed at a concert in Manchester organised by the North West Branch. This recognises her work in promoting Elgar and his music in Russia. Adrian Brown was presented with the Medal at a concert in March 2020 which included Anthony Payne’s elaboration of the sketches for a Third Symphony. Anthony Payne made the presentation in recognition of Adrian’s contribution over 50 years in promoting Elgar’s works and enthusing young people in music.

Dame Janet Baker has still to be presented with the Medal, but a suitable occasion had not been fixed when lockdown occurred.

Certificate of Merit

David Young’s service over many years to the Society was recognised by presenting him with the Certificate of Merit at the Council meeting on 2 March 2019.

OBITUARIES

Ernie Kay

2019 began with the sad news that Ernie Kay had died in early January. A tribute was included in my Report to the AGM last year and obituary comments appeared in the April 2019 News. He was a great supporter of Elgar and the Society and a very generous donor to Society and other projects. Just before the News went to press, the Society was informed of a further generous donation of £93,249 to the Society ‘in memory of Kathy, Margaret and Ernie’. Martin Bird Martin Bird died suddenly over the early May bank holiday in 2019. I included a short tribute to him and his contribution to the Society in my report to the AGM last year. There have since been several tributes to Martin which appeared in the August 2019 News. Those tributes are a fitting recognition of Martin’s considerable contribution to the work of the Society. He will be sorely missed.

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John Buttrey Dr John Buttrey was originally from Australia but came to England initially as a lay clerk at Winchester Cathedral and later as a choral scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, where he completed a PhD on Henry Purcell. In the 1970s he was in London as a lay clerk at Westminster Abbey. He was a founder and longstanding member of the London Branch where he served on the committee. As a professional singer, outside the church work, he sang with the Deller Consort and was recorded in the music of Byrd, Handel and Purcell. He was also active in the Herbert Howells Society as well as giving talks to the Elgar Society meetings. Alan Boon Alan Boon served the West Midlands Branch as Secretary for twelve years and also as Treasurer. These were the early years of the Branch and Alan was a stalwart in building up an effective Branch. Living in Martley, near Worcester, he taught at the Martley Church of England Primary School where he was a popular teacher. His death in late April 2019 is a loss of a faithful and active member. Paul Adrian Rooke Paul Adrian Rooke died in November 2019 after a fall the previous July. He certainly left a major contribution to the promotion of Elgar’s music as the Chief Originator and co–founder of Elgar Works. Following the Elgar Complete Edition being taken over by Elgar Works, the publication rate of volumes increased. He also left electronic scores for all but four of the eleven volumes still to be published – an amazing achievement, leaving modern copies of a wide range of works for use throughout the world. Paul was also an active conductor and composer. He conducted the Hitchin Symphony Orchestra for 35 years and helped to revive interest in the performance of King Olaf in the year of its centenary. He was very active in inspiring young people in music well in advance of our current interest in that work. He was well known in the Society and served on the committee of the London Branch. It will be hard to find a more lasting contribution to Elgar and his music.

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Tony Pook

Yorkshire and North East Branch lost two leading members over Easter 2020. Firstly, Tony Pook died on Easter Sunday 2020. He was the Chairman of the Yorkshire and North East Branch since its re– establishment in 2012 until handing over to Professor David Young in January 2019. He was an RAF bandsman during the war and later played with the Royal Opera House Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. From his early years as a chorister in Uxbridge he had a love for choral music which led to his joining the York Musical Society with whom he sang in performances of The Dream of Gerontius in York and Münster. Tony was also active in the Federation of Recorded Music as Chairman of the York Branch for a number of years. With both societies he was an active speaker who provided interesting and informative talks. His work as the Chairman of the Branch was summed up by Paul Grafton: ‘Tony had that very rare combination of an unassuming nature with a quietly authoritative presence, which helped him to steer our Branch successfully through its formative years.’ It is also sad to report that his second wife Muriel died five days later.

Marc Seccombe

Marc Seccombe, a long–standing member of the Yorkshire and NE Branch also died this Easter. He was well known to the wider Elgar community especially for his introductory video for the Birthplace Museum, still being enjoyed by visitors fifteen years after it was made.

Michael Toseland

Michael was an active member of the East Midlands Branch who, despite not being in good health, agreed to take over from Howard Newton when he stood down as Branch Chairman for caring responsibilities. Michael worked as a medical practitioner in Northampton and the surrounding villages until he retired. He loved opera and was a regular visitor to Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. His friendly and engaging personality meant he was a pleasure to work with and was welcoming to new members.

22 Elgar Society News AGM 2020

As Howard Newton commented, ‘Certainly a calming influence, everyone’s benevolent uncle – I wouldn’t have minded him as my GP.’ His son Simon said, ‘My father absolutely loved his engagement with the Society and all those involved.’

THANKS

I would like to close by thanking the other Executive Officers, Council members, Branch Chairmen and Secretaries for their support and assistance during the year. Reviving the South West Branch

Members will recall that at the SW Branch AGM in 2019 there was no quorum and no nominations for officers. The Branch therefore became dormant and monies were returned to the national Treasurer.

Then recently, the News editor received a letter from David Harvey in Exeter in which he indicated that he would be willing to serve as a committee member in a revived South West Branch.

Following discussion with Peter James, I phoned David to discuss his suggestion. I explained to him that the Branch constitution required the appointment of officers – Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary who together with one other would form the Branch committee. He indicated that he would be willing to be on the committee, but not as Treasurer. We agreed that I would write this piece for the News and that we would e–mail those members previously associated with the South West Branch to see if there was support for reviving it, and if there were members who would be prepared to stand for officer/committee posts.

Anyone who is willing should contact me at [email protected] or the other contact details on the back cover and I will facilitate further discussions.

The Executive has discussed the position and confirmed that if sufficient members come forward they would provide support to revive the Branch and provide funds. George Smart Hon. Secretary

No. 71 – August 2020 23 Elgarian Researches in Lockdown

I was recently bequeathed the library of a friend who was a priest. Among many volumes of clerical biography, I found Edmund Gosse’s Silhouettes (1925), which comprises pieces written for a column in the Sunday Times. I noticed that it included a piece on Arthur O’Shaughnessy and turned to it with interest to see if there was any mention of Elgar and The Music Makers. Gosse (1848–1928) and O’Shaughnessy were roughly contemporary and moved in circles that overlapped1, so it seemed to be a reasonable prospect2. However, there was no mention of Elgar nor any specific mention of The Music Makers (as a poem), although Gosse referred to Music and Moonlight (1874) (the collection which includes it) as ‘containing some of his best lyrics’. Gosse observed of O’Shaughnessy that ‘[h]e appears in the anthologies, from which he will never be dislodged’. This raised in my mind the question of where Elgar first came across The Music Makers. Relf Clark tells me that it was first published in the 30 August 1873 issue of the Athenaeum but Elgar is hardly likely to have seen it there, nor indeed in Music and Moonlight3. O’Shaughnessy worked at the British Museum (he became an expert on lizards), but he had died in 1881, long before Elgar had friends there.

Arthur O’Shaughnessy

1 Jerrold Northrop Moore records that they both attended a dinner in 1910 for the High Commissioner for Australia: see Edward Elgar: A creative life (1984) at p.575. 2 One might have guessed that both were members of the Athenaeum (i.e. the club of that name). This however was not so. Elgar was a member for a period but resigned when Ramsay MacDonald was elected as a member. Gosse does not appear to have been a member. 3 Its print run would surely not have exceeded 500 (that of A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad (1896)). 24 Elgar Society News Elgarian Research in Lockdown

So it would appear to have been from an anthology. But which one? If Wikipedia is to be relied upon, nothing of O’Shaughnessy’s appeared in Palgrave’s Golden Treasury until C. Day–Lewis’s revision in 1954. Elgar first considered setting the poem in 1903. What anthology or anthologies would then have included it? The answer appeared to be straightforward. O’Shaughnessy’s Ode is included in the Oxford Book of English Verse. Not indeed the two versions that I have, namely those edited by Helen Gardner (1972) and Christopher Ricks (1999), but the version prepared by Sir Arthur Quiller–Couch and published in 1901. The book was hugely popular, the first edition selling nearly half a million copies4. Moreover, we know that Elgar had a copy. Chris Bennett pointed out to me the following entry which Elgar made in a notebook which he kept during his stay in Alassio in 1903/4: Darling of the Gods See A Marvell Ode (in Oxford Book of Verse 1250–1900) ed AT Quiller–Couch.

Chris doesn’t think however that it survives at the Birthplace, The Firs. The phrase ‘Darling of the Gods’ appears in Marvell’s poem ‘The Picture of Little T.C. in a Prospect of Flowers’.

