Bladmuziek
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What makes Elgar’s orchestral music sound like Elgar? What makes an orchestral song with an accompaniment by Elgar, and another orchestrated by someone else, sound so different? One of the most characteristic aspects of Elgar’s orchestral style is the way he writes for the string orchestra, both on its own or in a larger texture, emphasising tone and polyphony. This may particularly be seen in the Introduction and Allegro, which for its virtuosity and sonority is a supreme achievement for the string orchestra, fully reflecting Elgar’s first-hand knowledge as a former violinist himself. Elgar lays his score out for string quartet and string orchestra divisi throughout, though the basses are only divided at a couple of points.
By 1905 Elgar, knighted the previous year, was at the height of his powers and of his reputation. With the advantage of hindsight we know that over the next few years he would produce The Kingdom, the First Symphony and the Violin Concerto; yet at the time, of course, he could have no such foresight or confidence in his muse. He was in one of those depressions that came on him after completing major works and before the next had been started. He was also suffering from indifferent health and under continuing financial pressures.
This is very much a London Symphony Orchestra work. The previous year Elgar had produced In the South, and now his friend A J Jaeger at Novello suggested he might write a brilliant work for strings for the then recently formed LSO. Elgar responded to the suggestion indicating that it would contain ‘a devil of a fugue’. The work was ready quickly and Elgar conducted it in the LSO’s concert at Queen’s Hall on 8 March 1905. The printed score is dedicated ‘To his friend Professor S S Sanford, Yale University, USA’, where Elgar went in the summer of 1905, to receive the award of an honorary degree.
The exhilaration and open-air character of the Introduction and Allegro was probably most deeply etched in the musical mind of the nation by the Ken Russell television film on Elgar, the most notable event which effectively re-launched Elgar as a major figure in the early 1960s. Written at a time when there were not many popular works for string orchestra heard at symphony concerts, the form of the piece is original: Elgar’s personal amalgam of elements from concerto grosso and sonata form with a vigorous fugue to mark the climax. We might imagine that Elgar’s imagination had been sparked by Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, and he certainly had conducted the Waltz in 1898, but it was then not widely played and on its appearance at Queen’s Hall in 1902 Elgar was ill.
Elgar’s Introduction is built round three main features, the opening ‘crunch’ of all players double-stopping very loudly with a vigorous down bow followed by accented descending triplets, played with as much sound and tone as possible. Then immediately an ascending theme first played by the solo quartet, the rubato (ebb and flow) built in with tempo markings every couple of bars – allegro – moderato – rallentando – a tempo – largamente – allegro etc. A third idea is presented by solo viola and is said to have been suggested to Elgar years before when he heard distant singing of a Welsh folksong when in the Wye Valley. The tune here is Elgar’s own but it is often referred to as his ‘Welsh’ tune. The tune is taken up by the full body of strings and is dramatically worked out with the other ideas of the Introduction. The second idea of the opening becomes the main theme of the Allegro, followed by a contrasting but vigorous new one in repeated semiquavers, first on solo quartet, quickly answered by the upper strings. A brilliant and virile contrapuntal development, Elgar’s fugue, follows before we reach the final coda with the ‘Welsh’ tune, molto sostenuto, nobly leading to a ringing close.
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ISBN:
5020679197059
Volgnummer:
927027
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