Anybody
who's graduated from an American school, college, university and
probably kindergarten has marched into and out of the tune “Pomp
and Circumstance”. If you were one of the unlucky bastards like me,
you got to play the thing ad nauseam, at least three out of four of
those years at whatever school where you matriculated. In thinking
back, I think I played that booger eleventy-billion times, not
counting the times I had to listen to it. I could play that in my
sleep, much like Pachelbel's “Canon” which THIS guy hates, and
I'm kinda with him on that. Play as many weddings as I have, and
you'll understand. Since the movie “Ordinary People” every bride
EVER wants it in her wedding, which I don't get, because “Ordinary
People” is a movie, where everyone ends up dead or unhappy.
I once played this about eight times, because the bride had sixteen bridesmaids and they walked the length of a football field. Outdoors. By the ocean. We had no mics. I guess the fish were entertained
Anyway,
back to Elgar. Not only is he responsible for “Pomp and
Circumstance” – right here and now, let me just state that I am
not going to write about Fucik's “Gladiator March” which we all
know as the “Circus Tune” – but he was responsible for some
damn fine writing, like his Cello Concerto, and his Symphonies. He
was knighted for his compositions WHILE still alive; no mean feat in
the King's Empire of the day. You usually had to be toes up, for that
to occur. Born of humble means, he decided early on that he wanted to
be a violinist, although he did not feel that his tone was good
enough to allow him to be a soloist, despite his friends' protests to
the contrary, he turned his hand to composing and was basically
self-taught. He was also Roman-Catholic and this made him feel more
of an outsider in Anglican, upper-crust England. The fact that he
wrote excellent choral music and pieces like the “The Dream of
Gerontius” based on a Roman-Catholic text that brought him to the
notice of King Edward who appointed him Master of the King's Musick
in 1924, helped to assuage his feelings somewhat.
Sir Edward William Elgar, OM, GCVO. That mustache alone was worth a knighthood; it's magnificent!
Earlier
in his life, he had begun teaching a woman, Caroline Alice Roberts,
who became his wife three years later. Their union was a happy one,
and one evening, as he was plinking around on the piano, a melody he
played caught the attention of his wife, who had a good ear and was a
published poet. Edward began to write some variations on the melody
in styles which reflected the characters of some of his friends and
these improvisations, expanded and orchestrated became the “Enigma
Variations”. The piece, as is, was revised after it's debut, with
Elgar adding 96 bars at the end and adding an organ to it; it is
mostly performed that way today. Elgar wanted to include glimpses of
Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) and Hubert Parry, two
very close friends, but was unable to assimilate their musical styles
without pastiche and so, he dropped the idea.
Unlike
other “Theme and Variations”, the “Enigma Variations” is an
apt title, for Elgar himself stated first publicly:
“The Enigma I will not explain – it's 'dark saying' must be left unguessed, and I warn you that the connexion between the Variations and the Theme is often of the slightest texture; further, through and over the whole set another and larger theme 'goes' but is not played. . . . So the principal Theme never appears, even as in some late dramas – eg Maeterlinck's L'Intruse and Les sept Princesses – the chief character is never on the stage.”
Well,
that just clears it right up. So we never really have a theme, but we
DO have an Enigma. At this point, I feel almost like Winston
Churchill when he mentioned Russia; “. . . A riddle wrapped in a
mystery inside an enigma.” Now, THAT I can get behind; I love the
Russians. Trying to figure them out pre-glasnost was like analyzing tea leaves.
"Nimrod" from "Enigma Variations", Sir Edward Elgar, Colin Davis conducting
Anyway,
it's good to know that Elgar wrote some truly wonderful music besides
the “Graduation March” as it's come to be known, or the “Pomp
and Circumstance”. In doing the research for this article, I
discovered that the “Nimrod” movement is treated in the U.K. much
as Samuel Barber's “Adagio for Strings” is treated in the United
States. It is used often times as a song of national mourning. Anyone
who has seen the movie “Platoon” or seen any of the footage after
9/11, will hear the “Adagio”, but you truly must hear Nimrod. I
present it here for your enjoyment. Then, go listen to the whole
piece. It's a real delight. I had the pleasure of playing it in
mid-February, under the baton of Mark Sforzini, and heard a recording
of our concert at the Palladium, in St. Petersberg, Florida. The man
is a wizard with a baton and he brings out the best in us! More on
him, later!
4 comments:
Oh wow, I was not expecting a music lesson today! Thanks for that, and the links to the great music.
I keep telling people that the clown song is actually called March/Entrance of the Gladiators but no one will believe me.
@C. D.
Thanks for stopping by! You are absolutely 100% right about the Clown Song/Entrance of the Gladiators! I guess it's somewhat akin to the "Lone Ranger" song, which we all know is really the William Tell Overture, and we don't even get to the "Lone Ranger" part until the piece is nearly over. It's actually kinda boring to play! Again, thanks so very much for stopping by!
Forgot he did Pomp and Circumstance! Like the Enigma Variations. Maui Jungalow
@Courtney!
I adore the Enigma Variations. Since we just finished playing them again, in concert, and I had forgotten the depth and richness of the scoring. The different variations and the way he cleverly uses thematic material to limn each personality is something that we discussed in rehearsal and we uncovered even more! Our conductor is a true marvel, and he is a delight to work with. His enthusiasm and knowledge feed us as artists and it is a really wonderful thing to have him at this stage of my career. We're working Shostakovich now and learning new things about that symphony. I'm so glad you dropped by Courtney. I will be doing an interview with Mark Sforzini, our conductor, for my letter "S". Happy A-to-Z'ing! Mary
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