O’Shaughnessy’s poem had the title Ode; but I am inclined to think that this is a coincidence. Nonetheless everything seemed to point to the Oxford Book of English Verse as being Elgar’s source. However, looking at the text (on line, kindly supplied by the London Library), I discovered that Quiller–Couch had only included three stanzas of the poem5. This is no doubt because Quiller–Couch took the view that the other verses were of a lesser quality; and indeed the poem has been much criticised. So how did Elgar know about the ‘missing’ verses? One possibility is an anthology other than the Oxford Book. I think finding such an anthology might not be

4 See the Preface to the 1972 version. 5 Similarly the 1939 revision includes only these three stanzas. I gave a copy of this book to my brother for his 21st birthday many years ago and he was able to confirm this for me; Wikipedia suggests that the poem was culled in the 1939 revision. These three stanzas are included in Earl Wavell’s Other Men’s Flowers (1944), suggesting that he, at least, had come across the poem in the Oxford Book of English Verse. No. 71 – August 2020 25 Elgarian Research in Lockdown

easy at any time; and certainly not during the lockdown. I don’t know whether any reader of the News has any ideas6? There is another possibility which I have identified. In 1900 Novello’s published a four–part song called A Love Symphony by John Arthur Clegg to words by O’Shaughnessy. Was it perhaps Jaeger who, acquainted with O’Shaugnessy’s work, pointed Elgar in the direction of Music and Moonlight7?

There is a nice footnote to this story. Sir Edward visited Arthur Quiller–Couch during his motor tour to Cornwall with Schuster in 1910. He wrote in his journal:

Friday Ap 8. Walk in morning before breakfast, loved the place – called on Arthur Quiller–Couch extremely pleasant gentleman.

There are some parallels in the lives of the two men: both were appointed professors without previously having been academics; and Arthur Quiller–Couch was to become Sir Arthur in the summer of 1910. Both were champions of provincial life: Elgar of course of Worcester (and the other cities of the Three Choirs); Quiller–Couch of Fowey and Cornwall.8 They both seem quintessentially Edwardian figures.

There is another puzzle connected with O’Shaughnessy’s Ode that probably has nothing to do with Elgar studies. Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (19th edition, 2012) references the phrase ‘movers and shakers’ and explains it to mean ‘[p]owerful people who initiate events and influence people’. It says ‘[t]he phrase in this sense dates from the early 1970s yet derives from [The Music Makers]’. … Who first gave it currency? Philip Petchey

6 One possibility is Arthur O’Shaughnessy: His life and work with a selection of his poems (1894) by Louise Moulton (see the British Library catalogue) but I do not know if it contains the Ode. 7 Elgar did not get a copy from the London Library. It seems that he was a member, but not until 1921. 8 One may note also that those who have held the honorary degree of LL D from the University of Aberdeen must be a select band. 26 Elgar Society News Summertime at The Firs

As you know, The Firs, Elgar’s Birthplace, in common with all National Trust properties, was closed from March. I’m pleased to report, however, that the resident gardener, Dawne Middleton, has been working hard to keep the gardens in wonderful condition. In a recent issue of the local NT newsletter, Footnote, she treated us to some photos of the garden at The Firs together with some notes which we thought you might enjoy in these difficult times.

The cottage borders are bursting at the seams … Here in the garden we had a forest of extraordinarily statuesque and beautiful Nectaroscordum siculum. We know it as ‘Sicilian honey garlic’. The plants are displaying snowy clusters of gracefully drooping bell– shaped flowers combining cream, pink and green tints rising on tall leafless stems atop blue–grey, twisted basal leaves. And our bees adore them!

No. 71 – August 2020 27 Summertime at The Firs

28 Elgar Society News Summertime at The Firs

Our roses are blooming beautiful! The scent from the Rosa ‘Arthur Bell’ is divine.

No. 71 – August 2020 29 Summertime at The Firs

The Rose banksiae ‘Alba Plena’ in the Sound Garden continues to produce gorgeous blooms – it just keeps on flowering. It’s well worth planting one in your own garden, and its being thornless is a real boon.

I’ve planted climbing plants at the base of each of the pergola’s upright posts. It will be a while before they reach the rafters, but until then we have this wonderful hardy climber Lonicera or Honeysuckle. I think you may agree that the colours are stunning against the green of the leaves. After this flush of scented flowers, it will produce red berries which are very appealing to birds (although poisonous to us).

30 Elgar Society News Summertime at The Firs

Look at the intricate shape and form of these gorgeous blooms from across the gardens.

No. 71 – August 2020 31 Summertime at The Firs

The colourful shrubs in our garden are keeping our busy bee population occupied. Shown here are a large pink Cistus (Rock rose), a beautiful highly scented white Syringa (Lilac), two varieties of Weigela, Choisya ternate (Mexican orange blossom) and the bees’ favourite, a stunning Ceonothus impressus.

Below: Syringa

Above: Cistus

Left: Weigela, Choisya ternate

32 Elgar Society News Summertime at The Firs

Below: Ceonothus impressus

Above: Weigela, Choisya ternate I thought I’d share some photographs of our Daisy Walk. (We did have orchids last year too.) I think you’ll agree it’s coming along nicely. The meandering mown grass pathways are taking shape and the Leucanthemum vulgare (Ox–eye daisy), our grassland perennial, are swaying in that cold north wind.

It will soon be a meadow of white petals.

No. 71 – August 2020 33 Summertime at The Firs

Before our enforced separation this is what the top corner of the cottage garden looked like. The Viburnum tinus had grown into a sprawling giant of a shrub, unfortunately infested with Viburnum beetle and so was slightly chewed and rather smelly. The Cistus to the front was overgrown with brambles and the ground riddled with Ilex (Ivy).

Removing the Viburnum took two days (branches are saved for our dead hedge project). The branches were pruned back to expose this season’s new shoots. The site has been cultivated and the beech hedge can now add foliage to this side too. I’ve replanted with evergreen shrubs, many propagated on site as cuttings from existing plants. I’ve also added small Cistus (Rock rose) plants in keeping with the essence of the garden. It’s under–planted with hardy Geraniums, and Vinca major (Periwinkle) used as ground cover.

34 Elgar Society News Summertime at The Firs

Working on the gradient was challenging; moving barrowloads of bark to the top needed double handling. It reminded me of the challenges for the gardeners at St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall, so I feel we should refer to this new border as ‘The Mount’. The larger pathway has also created a perfect ‘meet and greet’ point for visitors – a great area for new signage or maybe a seasonal garden information board?

No. 71 – August 2020 35 Summertime at The Firs

The Firs by John Chessell Buckler

Below is an image of a picture painted in 1856, only a year before Elgar was born in the cottage. The original is held in the Birthplace. Elgar was fond of the picture as it reminded him of his family and the simple happy times of his youth. We believe Buckler was a good friend of the family and painted this as a favour to Elgar’s father. The family depicted are thought to be Elgar’s parents and older siblings. Lucy is seen holding her mother’s hand.

A few details about the picture have intrigued us since we first saw it. Why was this particular cottage chosen to be painted by such an artist? Was there a fountain in the garden? Is that a vegetable patch on the left of the painting? All questions yet to be answered.

After the opening of the Birthplace to the public in the 1930s, Carice had the garden redesigned using the painting as her inspiration. The metal arch, standard roses near the house and two central paths are still here today. We are all guardians of this very special garden, to be cherished by future generations. Dawne Middleton (gardener at The Firs) With thanks to the National Trust

36 Elgar Society News Membership Matters

Gift Aid – a way to make your subscription go further

Any Society member who is a UK taxpayer and pays a subscription can complete a Gift Aid declaration, which enables the Society to claim from the Government a further 25p for every £1 of your subscription. Last year we asked members to complete fresh Gift Aid declarations in order to ensure that we are compliant with HMRC regulations. I am grateful to the more than 200 members who have done so, but I estimate that more than half of the members who are eligible to complete a declaration have not so far completed one. This means that the Society is missing out on several thousand pounds’ worth of Gift Aid income every year. Making a Gift Aid declaration costs you nothing and does not affect your tax position (unless you are a higher rate taxpayer, in which case it can reduce the tax you pay!). If you have not already done so, please complete a new Gift Aid form by visiting www.elgarsociety.org/gift–aid/ or using the form included with this edition of the News. Peter Smith Hon. Treasurer

A big thank you to all the members who responded to my spring reminder and have now paid their subs. However there are still about 40 members who have yet to pay their subscription for 2020. It’s quite understandable that people have had other things on their mind this year, but in order for the Society to continue with its great work we do need to receive a subscription from members. There are a variety of ways to pay: • Annual Standing Order, or regular PayPal payment; • Cheque payable to The Elgar Society; • Bank Transfer to The Elgar Society, Sort Code 30–99–90, A/c No. 00212038; • PayPal via the Membership section of the Society’s website; • Credit/debit card via the Membership section of the Society’s website; • UK members can telephone me with their card details.

