*notes:* 1. Elgar’s western English accent is, by my research, the closest English accent to an American one in a number of respects. The unfortunate result is that, if you don't know what people from the Malvern Hills area sounds like, it sounds like an American doing a very bad generic British accent! 2. This video is currently embroiled in a false copyright dispute that is limiting its visibility in a huge chunk of the world. If you enjoyed the video, please consider subscribing on Patreon, as I am not sure I'm ever going to see a cent in ad revenue from the months I spent making it.
Thank you for a really interesting and perceptive talk on Edward Elgar. So often, musicologists have an axe to grind when it comes to Elgar - too old fashioned, too Imperialistic, etc, etc, without any reference to the context from which his music grew. Thank you for giving us such a balanced account of this, my favourite composer. It was so good to hear about his work as a pioneer in making recordings - there was a reason he was asked to open Abbey Road Studios! I know he is not the greatest composer who ever lived and his output is woefully inconsistent, but at his best, he wrote great music which speaks to me, at least, in a way no other composer can. Gerontius, for example, has been part of my life from the age of 15, and a constant companion through all the ups and downs of the past 60 years. Many years ago, I had the privilege of meeting Annie Mountford, Elgar's cook over the final few years of his life, and whose husband was his valet/chauffeur. She spoke warmly of her old boss, the spoiled dogs, his violinist lady friend, and the many famous people that visited his home. Her favourite visitor was Billy Reed, sometime leader of the London Symphony Orchestra, who wrote a book about their friendship. I can still hear her laughing at the memory as she told me, 'He was such FUN!' Thank you again for your excellent presentation.
Thanks for that wonderful insight into the very personal side of Edwards character. I think from now on , when listening to his music , I shall see in my minds eye , a more engaging personality than previously I had been aware of .
As a decades-long Elgar enthusiast I must commend you on this excellent survey of the composer’s life and work. Elgar’s mind (both creative and emotional) was so rich that it is difficult to know what to include and what to leave out when discussing the full impact of his music. You have extracted what you deemed necessary to create a very coherent and most compelling narrative. Bravo!
44:38 I played a version of this piece with my College’s ceremonial brass band during the commencement ceremony this year. We had to play it the whole time the 1,000 person graduating class walked down to their seats, without stopping. So to answer your question, yes, this piece is played at graduations, and it’s the Bain of any player’s existence when they have to do so.
I've had 7 surgeries from practicing and playing music ( autistic stemming ) and now write Classical Music without any instrument. I throw in tonal matrices like square of venus and square of mars into my music as well as Babbit squares sometimes.. I love your channel and your book collection . I have a few of those .This is one of my favorite channels. Nice to keep learning daily after playing 51 years.
As a British amateur musician, I've sung some of the part songs written for SATB choir, I've sung in the Bavarian Highlands and also Gerontius twice. I've played several of the P&C marches both on sax in large wind bands and on cello in orchestras.
This has truly been such an impactful video to my compositional identity. Thank you for making this series. I learned so much about this guy. I first heard of him recently, (I'm new to classical music/composers) and it was his Variation 9 that I heard live here in LA. I was blown away. Hooked actually, and listened to lots of his music online. But I could never get enough info on him as a person altogether, until now. This video, is like a crash course music history lesson but not taught boringly ... Again thank you!! One thing that really stands out to me is that he lacked formal training/education in composition yet he achieved such great musical pieces through his efforts and dedication to his craft. That's a beautiful story arch that I can relate to.
Just a word about Elgar learning the bassoon at 3:30. The aforementioned book mentioned that in 19th century England the bassoon was a common instrument in English church music prior to the popularization of the organ so with that background it doesn't seem unusual that he would pick it up because he could probably pick up some church gigs with it. (Not unusual to me, a humble history nerd and definitely not a musicologist so take it with a grain of salt.)
This video is so fantastic! From the very well written biography of Elgar, the in-depth looks at his music, and the hilarious insertions of Bach and Elgar's personalities. Well done!!
So glad you self-evidently had great fun making this video, Thomas! People still love Victor Borge and I predict a very audience-friendly music career up ahead for you.
As a guy who wastes a lot of time on the internet (and wastes even MORE time on their local intranet), I can affirm that people DO still love Victor Borge. I remember my great aunt FLORENCE talking about him when I was a wee lad, and the name has come up a surprising number of times since then. Borge's longevity is impressive because history is generally unkind to any musician whose music has elements of humo(u)r or "NOVELTY" therein.
Love your videos!, Have you ever thought of making a video about english composer Gerald Finzi?, I think He’s a composer worth talking. Keep up with the Good work!
