Overture in D minor (Handel, arr. Elgar)

The Overture in D minor (Handel, arr. Elgar) is a transcription made in 1923 by Sir Edward Elgar of a musical work by George Frideric Handel composed in 1717-18.

The transcription is an arrangement for full orchestra of the overture to Chandos Anthem No. 2 (HWV247) "In the Lord put I my Trust", which Handel wrote when he was resident composer for the Duke of Chandos at Cannons house.

History

The transcription was first performed at the Worcester Festival on 2 September 1923, conducted by the composer.[1] It was recorded a month after the first performance.[2] Elgar's friend W. H. Reed wrote of Elgar's enthusiasm for Handel: '...he would speak of Handel with tears in his eyes... would rub his hands gleefully and look up to heaven at the thought of Handel's genius'.[3] Elgar wrote to John E. West, music editor at Novello & Co., that he had known the overture since he was a little boy and always wanted it to be heard in a large form.[4]

Elgar's arrangement followed two orchestrations of works by another composer he admired: he transcribed J. S. Bach's Fugue in C minor in 1921 and the Fantasia in C minor in 1922.

The Overture in D minor was published by Novello & Co. in 1923.

Instrumentation

Handel scored it for a small orchestra with first and second violins, oboe, and basso continuo.

Elgar's arrangement is written for a full symphony orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in B♭, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, side drum), string section and organ (ad. lib.).[5]

gollark: I'm libertarian center-ish and progressive.
gollark: <@163109867953979392> Out of curiosity, have you tried any of the political-compass things like this (https://lucasnorth.uk/sapply/) and this (https://8values.github.io/)?
gollark: I hope it never does become a thing, or else the skies themselves will be polluted with advertising, and I really don't like advertising.
gollark: If that happens we must destroy the Earth. It's the only way to be sure.
gollark: This probably works only because nobody has done or is likely to do anything which would particularly benefit from legally "owning" space things yet.

References

Citations

  1. Kennedy 1987, pp. 355–356.
  2. McVeagh 2007, p. 187: "Elgar ... conducted its first performance on 2 September 1923 ... he valued it enough to record it the next month."
  3. Reed 1989, p. 43.
  4. Moore 1984, p. 765: "[Elgar] wrote to Novello's music editor John E. West: 'I have known the overture ... since I was a little boy and always wanted it to be heard in a large form."
  5. Novello & Co., full score

Sources

  • Kennedy, Michael (1987). Portrait of Elgar (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-284017-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • McVeagh, Diana M. (2007). Elgar the Music Maker. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-295-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Moore, Jerrold N. (1984). Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-315447-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Reed, W. H. (1989) [First published 1936]. Elgar as I knew him (Second ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282257-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.