No. 71 – August 2020 37 Membership Matters

If you are unsure as to whether your subscriptions are up to date, please get in touch with me. You will find all my contact details on the back cover of this edition.

There are a handful of payments credited to the Society’s bank account in 2020 which I have been unable to identify. These appear to be cheques posted to a bank, made over the counter in a bank, or via an ATM. Unfortunately they have no name or reference to identify them. If you think one of these payments might have been from you, please get in touch.

Thank you to the North American members who got in touch to report the prompt delivery of the April Journal and News. I’d like to express my thanks to Arthur Reynolds for his help in ensuring that the delays experienced with previous editions are a thing of the past.

Please do get in touch with any Membership matters – full contact details are on the back cover. Chris Bennett Hon. Membership Secretary

Welcome to new members

We are delighted to welcome the following new members to the Society:

Rosemary Whitesman Bury Steve Jones Tunbridge Wells Jonathan Reed Matlock Anne Ransford Warwick S.D. Marlow Coleshill W.M. Harrell Knoxville, Tennessee William Vann London Barbara McKenzie Queensland, Australia Yuki Nanjo Kawasaki, Japan

38 Elgar Society News Elgar Works

Ups and downs of a lockdown

It all began so well for us. Having managed to stay personally one step ahead of the virus, transiting Guangzhou in late January, returning from France in early March and home from the north of England just days before each respectively closed its doors, we entered lockdown at home with the expectation of three uninterrupted weeks in which to put the finishing touches to the next Complete Edition volume, ready for dispatch to the printers by mid–April. The partial closure of the printers removed that imminent target, but for a while it seemed as though Elgar Works would prove to be one of the few beneficiaries of the lockdown as our band of freelance musicians and peripatetic music teachers, finding their normal employment activities rapidly fading, turned to us to see if we could provide them with additional work to help them through the lockdown. Prime among these was our General Editor Iain Farrington who, predictably losing various concert engagements he had lined up for the spring, set about his own two Complete Edition volumes with gusto and with thoughts of taking over the editing of two or three other volumes if the lockdown continued for long enough. He delivered his re–edited second edition of the Gerontius volume, not scheduled for publication until the end of the year, on 21 April and was about to embark on his volume of piano music (projected publication date 2022) when the BBC came knocking at his door with an urgent commission for a work for the First Night of this year’s reorganised Proms. For Iain the Complete Edition understandably took on a lower priority.

While we may not now exit the lockdown with a succession of volumes ready for publication, what has turned an anticipated period of relaxation increasingly into a chore is the volume we had hoped would only occupy the first three–week period. This is the volume of marches, compsed over a 45–year period and involving three different publishers. Each publisher has its own conventions and standards and the two marches published by Novello presented no difficulties, but Boosey’s and Enoch’s standards fell well below Novello’s. It took a while for their inadequacies to become apparent, however. Unusually among Elgar’s output, all but two of the marches contain repeat sections, written only once in the autograph score but with Elgar’s instruction that they should be written out in full in the

No. 71 – August 2020 39 Elgar Works

published material. As the engraver was working from the same bars of the manuscript, there is an obvious expectation that each repeat should be identical, but the checking process revealed innumerable differences in articulation between equivalent passages. The worst of these is the first Pomp and Circumstance March in which one eight–bar passage of Elgar’s manuscript is written out four times in the published score with numerous differences in articulation, the random nature of which allowed us to discount the possibility that Elgar had himself introduced the variations at a later stage.

Having discovered the problem through inconsistencies between the repeat passages, it was only a small step to establish that the Boosey engravers’ waywardness extended beyond the repeat passages. In total we estimate there to be around 4,000 errors in the published scores underlying the volume, each error requiring checking against four or five sources before a holistic view is taken of Elgar’s intentions in each passage. With this in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that our initially projected three–week period has extended to fill the full three months of lockdown. Fortunately there is now light at the end of the tunnel, and yet there is still no urgency, the checking process having thrown up two issues which we can only resolve by referring to individual sources held at the British Library, which is still some way off readmitting visitors to its reading rooms. The first issue has provided us with our own Ted Lowe experience (‘for those of you watching in black and white, the pink is next to the green’). For one bar at the end of a P&C No.1 repeat passage, Elgar helpfully distinguishes his intended 1st– and 2nd–time differences by writing the 2nd–time variations in red ink. Unfortunately, however, both our own copy and the BL’s digitised website image are in monochrome. The second issue concerns the Empire March, for which Enoch never published a full score so we are reliant on a set of orchestral parts for the March published in Boosey’s Orchestral Journal. These also contain numerous handwritten annotations on the published parts, all but a small number of which appear to be in Elgar’s hand. Our belief is that these are not exclusive to the BL’s copy and appear in the Boosey Journal as corrections to the published version, but

40 Elgar Society News Elgar Works this needs to be confirmed by a further visit to the BL reading room once it reopens to carry out a careful perusal of both sources before we dispatch the volume to the printers, at which point we will breathe a huge sigh of relief. Who could have expected Elgar’s arguably best–known work to prove so challenging? Away from the Complete Edition, Paul Chennell has made better progress on the next Collected Correspondence volume, which addresses the correspondence between Elgar and his sponsors. Paul has now completed his first draft, even though there is still considerable work to be done in identifying all correspondents to be considered for inclusion in the volume. ‘Sponsor’ is a rather vague term covering a variety of roles from which Elgar benefitted. With a volume devoted to the Speyers already published, names such as Schuster, Colvin and Rodewald spring to mind as significant sponsors of Elgar’s music, but what about GBS, and one D. Jenkins? Shaw’s relationship with Elgar is multi–faceted, opening up the possibility of the inclusion of his correspondence with Elgar in any one of several projected volumes, but D. Jenkins is not a name many would come up with in listing Elgar’s sponsors. Jenkins was an employee of the Marconiphone company, which entered into a sponsorship arrangement with Elgar around his endorsement of the company’s products. While the archive contains a more extensive correspondence between Elgar and the company, there is only a single letter from Jenkins to Elgar, which opens the door on a more significant problem. Of Elgar’s 2,700 correspondents, the archive contains only one or two items of correspondence for 2,000 of them. Many of these are from individuals all but unknown to Elgar and us, a significant proportion being short letters of congratulation on the award of his knighthood and other honours, with a similar number conveying condolences following the death of Alice or to Carice following Elgar’s own death. It will in itself present the editors with quite a challenge to turn this mass of correspondence into a structured, readable and entertaining volume. But we anticipate that hidden among the 2,000 we will find quite a few whose subject matter or relationship with Elgar justifies their inclusion in another projected volume. Aside from all of this, a more pleasurable diversion during the early weeks of April was to respond to the flood of requests from

No. 71 – August 2020 41 Elgar Works

Society members wishing to acquire books from Martin Bird’s and Paul Rooke’s libraries. We have now distributed around two–thirds of their combined collections, leaving a mere 350 books partially obscuring our view of the fireplace, but we have put aside the original deadline for disposal of the remainder in view of the current non– availability of charity shops to take them. Although these shops are beginning to reopen, we will now hold onto stock until the end of August to allow readers who have not yet got round to doing so to visit www.elgar.org/booksandscores.htm and view the regularly updated listing of titles that remain available. John Norris Obituaries

Tony Pook (1936–2020) The abiding memory of anyone fortunate enough to have known Tony Pook, who died on Easter Sunday 2020 in his 84th year, is likely to be of a gentleman of wide cultural interests, significant achievements, yet modest, unassuming character. Members of the Elgar Society will be eternally grateful for his sterling work: Tony was Chairman of the Yorkshire & North East Branch from its re– establishment in York in 2012 until he handed over the reins to his successor in January 2019. During his time as Chairman Tony presided over 49 meetings and related activities, including two trips to the Elgar Birthday Weekend at Worcester and Great Malvern, and oversaw the planning for the 2019 Branch meetings. The various challenges which any organization invariably faces were met head on, overcome, and the Branch continues to grow and flourish. He was supported in these endeavours, as in everything else, by his second wife Muriel, to whom he was devoted to the end and who died just five days after Tony’s passing. Tony’s love of music was fostered by his experiences as a boy chorister, and his love of choral music remained with him into retirement through his membership of the York Musical Society, with whom he sang in performances of The Dream of Gerontius in York and Münster in 2003, and who honoured him with lifetime membership in 2015. His commitment to the importance of live music was further reflected in his patronage of the Guildhall Orchestra of

42 Elgar Society News Obituaries

York. He was also interested in Scandinavian and Czech music, and his longstanding membership of the Dvořák Society included many happy trips to the birthplaces of Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů, and music festivals in Brno and Prague. As well as the Dvořák and Elgar Societies, Tony was Chairman for a number of years of the York branch of the Federation of Recorded Music, through which he was in demand as a speaker and presenter around the country. Another interest was the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, and it is pleasing to note that a lifetime’s ambition of reading every one of his novels was eventually realized.