Additional thoughts now that I've completed the video: 1. Thank you, *thank you* for the "A Divergent Mind" section. We can't generally *really* know the neurodivergence of historical figures (except possibly for exceptionally obvious cases like Henry Cavendish), but it's good to point out that these things are nothing new. 2. I grew up on Cecil Forsyth's orchestration book. On the one hand, few music textbooks are even this witty and fun to read; on the other, the opening paragraph of the Tuba entry is the most blatantly racist thing I've ever read. 3. Perhaps Elgar might have liked almond milk better.
The first piece of Elgar I ever heard was Pomp & Circumstance March number 1. What I didn’t know was all of the Marches were composed in The French Style. The first part is an allegro, that seems to musically depict an actual war; then the second section which is the famous graduation sequence. The next piece was Introduction and Allegro for strings and I was interested that he taught the violin. This piece excited since it seemed fresh and new. There were also bits and pieces of operas he attempted. I never heard his Egnima Variations but I read that he sketched an orchestral portrait of Arthur S. Sullivan. He later dropped it because the style was out of sync with the other variations. The last piece I heard was Barenboim’s recording of his Second Symphony which seemed to me a hodgepodge of nothingness. I read that his wife was his most discriminating critic.
44:45 Believe or not, here in Argentina the P&C march is often played (and even sung with the lyrics "Land of Hope and Glory" in an at times terrible English) during... weddings! Yes: instead of either Wagner or Mendelssohn. Well, I guess a wedding is something of a graduation ceremony after all--
33:00 "Alma" (soul) is a femenine noun in Spanish, just like "azúcar", "mesa" (table), "agua" (water) and many, many others. The phrase "... encerrada el alma de" does not imply the soul belongs to a woman. On a more subtle and grammatically boring note, even if it is a femenine noun, it is correct to use the article "el" instead of "la", since "alma" starts with "a". The same happens if you say, for instance "el agua fría" (the cold water).
Hey I was going to make this request a while ago but I forgot, since they both died recently, could you add Jean Guillou and Francis Jackson to the request pool? Guillou was organist at St Eustache in Paris right up until his death and wrote a LOT of organ music, and Jackson was heavily involved with the choral and organ scene at York minster, and his masses are still used all over the UK.
This is the best video assessment of Elgar that I've seen. I expected to find things to criticise, but - not one. You have real insight. His accent (we have so few recordings) was definitely Worcestershire, with a hint of Birmingham (he asks the LSO, "Please play this tune as though you've never heard it befower" - the 'befower' is the giveaway. And I am so pleased you didn't suggest solutions to the Enigma! And indeed that you recognised the 'enigma' as being just the first six bars. I think Elgar was 'on the spectrum' - though I share your caveats. He was certainly a person around whom you couldn't usually relax.
The two most important things I learned from this episode are: 1. Elgar is way more interesting than many people, even in classical music, realize, and 2. When great composers come back from being dead, they sure do develop some entitlement issues. If I were you, bro, I'd have given Bach a one-way MBTA ticket to Dorchester six months ago. Tell him to decipher that!
Great video! Over an hour of learning about Elgar, what more could one ask for? Btw no I have not heard that section of the Pomp and Circumstance March in any Graduation..... but that probably has to do with the fact that I always skipped my Graduation Ceremonies. Keep up the good work!!!!
That accent changed so much during this video lol. It didn't resemble a West Midlands/Brummy/Black Country accent at all, the one Elgar would have likely spoken with. It morphed between a Cockney London and West-Country Devon accent.
Loving this video classical nerd, you helped me through my bad times and I'm really thankful for that:D... Would love to see Classical Guitar composer (Especially Barrios) some love! I would love to see you do your on take on Barrios! Hope you have a good day :D
Pomp & Circumstance March #1 (trio)? Played every year from 8th to 12th grade. Also over a 35 year career teaching band and orchestra, we played it every year.😱 I never dared NOT doing it. Despite that, I love all 5 marches.
Yes, I graduated high school to the famous Pomp march...it was not performed live by the school band however, instead, a crappy recording was played over an equally crappy sound system as we all walked to our seats as it all began...also, I loved this video, not just for its incredibly detailed content, but also for your healthy sense of humor. That first 'fourth-wall' reveal had me laughing out loud for real!!!
I'm sorry to say that it's not a conspiracy ive played pomp and circumstance at like 3 graduations and I know my college does it as well. but only the trio. nobody plays like.... the actual piece
At my high school in small town South Dakota in the late 90's, we used Pomp and Circumstance for graduation, but even then we also used "The Throne Room" from Star Wars. I haven't had reason to attend a graduation since then, so I now find myself wondering if the latter could actually replace the former.
I have played Pomp and Circumstance so often at graduations the piece is more a cruel meme than music at this point. That said, it does seem to have fallen out of favor, for which I am eternally grateful.
Not a huge fan of Elgar on account of the blatant nationalism in many of his works (I'm not a fan of Wagner for much the same reasons). Of course, you played Pomp and Circumstance, a tune I heartily despise. 🤮 Nevertheless, the content was both entertaining and enlightening.
