Owls edward elgar biography
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List of compositions by Edward Elgar
1. Overture
2. Serenade
3. Minuet (Old Style)
4. Sun Dance
5. Fairy Pipers
6. Slumber Scene
7. Fairies and Giants
1. March
2. The Little Bells (Scherzino)
3. Moths and Butterflies (Dance)
4. Fountain Dance
5. The Tame Bear
6. The Wild Bears
anthems
1. "Ave verum corpus"/"Jesu, Word of God Incarnate"
2. "Ave Maria"/"Jesu, Lord of Life and Glory"
3. "Ave Maris Stella"/"Jesu, ödmjuk and Lowly"
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Biography
The picture often painted of Elgar is of the social outsider, a devout Catholic, snubbed by the English musical establishment but eventually, through the force of his music, reaching the pinnacle of British society and close friendship with royalty. As with all caricatures, there is some truth in this, but it is far from the whole picture.
Unlike his close contemporaries Parry and Stanford, Elgar’s was not a privileged background. He was born on 2nd June 1857 in the small Worcestershire village of Lower Broadheath, to a mother of farming stock and a father who was a piano tuner and proprietor of a music shop close to Worcester Cathedral. When recognition arrived, Parry and Stanford, at that time both composers of some esteem, were quick to speak out in support of him. And if their support seemed at times ambivalent, it should be remembered that Elgar, conscious of his lack of social standing, was acutely sensitive to any perceived hint of criticism.
After a number of
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Owls - an Epitaph- (2007)
Edward Elgar
for medium voice and piano
What is that? ... Nothing;
The leaves must fall, and falling, rustle;
That is all:
They are dead
As they fall, -
Dead at the foot of the tree;
All that can be is said.
What is it? ... Nothing.
What is that? ... Nothing;
A wild thing hurt in the night,
And it cries
In its dread,
Till it lies
Dead at the foot of the tree;
All that can be is said.
What is it? ... Nothing.
What is that? ... Ah!
A marching slow of unseen feet,
That is all:
But a bier, spread
With a pall,
Is now at the foot of the tree;
All that could be is said.
Is it ... what? ... Nothing.
[ 3 pages, circa 3' 10" ]
Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was born at Lower Broadheath, near Worcester Cathedral and the Malvern Hills. In his youth, he showed a gift for keyboard improvisation, later becoming an organist, violinist and a conductor. In Worcester, there was a high stand