Tony’s last contribution to the Yorkshire & North East Branch of the Elgar Society came in January 2019 when he gave a delightful presentation on Elgar’s concert overtures, where his thoughtful, clear and unpretentious delivery perhaps typified the best of his character. David Young (with thanks to Richard O’Connor) My enduring memory of Tony is of the very warm and gracious welcome I received when I first became a member of the Yorkshire & North East Branch. His kindness and support were particularly appreciated when I later became a member of the Branch committee. We have all greatly benefited from his wisdom, knowledge and experience and we are extremely grateful for all he has done for the Elgar Society. May he and Muriel rest in peace. Caroline Gilderdale

No. 71 – August 2020 43 Obituaries

Tony had that very rare combination of an unassuming nature with a quietly authoritative presence, which helped him to steer our Branch successfully through its formative years. Committee meetings at his home in riverside York were always a delight, Tony uplifting our souls whilst Muriel nurtured our bodies. Tony’s computer skills were deployed to the Branch’s benefit in his production of our pocket–size annual programme and our regular newsletters. May he and Muriel be at peace together. Paul Grafton I met Tony through a shared interest in the novels of Anthony Trollope of which he was a committed enthusiast. The Branch owes so much to Tony for his quiet and efficient chairmanship and the other services he so generously gave, not least his friendly welcome at meetings. Howard Gregg Tony’s enthusiasm for a wide range of music, but of Elgar’s in particular, made him a wonderful companion at our meetings and seasonal forays into Elgar country. He will be remembered with joy, but also sadness, not only for his accomplishments but also for his kind and old–fashioned gentlemanly demeanour in performing them; aided of course by the wonderful Muriel, whose death just a few days after Tony’s added to our blow. I had grown to love them both, and shall sorely miss them. Bernard Porter

I appreciated meeting Tony and benefiting from his wisdom and engaging chairmanship, if, alas, on all too few occasions. His zeal for Elgar will be much missed, and I greatly enjoyed it when he came forward to offer thoughts of his own, as after his last AGM when he spoke on the overtures. I was much honoured when the committee decided to offer him a retirement gift of the Complete Edition of orchestral songs, grandly dedicated to a supreme interpreter of Sea Pictures, Dame Janet Baker, and which I so greatly enjoyed editing. Julian Rushton

I have the fondest memories of Tony and Muriel, particularly shared lunches at the Bar Convent café prior to Branch meetings and also their excellent company on the two Elgar Birthday Weekend trips.

44 Elgar Society News Obituaries

Tony was always self–effacing with regard to his own considerable achievements yet was extraordinarily positive and encouraging to others’ endeavours. I feel incredibly blessed to have counted Tony and Muriel as my friends and shall miss them both immensely. Pamela Scowcroft

Dr Michael Toseland (1931–2020)

Michael Toseland, who died on 5 May, was a well–loved and much respected Chairman of East Midlands Branch, a position he held until recently. He worked as a medical practitioner in Northampton and the surrounding villages until he retired, when he acted as the medical doctor to a local factory.

His greatest love was music, in particular opera. He was one of the first members of the Royal Opera House, and his love of Glyndebourne took him to East Sussex which he visited every year with his wife Janet. Elgar’s music was one of his joys and despite the considerable discomfort of a 90–mile round trip to Leicester he took a full part in the running of the Society which he loved. He became Chairman towards the end of his life despite his illness. In the words of one friend, ‘He was the most amazing combination of kind, incredibly intelligent, quick–humoured, sensible, caring and also brilliant with animals and people’.

No. 71 – August 2020 45 Obituaries

What I said in my last annual report about his resignation remains true: ‘I hardly have to say this is a great loss to the Branch. He is truly dedicated to the aims of the Society and has worked hard to make the Branch relevant both to you the members and to potential members. This is fully reflected in our programme of events. I would also add he has always been a pleasure to work with. In one word, he is a gentleman; he gets respect because he gives respect.’ He mentioned to me in his modest way that he thought I was overdoing it. I told him firmly that that was how I saw it. Sam Dobson I first got to know Michael at the initial meeting held to discuss the formation of an East Midlands Branch of the Elgar Society in 2012. Michael was keen to get involved, joining the interim committee as ‘Minister without Portfolio’, quickly making himself useful with valuable contributions in terms of programme content, and in practical matters such as audio–visual equipment, setting out chairs, fetching and carrying, and helping here and there. Michael’s love of opera soon revealed itself as he often mentioned visits to places like Glyndebourne, but he attended many other venues for a range of musical performances. Living in Northamptonshire was no bar to his musical activities and he coped with the not uncommon traffic problems encountered on his visits to Leicester, where, for lack of other venues, Branch meetings were held. Michael was unfailingly capable, courteous, helpful and kind. I was more than happy to see him move into the Chairman’s role when I had to step down to care for my ailing wife. Howard Newton What sad news! It’s such a loss – Michael was such an optimist and lovely man! Michele Goodchild Very sad indeed. I didn’t know him well, but when I walked in to my first meeting about eighteen months ago I was struck by his friendliness and the warm welcome I received from him. Robert Johns

46 Elgar Society News Obituaries

He really was a very nice man. He’ll be missed. Pauline and Barry Collett My father absolutely loved his engagement with the Society and all those involved. Simon Toseland

Stephen Harrow FKC (6.4.1946 – 5.4.2020)

Stephen Harrow, a long–standing member of the Elgar Society and London Branch, died suddenly at his Croydon home in April, having suffered for many years with Crohn’s disease, with which he dealt stoically and courageously. Stephen was born in Croydon, second son to Jack and Eleanor. After attending the Trinity School of John Whitgift he read history at Exeter University, followed by a PGCE. He met Jenny at Exeter and they married in April 1970.

Joining King’s College London in 1969, Stephen remained at King’s for 34 years, latterly as Assistant College Secretary and Registrar, playing an active part in College life, including supporting King’s Chapel Choir. Stephen became an Associate by examination and a Fellow by election.

Subsequently, as Clerk to All Saints Educational Trust in the City of London, Stephen found a further role well suited to his talents, involving grant–giving for those studying religious education, public health and food nutrition for home and overseas students. Retiring as Clerk in 2012, Stephen was awarded the St Mellitus medal by the Bishop of London in recognition of his work for the Trust. His charity trusteeships reflected his long–standing commitment to community affairs and international development, notably as Chair, Strand Parishes Trust, and Treasurer, UNA–UK.

Stephen was a man of many parts and choral singing was an integral part of his life. He sang in the choir at St John the Evangelist, Shirley, for over 60 years, masterminding sequences of readings and music for Advent, Palm Sunday and other significant dates in the liturgical calendar. In recent years he sang for City Singers in London, and became their Director. A commissioner of choral works from established and rising composers, he had a growing

No. 71 – August 2020 47 Obituaries

body of liturgical melodic writing and was a member of the Guild of Church Musicians. His knowledge of music was profound and extensive, ranging from Buxtehude to Britten, from Telemann to Tippett, and this was evident in his huge collection of 78s, LPs, CDs, cassettes and videos collected over a 60–year period which he relished on his excellent sound system. He was a regular visitor at Glyndebourne for over 40 years, enjoying all it had to offer; while venturing annually to the RAH for the Proms; often attending the Edington Music Festival; and in London, supporting the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. From his home in Exminster, Devon, Stephen joined his parish church choir. In Devon too, he supported Exeter University’s development, especially its association with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, its cricket and its Chapel Choir. Stephen was a polymath, who had a wide knowledge of literature, history, politics, religion, wine, film and art – in fact, all the humanities, which was evident in his conversation which was wide– ranging, informed and witty. He was perhaps at his best at home, having supper with chosen friends, accompanied by a good bottle, being an excellent, welcoming, warm host, entertaining his guests with fine food and wine and amusing, intelligent conversation. Caring as a brother, generous as a friend and loving as a husband, Stephen was blessed in all he did and will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. I attended Stephen‘s funeral service in Beckenham on 28 May. We send our condolences to Jenny and his family. Kevin Mitchell

48 Elgar Society News Obituaries

Marc Seccombe (1934–2020)

It is with great sadness I report that the Revd Marc Seccombe, a keen Elgarian and active member of the Elgar Society for many years, passed away over the Easter period in Doncaster, where he lived latterly. Marc served on the committee of the Yorkshire & North East Branch from its reformation in 2012 – and took responsibility for the Branch’s web page – until ill health forced him to relinquish these roles. However, Marc’s most significant contribution to the Elgar Society must undoubtedly be his introductory video for the Birthplace Museum (now The Firs) at Broadheath. Marc was born in 1934, the same year in which three eminent English composers died: Gustav Holst, Frederick Delius and, most importantly of course, Edward Elgar. When Marc celebrated his 50th birthday, by now having developed a passion for film–making (which was to endure for many years afterwards) and joined the Doncaster Movie Makers, he marked the occasion by compiling biographical films of all three composers, originally incorporated together in one movie. Elgar was definitely Marc’s best loved of the three and he went on to put images to some of the Sea Pictures and to produce short documentaries featuring Elgar’s friends and colleagues: several of these films were highly acclaimed in Doncaster Movie Makers’ annual competitions and were very much enjoyed by Y&NE members when Marc showed them at a Branch meeting some years ago. Marc and his lovely widow Pip, who was a wonderful support to him in all his pursuits, were frequent visitors to Broadheath and the Malvern area. They were initially shown around the Birthplace cottage by the curator at that time, Chris Bennett’s father, and when the visitor centre was completed several years later, Marc

No. 71 – August 2020 49 Obituaries

compiled a short film based on interviews with the newly–appointed curator: so impressed was she with it that Marc was subsequently approached to produce a video to introduce visitors to Elgar and his music. Needless to say, Marc was delighted to oblige and proceeded to manage the whole enterprise, including the commentary, with considerable technical mastery. Indeed, some fifteen years later visitors to the Birthplace were still enjoying the film right up until the lockdown. Pip recalled to me what special memories she has of herself and Marc, on the occasion of their last wedding anniversary in September, being taken down to The Firs for the day, so they were able to experience at first hand the refurbished visitor centre and the purpose–built cinema. As a classical music enthusiast, Marc regularly attended the prestigious Doncaster lunchtime concert series and many other performances in the Yorkshire area, while health permitted. He was a quietly spoken and unpretentious gentleman and I feel privileged to have known him. Marc will be missed by many in the Elgar Society and beyond. Pamela Scowcroft

Marion Simmons

The Society has been notified of the death, last December, of Marion Simmons from Leicester. She and her husband Ken, who died some twenty years ago, were active in Elgarian matters in the 1970s/80s. They were involved in the East Midlands Branch and regularly attended the Three Choirs Festival. Long–standing members may wish to remember Marion. George Smart Keen birdwatchers Marion and Ken Simmons on Ascension Island in 1997

50 Elgar Society News Letters to the Editor

What support?

May I please be allowed to make a couple of observations about ‘From the Editor’ on page 5 of the April 2020 News – the second paragraph?

The West Midlands Branch was only planning a single, large–scale concert for young people, rather than a series of short concerts. Sadly, our plans have recently received a setback because of the lack of practical support from what would have been our major partner. We are assessing the situation and already have a number of ideas that, with luck, will come to fruition once the various Covid– 19 embargoes have been lifted.

In the same overall context, we are pleased to learn that our efforts are receiving the support of the Society Executive. We will be more than a little interested to know what form that support will take. David Packman Beau Brummel

Back in 2011 when I was writing an article about Beau Brummel for the Elgar Society Journal I accumulated quite a lot of detailed information, both about the play’s itinerary and about actor– manager Gerald Lawrence, which I did not feel was appropriate for an article dealing mainly with Elgarian aspects. However, I felt that this information was too good ultimately to waste as it might be of interest to theatre researchers, as well as Elgarian completists.

As with the Beau Brummel playscript, which I have made available free of charge as a download from the Acuta Music website, I have now collated this information into a separate memorandum which is also available as a free download from the same site. If you go to www.acutamusic.co.uk and enter the page entitled ‘Beau Brummel – Elgar’s Lost Masterpiece’ you will see the links to both documents. With this memorandum having been put into the public domain, every scrap of information, other than the slightly significant one of where the MS actually went, is now available for researchers and enthusiasts. Robert Kay

No. 71 – August 2020 51 Branch Reports

EAST ANGLIAN: The East Anglian Branch has managed only one meeting this year, when we were delighted to welcome Suffolk–born tenor Stephen Edgar–Wilson. His talk ‘Use well the interval’ was an insider’s explanation of the complexities involved in singing the role of Gerontius. I for one will never hear that glorious music again without thinking of the emotions the soloist is having to portray; it really was a very special afternoon. Bev Simpson EAST MIDLANDS: 1 February 2020: AGM, followed by a half–hour talk by Sam Dobson on George Tebbs, the father of orchestral music in Leicester. Tebbs founded the De Montfort Orchestra in 1913, Leicester’s first full symphony orchestra to play on a frequent and regular basis. The music of Elgar often appeared on the programme and clips of some of these pieces were heard. Well received – although I say so myself! For the last half–hour various requests were played from CDs with a short introduction from the member requesting. Unfortunately there were only eleven in attendance, the lowest for some time. I wonder which of these puts people off most: Members’ Choice or AGM or both together? Oh dear. 3 March 2020: Pauline Collett on Elgar’s homes. Pauline has written an authoritative book on this subject and, like the book, her talk was illustrated with her own drawings of the various properties – almost 30, I think – and extracts from music composed in them were played. It was a tour de force which delighted the audience. Although we did not know it at the time, this was the last talk before lockdown and I am pleased to say that it attracted our biggest audience in the three years since I have been keeping records: a total of 28 people. Thank you, Pauline; it’s nice to think we went out on a high. Sam Dobson LONDON: The first meeting of 2020 was in February, when Andrew Dalton gave an excellent presentation about the careers and recorded legacy of some of the performers who were known and admired by Elgar and closely associated with his music. The second half of Elgar’s life coincided with the rapid development of the gramophone, and Elgar himself played a significant part in this process.

52 Elgar Society News Branch Reports

On 27 February a party of members attended a concert at the Royal Festival Hall to hear John Wilson conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra in a performance of the Elgar/Payne Symphony No.3. Many people, including Anthony Payne, reported that this was one of the best performances they had heard. This was followed on 8 March by another excellent performance of the symphony, this time given by the Elgar Sinfonia of London conducted by Adrian Brown (see April 2020 News). This proved to be the last live concert many of us would attend for the foreseeable future.

At the March meeting Adrian Lucas, former organist of Worcester Cathedral, spoke about the musical relationship and friendship of Elgar and Ivor Atkins, who worked together and inspired and encouraged each other. It was also very interesting to hear about Adrian’s experience of performing Elgar’s music.

Soon after that, the implications of the coronavirus pandemic meant that the committee had to take the decision to cancel the remainder of the season. All Society and Branch events suffered the same fate, and at the time of writing the future is still unclear. Having said that, we hope that some of the missed meetings can be rescheduled at some point, and in the meantime we have planned a full season of meetings in the hope that at least some of these can go ahead. Ruth Hellen

NORTH AMERICA: It will come as no surprise that our 2020 conference, on which our Branch committee worked hard, fell victim of Covid–19. The previous good news was the production by one of our members, in association with SOMM, of the CD entitled Elgar from America Volume I, which I reviewed in April’s Journal. The current good news is that Volume II will be issued shortly. You can expect a review in the December Journal. Arthur Reynolds

NORTH WEST: Our first Branch meeting in 2020 was held on 18 January, when two of Elgar’s Celtic heroes, Grania and Diarmid, were the subject of Andrew Neill’s well–researched and interesting PowerPoint presentation. We learned how Elgar’s invitation to write music for Moore and Yeats’s play was part of a complicated

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project, and that its initial aim was to provide music to ‘exalt the end of the play’. Elgar composed some fifteen minutes of incidental music, which comprised a horn call (usually referred to now as the Incidental Music), a Funeral March (to accompany Diarmid’s funeral scene) and a song to words by Yeats entitled ‘There are seven that pull the thread’. Andrew speculated as to whether various other composers with stronger Irish connections might not have filled the bill rather better for a play based on a classical Irish legend. But it was Elgar who was invited and he responded with music which greatly pleased Moore and Yeats. It is the music which has survived more memorably than the play, and the Funeral March in particular is quintessential Elgar, with an unmatched grandeur and a heartfelt sense of tragic sadness. After Andrew’s excellent presentation, we held a short formal AGM.

Our meeting on 16 February was our annual Branch luncheon, which was held at the Alma Lodge Hotel, Stockport. Some 40 members and friends were in attendance. After an excellent lunch, entertainment was provided by two Branch members talking about and playing a piece of recorded music which held a special significance for them. Pam Scargill explained how she had developed an affinity with one piece in particular, following the purchase of an HMV CD entitled Nobilmente, in which there was a recording of the Prelude to The Kingdom. She was listening to it whilst ironing and was immediately enthralled by it. David Jones then talked about not one but two short pieces of music – vastly different in character – which demonstrated both the wide–ranging repertoire and the amazing versatility of one of this country’s most distinguished and beloved musicians. It was not music by Elgar and not performed by his idol Sir John Barbirolli, but by another great musician whose initials just happen to be ‘JB’ – he was referring of course to Janet Baker – another of his idols! In the mid–1960s Saga Classics issued an LP of her singing lieder by Brahms, Schubert and Schumann. All fourteen items on this record were a sheer delight, but David chose to play for us Brahms’s ‘Die Mainacht’ – a delightful interpretation of a most relaxing piece of music. By complete contrast, and as a demonstration of her amazing vocal versatility and wide–ranging interpretative skills, David chose a recording of her dazzling performance of the aria ‘Dopo notte’ from Handel’s Ariodante – a magnificent 1972 Philips recording in which she is very sensitively

54 Elgar Society News Branch Reports accompanied by the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Raymond Leppard. This was nothing short of vocal fireworks and David was left speechless at the end of a delightful afternoon! Our meeting on 7 March 2020 turned out to be the last of our current season which was, as for other Branches, cut short by the restrictions imposed as a result of this dreadful pandemic. David Owen Norris, the distinguished British pianist, composer, academic and broadcaster, was our speaker and recitalist on this memorable occasion in which, in the first half–hour programme, he talked to us about Elgar’s use of and obsession with the notes A flat and the related G sharp. He mentioned that he has spent David Owen Norris around ten years studying the in tune with the NW Branch piano music of Mendelssohn (and playing his music ‘not on black pianos but on brown [i.e. period] ones’) and how this had led him on to a study of how Mendelssohn and his contemporaries tuned their pianos. The relevance of this to the title of the afternoon’s talk (‘Elgar in A flat’) was gradually made apparent during the course of the afternoon, as we were introduced to the mathematics of intervals; the concepts of musical temperaments; the different methods of piano tuning during the 17th and 18th centuries and beyond; the use of continuo instruments, the piano and the organ in orchestral works to help to stabilise (or destabilise) pitch; the way in which Elgar had learned to tune pianos by observing his father’s methods of tuning ‘in the old sweet way’ (mean–tone temperament); and how this had led Elgar to a particular interest in the notes A flat and G sharp (which produced particular problems for piano tuners and which they referred to as ‘wolf notes’); and much else besides. After an interval for tea, David provided further wonderful entertainment by playing his own extended version of Elgar’s Five Improvisations (with interesting

No. 71 – August 2020 55 Branch Reports

comments about each one); and a full performance of the Concert Allegro concluded a fascinating afternoon. David L. Jones SCOTTISH: Two meetings and the AGM of the Branch had to be cancelled because of the lockdown. It is hoped that the joint meeting with the Edinburgh Society of Organists planned for April (‘Elgar and the Organ’) and the Open House for young musicians planned for June can be reinstated in 2021. The one event to go ahead in 2020 was a live performance of the Elgar Piano Quintet on 17 January by local musicians the Jupiter Ensemble. This splendid performance was a great success with Scottish Arts Club members new to the work. It was the first of what is hoped to be a series of recitals and presentations jointly sponsored with the SAC in Edinburgh. Planning for the 2020–21 schedule has been put on hold until the post–lockdown regime becomes clearer. The loss of all the summer festivals – including the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festivals – has been a heavy blow to all music enthusiasts and even more so to the musicians. But we look forward to new opportunities in 2021. Lockdown has provided the ideal opportunity for extended spring cleaning. Scottish Branch has accumulated a large collection of Elgariana (and other musical material) which must be found new homes or dumped. If you are interested in acquiring any of the CDs, books, or back numbers of Elgar Society Journal and News, please send an e–mail to Tom Kelly ([email protected]) or a text message to 07971 538250 requesting a copy of the catalogue. Society members will be given preference for the cost of postage and a small contribution to Society funds. Tom Kelly

SOUTHERN: I know that this is not Southern Branch business, but I did just want to mention the East Anglian Branch’s recorded presentation from Peter Newble, their Chairman, and the subsequent live Q&A session. Under the circumstances it was truly excellent. We must record a big vote of thanks to Peter from all regions.

56 Elgar Society News Branch Reports

As far as other things are concerned, I would like to note the frustration in March and early April of gradually cancelling absolutely everything, not just for the Elgar Society but also for all the other organisations to which I belong and have a hand in running. My great concern is for the future of live music, both amateur and professional. Not Elgar, I know, but I was so pleased that I could personally take part in a Bach B minor Mass on 8 March as the one and only concert of the Leith Hill Festival this year. Probably the only live performance for me this year! We have not yet rebooked cancelled events for 2021 because we do not know where we shall stand. Our membership is elderly and they are bound to be nervous about attending meetings. We were due to hold a joint meeting in early 2021 with Avon Valley Concerts in Ringwood, and they had got Leon McCawley (their President) booked to do the Elgar Quintet. It would be so sad to lose that! David Pearce

WEST MIDLANDS: The West Midlands Branch was fortunate to be able to hold three meetings this year before we were all ‘locked down’.

The first was a remarkably good performance of Elgar’s Sea Pictures by Rebecca Leggett (mezzo–soprano) and Nicole Johnson (piano) on 18 January 2020. Rebecca was ‘discovered’ by our Branch Events Secretary, David Parkes. She sang with great feeling and expressiveness, demonstrating superb diction, excellent intonation, and a lovely tone throughout the register, all with just the right amount Nicole Johnson (left) and of vibrato. Moreover, each song Rebecca Leggett was characterised with drama and [Photo: Joan Roche] panache. Nicole proved herself an extremely sensitive and musical accompanist, fully reflecting the

No. 71 – August 2020 57 Branch Reports

singer’s conception of the wide–ranging emotions of each song. To complement their performance our own Peter Sutton talked on the poetry and poets contained in Elgar’s work in his own inimitable style. Following the interval Rebecca and Nicole entertained us with a number of songs from Brahms and Schubert, ‘Where she lies asleep’ by Frederick Bridge and an enchanting lullaby by Britten. Nicole then played two pieces on the piano and the recital ended with three more songs, the last from Schubert. These two young musicians provided us with a deeply moving and unforgettable afternoon. When we are able to hold live events again, I can heartily recommend a recital by them to other Branches. The annual Branch Lunch followed on 15 February 2020 at Christ Church Hall in Malvern and as usual the weather was foul! Nevertheless, the event went very well and again we must thank Leslie Hitchen and her team for an excellent lunch and choice of menus. As last year a musical quiz was offered as part of the entertainment. This year the prize (a bust of Elgar) was awarded to Bernard Hill. We were fortunate enough to hold our AGM on 7 March just before we were hit by the coronavirus restrictions. We were unfortunate, though, in that our Chairman, John Harcup, was indisposed at the time and unable to chair the meeting. Our Vice–Chairman, Jon Goldswain, ably stepped into the breach and the meeting took its usual format. The second problem was that Ian Morgan, who was to speak on Marie Brema (who sang the Angel at the première of Gerontius), had to cancel on the morning of the meeting as his mother had been taken ill. Our blushes were spared when David Parkes agreed to give an unscripted but fascinating talk on his recollections of being a bass in the chorus and semi–chorus in the Three Choirs Festivals 1957–63. This was the era of David Willcocks (1957 was his final festival before his move to King’s, Cambridge) and Douglas Guest, who, after about six years in the post, was appointed organist at Westminster Abbey. Then came the lockdown. As most of you will know, the Three Choirs Festival has been postponed for a year, but will, we understand, take place as originally intended in Worcester rather than Hereford.

58 Elgar Society News Branch Reports

Purely from the Branch’s point of view we were disappointed that our two Society events could not be held as we have put in a lot of work to arrange both meetings at Worcester Royal Grammar School, which has Elgarian connections. Other disappointments are that the Autumn in Malvern Festival has been abandoned for this year and that Malvern Theatres, often the venue for Elgar concerts, has also been closed for ‘the duration’. As for our own meetings, these have been cancelled until September at the earliest because of the restrictions, which of course have meant the closure of The Firs, Elgar’s Birthplace. Elsewhere in this issue you will see that the gardens at The Firs are still being lovingly looked after by the National Trust’s gardener, Dawne Middleton. So what of the future? We are hoping that events planned for this year can be held in 2021. Our summer 2020 issue of the Branch newsletter is at the printers as I write, and we are planning an extra autumn edition to help keep our members in touch. The idea of holding a Zoom meeting is also under consideration, but for technical duffers such as me this might prove too much of a challenge! Meanwhile my best wishes to everyone and please do stay safe. Richard Smith

YORKSHIRE & NORTH EAST: We begin on a sombre note by recording the death on Easter Sunday 2020 of Tony Pook, followed three days later by the passing of his wife Muriel. Tony served as Chairman of our Branch from its re–establishment in York in 2012 until January 2019 and we remain eternally grateful for his sterling work for our Branch and more widely. A full tribute appears on page 42. Our 2019 programme was brought to a close with Andrew Neill’s talk on ‘The pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne’ (23 November). Andrew described the origins of the play, the legend in the context of Irish cultural identity, the uneasy collaboration between George Moore and W.B. Yeats, how Elgar became involved, and the quality of the music (lasting less than fifteen minutes in total), all of which was played. We were privileged to be the beneficiaries of such

No. 71 – August 2020 59 Branch Reports

extensive and thorough research, prior to publication of Andrew’s article in the December Journal. Our 2020 programme began with the AGM (25 January) followed by a talk by the Chairman, David Young, on ‘Reading The Music Makers’. This was David’s very first presentation to the Branch and in it he considered the poem (by Arthur O’Shaughnessy),

Andrew Neill the press reviews, and the music, and drew the conclusion that, despite some negative reactions following the first performance, Elgar had produced a work of singular beauty in which he brilliantly incorporated elements from his own compositions in an inspired and highly individual David Young interpretation of the poem. The talk was followed by a complete recorded performance for which David had prepared ‘A Listener’s Analytical Guide’.

The first casualty of the coronavirus lockdown, our scheduled meeting on 28 March, would have featured Michael Allis speaking on ‘Elgarian issues in selected letters of Granville Bantock’. A similar fate befell the presentation by the Fairfax Ensemble, ‘Elgar and his very independent legacy’ (planned for 25 April). Both events will, we hope, be rescheduled. On–line meetings Faced with such disappointments the committee carefully considered its options, which came down to either doing nothing

60 Elgar Society News Branch Reports or keeping up interest by means of on–line presentations. With a degree of apprehension we decided to venture into what was for us (and probably the Society) uncharted territory, via Zoom, perhaps the most suitable platform for holding virtual meetings. There were, of course, important considerations before going ahead. Would the technology hold up? Would the sound quality be satisfactory, not only in terms of the speaker but crucially the music extracts? Would our members feel sufficiently confident with the technology to ‘attend’ the meeting? What were the licensing requirements for transmitting music on line? Not least of all, we had to find a speaker who was prepared to engage with the project, and in this we were singularly fortunate in Christopher Wiltshire and his topic ‘Elgar as remembered in radio interviews by those who knew him’. Christopher had presented the first part of his talk in October 2017 and we were eagerly anticipating the joy of hearing more voices from the past from Chris’s extensive collection of archive recordings, and so an on–line presentation seemed the only way of going ahead on the advertised date. Two trial runs, during which our speaker heroically maintained his good humour and positive attitude, proved invaluable in uncovering various technical difficulties, such as the presenter’s image and voice regularly freezing, and the music clips being at first inaudible. Part of the difficulty was marrying different platforms: PowerPoint, which brought together archival interviews, visual images and music clips (many of them from old recordings conducted by Elgar), and Zoom. All this was perfectly possible but required considerable technical guidance. Once again we were fortunate in that Anne–Marie Grafton gave of her expertise and guidance with such generosity, patience and good humour as to make the entire process, whilst not exactly relaxed, far less stressful than it would have otherwise been. The meeting went ahead with the speaker, subject and time exactly as advertised, with an ‘attendance’ of 31 members, friends and members of the Executive of the Elgar Society – in other words, pretty much like a regular Branch meeting (including tea break halfway through and questions at the end) but conducted from a distance. The consensus was that the event was a success but not without a few technical hitches, which were overcome on the way.

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Most importantly we experienced a fascinating delivery combining voices, images and music by a presenter who has assembled an invaluable collection of archive material, much of which throws new light on our knowledge and understanding of a composer who continues to enrich and ennoble our lives. The most important lessons to pass on from our experience are as follows: 1. Hold at least two trial runs to sort out the inevitable technical challenges; this is most important. 2. Ensure you have an expert in the technology to guide you. 3. Look carefully into the licensing requirements for transmitting music on line and any copyright images; go to the website: www.prsformusic.com. 4. Make sure that the speaker uses suitable equipment – personal computer, laptop, or whatever – that the signal is adequate and that the machine is not overloaded with data, for this will slow down the process. 5. Send out in advance easy to follow instructions for logging on to Zoom (or whatever platform) to the prospective attendees, and point out that sound quality may be improved by connecting the computer or laptop to speakers or wearing earphones, but this is by no means essential. 6. Consider muting all attendees (except the speaker, of course!), for any sounds, whether a hoover in the background or a couple whispering whilst listening, will come across loud and clear – you can unmute at the end for questions – but seek the wishes of the speaker first. 7. When musical examples are played make sure the speaker clicks ‘Share computer sound’, enables ‘Original sound’ by clicking on ‘Audio’ settings followed by ‘Advanced’ followed by ‘Show in–meeting option’ to ‘Enable Original Sound’, and clicks on ‘Suppess Persistent Background Noise’ and ‘Intermittent Background Noise’, remembering to click ‘Turn on Original Sound’ when the presentation begins.1

1 I am grateful to Ian Anderson Gray for this guidance on playing musical examples through Zoom. 62 Elgar Society News Branch Reports

Our next on–line meeting is scheduled for 27 June, with Stuart Freed on ‘The lighter side of Elgar’, and at the time of writing (13 June) we have just had our on–line trial run. We hope that by our September meeting – Steven Halls and ‘Elgar’s chamber music: from the Shed to the world’ – lockdown restrictions will have been lifted sufficiently to allow ‘real’ meetings at our home in the Bar Convent, but at the moment our Branch crystal ball is of no help. David Young Branch Events

All events are of course subject to cancellation or alteration.

For further information please contact the relevant Secretary (see back cover).

EAST ANGLIAN At the time of writing there were no plans for autumn meetings.

EAST MIDLANDS All meetings are held in the Garden Room, Unitarian Chapel, East Bond St, Leicester, LE1 4SX

Sat 3 Oct 2020, 2.00pm Martin Firth Nostalgia and Englishness in Elgar

Sat 7 Nov 2020, 2.00pm Michael Butterfield Jaeger

Sat 5 Dec 2020, 2.00pm John Brooks The other side of Sullivan LONDON Please note that the dates, venues and methods of delivery may change. Please check the London Branch website or contact the Secretary for updated information.

Mon 5 Oct 2020, 7.00pm 2020 Branch AGM To be held on Zoom

No. 71 – August 2020 63 Branch Events

Mon 2 Nov 2020, 7.30pm Andrew Neill St James the Less Centre, The pursuit of Diarmuid Thorndike Street, Pimlico, SW1V 2PS and Gráinne

Mon 7 Dec 2020, 7.30pm Stephen Darlington Queen’s College, Elgar’s church music in context 43 Harley Street, London W1G 8BT

NORTH WEST All meetings are held at the RNCM, Manchester, M13 9RD

Sat 3 Oct 2020, 2.30pm Neil Mantle Elgar and HMV

Sat 17 Oct, 2020 2.30pm Sir Mark Elder Subject to be announced

Sat 5 Dec 2020, 2.30pm George Kennaway Harrison’s and Squire’s early recordings of the Cello Concerto

SCOTTISH At the time of writing there were no plans for autumn meetings.

SOUTHERN

Sat 19 Sep 2020, 2.00pm Stuart Freed The Spring, 56 East Street, A form of genius: the life and work Havant, PO9 1BS of Gordon Jacob

Sat 10 Oct 2020, 2.00pm Michael Butterfield St Lawrence Parish Rooms, Elgar’s part–songs Winchester, SO23 9LH

Sat 7 Nov 2020, 2.00pm Kevin Allen The Spring, 56 East Street, If Elgar be the love of food… Havant, PO9 1BS

WEST MIDLANDS All meetings are held in the Carice Elgar Room at The Firs, Lower Broadheath, Worcester, WR2 6RH.

64 Elgar Society News Branch Events

Sat 12 Sep 2020, 2.30pm John Harcup Elgar’s inspirational sources – pets, poetry, places and people

Sat 10 Oct 2020, 2.30pm Ken Crump ‘When I was at the asylum’

Fri 6 Nov 2020, 7.00pm Royal Grammar School, Worcester : Concert

Sat 5 Dec 2020, 2.30pm Roger Allen ‘The sun goeth down’

YORKSHIRE and NORTH EAST All meetings are held in The Bedingfield Room, The Bar Convent, 17–19 Blossom St, York, YO24 1AQ. In the event of lockdown restrictions meetings may be held on line via Zoom.

Sat 26 Sep 2020, 2.00pm Steven Halls Elgar’s chamber music: from the Shed to the world

Sat 31 Oct 2020, 2.00pm Jacqueline Edwards Elgar’s Britannia: Dame Clara Butt

Sat 28 Nov 2020, 2.00pm Bernard Porter Elgar, the North, and King Olaf

Delius Society

The Elgar Society has a reciprocal agreement with the Delius Society, whereby we offer each other’s members a reduced subscription of 50% for the first year of membership. To join the Delius Society please contact membership secretary Jim Beavis: [email protected].

The Delius Society meets five or six times a year and recent events have taken place in Birmingham and Cambridge, as well as in central London. Full details can be found on the Delius Society’s website: www.delius.org.uk.

No. 71 – August 2020 65 Dates for your Diary

Owing to the continued uncertainty over the staging of concerts, ‘Dates for your Diary’ will be postponed until the next edition of the News. If you hear of any live, streaming or ‘flash mob’ events which may be of interest to Society members, please e–mail all details to [email protected] and they will be publicised on the ‘Concert Listings’ page of the Society website: https://elgarsociety.org/

The more notice you give, the more difference it is likely to make!

BBC Proms events will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 every evening from Friday 17 July to Thursday 27 August, then it is hoped to stage a number of live events until Saturday 12 September (Last Night).

Start times, and additional details, will be published in the listings magazines and at www.bbc.com/proms.

BBC Radio 3 Broadcasts featuring music by Elgar

Thursday 30 July 2020 Hector Berlioz: Overture ‘Le corsaire’ Edward Elgar: Sea Pictures, Op 37 Helen Grime: Near Midnight Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 3 in E flat major ‘Eroica’ Alice Coote, mezzo–soprano; Hallé Orchestra, Mark Elder, conductor From a BBC Proms performance on 9 August 2014

Sunday 2 August 2020 Edward Elgar: In the South (Alassio) Arthur Bliss: A Colour Symphony William Walton: Belshazzar’s Feast Bryn Terfel, bass–baritone; Côr Caerdydd; London Brass; BBC National Chorus of Wales; London Symphony Chorus; BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Richard Hickox, conductor From a BBC Proms performance on 23 July 2006

66 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

Events to be broadcast on BBC4 Television Sunday 2 August 2020 Music by Kendall (world première), Dvořák, Popper, Walker, Handel, Bologne, Rimsky–Korsakov Sheku Kanneh–Mason, cello; Jeanine De Bique, soprano; Chineke! Orchestra, Kevin John Edusei, conductor From a BBC Proms performance on 30 August 2017 Sunday 9 August 2020 Mahler: Symphony No 8 Soloists: Rosemary Joshua, Christine Brewer, Jon Villars, Soile Isokoski, Birgit Remmert, Jane Henschel, John Relyea, David Wilson–Johnson City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus; London Symphony Chorus; Toronto Children’s Chorus; Sydney Philharmonia Choirs; City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus; National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, Simon Rattle, conductor From a BBC Proms performance on 11 August 2002 Sunday 16 August 2020 Jörg Widmann: Con brio Franz Liszt: Piano Concerto No 1 in E flat major Music by Richard Wagner: Overture, Tannhäuser; Götterdämmerung: Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt; Götterdämmerung: Siegfrieds Tod und Trauermarsch; Overture, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Martha Argerich, piano; West–Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, conductor From a BBC Proms performance on 17 August 2016 Sunday 23 August 2020 Dmitry Shostakovich: Symphony No 10 in E minor Leonard Bernstein: Symphonic Dances, West Side Story José Pablo Moncayo: Huapango Arturo Márquez: Danzón No. 2 Alberto Ginastera: Estancia – suite Pedro Elías Gutiérrez, Alma Llanera, soloists; Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel, conductor From a BBC Proms performance on 19 August 2007

No. 71 – August 2020 67 Dates for your Diary

Some events scheduled to take place in 2021:

Sun 10 January 2021, 7.00pm Barbican Hall, London Tue 12 January 2021, 7.30pm The Dream of Gerontius Skelton / Coote / Relyea / London Symphony Chorus / London Symphony Orchestra / Rattle

Fri 15 January 2021, 1.00pm LSO St Lukes, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime: Elgar plus London EC1V 9NG Violin Sonata / Schumann Nash Ensemble

Fri 22 January 2021, 1.00pm LSO St Lukes, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime: Elgar plus London EC1V 9NG Concert Allegro / Sospiri / Schumann / Wagner Rice / Nash Ensemble

Sat 23 January 2021, 7.30pm Langley Park Arts Centre, Sea Pictures / Vaughan Williams / Delius / Bax Beckenham Watson / Bromley Symphony Orchestra / Brown

Fri 29 January 2021, 1.00pm LSO St Lukes, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime: Elgar plus London EC1V 9NG Piano Quintet / Schumann Nash Ensemble

Fri 5 February 2021, 1.00pm LSO St Lukes, BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime: Elgar plus London EC1V 9NG Chanson de Matin / Chanson de Nuit / Kreisler / Wagner arr. Liszt / Schumann Nash Ensemble

Sun 28 February 2021, 4.30pm St Andrew’s Church, Symphonic Study: Falstaff / Finzi Holborn, London, EC4 3AF Benn / Elgar Sinfonia / Brown

Thu 29 April 2021, 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall, London Cockaigne / Cello Concerto / Enigma Variations Ferrández / Philharmonia Orchestra / Chan

Fri 25 June 2021, 7.30pm Royal Festival Hall, London The Dream of Gerontius Whately / Staples / Davies / The Bach Choir / Philharmonia Orchestra / Hill

68 Elgar Society News Dates for your Diary

If you have details of a concert containing a work by Elgar, please notify us by e–mail at: [email protected] As we are less constrained by space on the Elgar website, wherever possible please remember to include : – The starting time, full address of the venue and an enquiry telephone number; – Composers of other works in the concert; and – The full names of all performers

Solution to the April 2020 crossword (No. 33)

S I R E D W A R D C H A N T U A O P U H R R E L G A R P O C O A P O C O T I R K C U U B R I M S T O N E O N S E T E M V G N A S A W E S O M E G E N T L Y T V E T A T H E N S I N S P I R E A A R O N T N D U V E T S O F T L Y A N D A E O P U Y L G E R O N T I U S R E I G N I N E R E I A A O A S I S I N D E C E N C Y

Apologies for the misprint in April’s grid. 7 down should have had seven letters (‘arousal’), but a black square after the S appeared by mistake.

No. 71 – August 2020 69 Crossword

An Elgarian Crossword, No. 34 Set by Pietro

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9

10 11

12

13 14 15 16

17 18

19 20

21 22 23

24 25

26 27 28 29

30 31

Special instructions: Only subsidiary indications, and no further definitions, are given in the Across clues, which all share a theme. The answers lead to a related word or words, which is the solution to be entered in the grid. Down clues are normal. Across 8 Lady angry after approval overturned. (6:6) 9 Grew an odd way. (6:7) 10 Oh vacuous Vienna with kitsch so awful. (12:6) 11 Good people approach agedness oddly. (5–5:7) 13 Built Albert Memorial at first. (7:8) 15 Open roundabout. (6:5) 19 Held back by ultra–zombies. (6:8,7)

70 Elgar Society News Crossword

21 Cobbler, we hear? (8:5) 23 Drive off. (5:8) 26 Swiss city’s beer mug. (9:7) 28 Lager lout. (5:6) 30 Webern’s first tonal composition. (6:7) 31 Reverses audibly. (3:6)

Down 1 Shared fuel split by Modest Mussorgsky until naphtha starts. (8) 2 Restore part of the best étude. (4) 3 Angry Indian gent vexed to miss Elgar’s Crown. (9) 4,7 Alice Elgar – duty half neglected and with no students – worried about finding a Gallic way of crediting the Almighty. (5,1,4) 5 Dissonant music I rejected – it’s rubbish. (4) 6 Jump back to article in Spanish course. (6) 7 See 4 12 Indeterminate sound from operatic bagpiper, confused and lost. (5) 14 Force Grieg to go away, the beast. (5) 16 Cut back manuscript papers. (5) 17 Marsupial unusually active at autumn’s end. (6,3) 18 Hera’s Hesperides guard something often found in Australia. (5) 20 Skillfully played Rite with xylophone – oh no, I have to go. (8) 22 Like Leo Tolstoy finally pursuing no ill translation. (6) 24 Fool starts to compose, leaving out white notes. (5) 25,29 Drunken seaman’d half wilt for water. (5,4) 27 Keen for Callas, say, to make a comeback. (4) 29 See 25

No. 71 – August 2020 71 FOUNDED 1951 Registered as a Charity No 298062

President : Sir Mark Elder CH CBE Chairman : Neil Mantle MBE

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