|
|
| Edward Elgar |
In 1885, he succeeded his father as church organist in Worcester and pursued a minor local career, teaching, conducting, and composing. In 1889 he married his student and admirer, Caroline Alice Roberts, whose love and encouragement transformed him; their marriage of three decades coincided with the most creative period of Elgar's life. He became a close friend of the organist of Hereford Cathedral, Dr G R Sinclair, to whom the Enigma Variation No. XI, "G.R.S.", is dedicated. The piece was inspired by Sinclair's bulldog, Dan, which, having fallen into the River Wye (bar 1), paddles upstream (bars 2 and 3), and barks happily on landing (2nd half of bar 5). Also dedicated to Sinclair was the Te Deum and Benedictus.
Elgar's association with the Three Choirs Festival began in Worcester in 1878 when he played with the second violins in the Festival Orchestra. In 1881 he was promoted to the first violins. Later he was able to scribble on his Festival Programme, "I played first violin for the sake of the fee as I could obtain no recognition as a composer".
In 1899 the Enigma Variations established Elgar as the leading English composer of the day. In 1904, Elgar took up residence at Plas Gwyn, in Hereford, where he composed many of his greatest works, including both Symphonies, the Violin Concerto and The Kingdom. The Festivals of the 1920s and 1930s were dominated by Elgar and his works. The Dream of Gerontius, The Apostles, and The Kingdom, becoming staple fare. He composed a Civic Fanfare, dedicated to Percy Hull, for the Mayoral Procession at the Opening Service in 1927. Five months before he died, Elgar ended his career as a conductor when he wielded the baton in performances of The Kingdom, Gerontius and the Cello Concerto, at Hereford in 1933.
Elgar's compositions, especially his oratorios and other choral music and his orchestral works, won him growing success and prestige. He was knighted in 1904, appointed master of the king's music in 1924, and made a baronet in 1931. Identified with the Edwardian era and the British Empire, he became, despite his Roman Catholicism, a symbol of English national pride. In 1920, however, he was devastated by his wife's death, and his later years were lonely and unproductive.
Most popularly remembered for the first of his five Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Elgar wrote magnificent orchestral scores in the late romantic tradition: concertos for violin (1910) and cello (1919), two symphonies (in A-flat, 1908; in E-flat, 1911), the buoyant Cockaigne (In London Town) overture (1901), the celebrated Enigma Variations (1899), and the symphonic study Falstaff (1913); as well as chamber music, piano pieces, songs, church music, and incidental music for the stage. His music for string orchestra includes a lovely serenade in E minor (1892) and the spirited Introduction and Allegro (1905). His oratorio The Dream of Gerontius (1900), based on a poem by Cardinal Newman, is often considered by many to be Elgar's masterpiece. An authoritative conductor of his own music, Elgar was the first major composer to record his works systematically for the phonograph. John W. Barker (Grolier's Encyclopedia © Grolier Inc. 1992)
Bibliography: Hurd, Michael, Elgar (1969); Kennedy, Michael, Portrait of Elgar, 3d ed. (1987); McVeagh, Diana M., Edward Elgar (1955; repr. 1984); Moore, Jerold N., Edward Elgar (1984; repr. 1987); Parrott, Ian, Elgar (1971; repr. 1977).
Books about Edward Elgar
© Starblazer 2001
- Elgar
- Simon Mundy / Paperback / Published 1988
- Elgar Best Of
- Hardcover
- Elgar Cello Concerto
- Hardcover
- Elgar Cello Concerto
- Hardcover
- Elgar Enigma Variations
- Hardcover
- Elgar Enigma Variations
- Hardcover
- Elgar Symphony No1
- Hardcover
- Elgar Symphony No2
- Hardcover
- Enigma Variations and Pomp and Circumstance Marches in Full Score
- Edward Elgar / Paperback / Published 1992
- Portrait of Elgar
- Michael Kennedy / Paperback / Published 1987
- Conducting Elgar
- Norman Del Mar, Jonathan Del Mar / Hardcover / Published 1998
- Conducting Elgar
- Norman Del Mar, Jonathan Del Mar / Paperback / Published 1998
- Edward Elgar
- Stewart Craggs, Percy Young / Hardcover / Published 1995
- Edward Elgar
- Christopher Kent / Hardcover / Published 1993
- Edward Elgar - the Windflower letters : Correspondence with Alice Caroline Stuart Wortley and her family
- Hardcover / Published 1989
- Edward Elgar : A creative life
- Jerrold Northrop Moore / Paperback / Published 1987
- Edward Elgar: A Creative Life
- Jerrold Northrop Moore / Paperback / Published 1999
- Edward Elgar: letters of a lifetime
- Jerrold Northrop Moore / Hardcover / Published 1990
- Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation
- Mrs Richard Powell, Claud Powell / Hardcover / Published 1994
- Edward Elgar: Music and Literature
- Raymond Monk, E. Wulstan Atkins / Hardcover / Published 1993
- Edward Elgar: Sacred Music
- John Allison / Paperback / Published 1994
- Edward Elgar: Sacred Music
- John Allison / Hardcover / Published 1994
- Elgar
- Robert Anderson / Hardcover / Published 1993
- Elgar and His Publishers
- Jerrold Northrop Moore / Hardcover / Published 1987
- Elgar as I knew him
- William H. Reed / Paperback / Published 1989
- Elgar in Manuscript
- Robert Anderson / Hardcover / Published 1990
- Elgar Orchestral Music
- M. Kennedy / Paperback / Published 1970
- Elgar, OM: A Study of a Musician
- Percy M. Young / Hardcover / Published 1980
- Elgar: "Enigma Variations"
- Julian Rushton / Paperback / Published 1999
- Elgar: "Enigma Variations"
- Julian Rushton / Hardcover / Published 1999
- Elgar
- Hardcover / Published 1996
- Elgar (The Master Musicians)
- Robert Anderson / Hardcover / Published 1993
- Elgar Country
- Barry Collett / Paperback / Published 1981
- Elgar Studies
- Raymond Monk / Hardcover / Published 1990
- Elgar the Cyclist: A Creative Odyssey
- Kevin Walter Allen / Paperback / Published 1997
- Elgar Travelogue
- Pauline Collett / Hardcover / Published 1983
- Elgar's Interpreters on Record: An Elgar Discography
- John Knowles / Paperback / Published 1986
- Elgar, Before and After : British Music in Performance - 25 Years of the Broadheath Singers
- David J. Brown / Paperback / Published 1995
- Elgar, Newman and the Dream of Gerontius
- Percy M. Young / Hardcover / Published 1995
- Elgar: A Herefordshire Guide
- Jacob O'Callaghan / Paperback / Published 1985
- Future for English Music : Lectures
- Sir Edward Elgar, Percy M. Young / Hardcover / Published 1968
- John Henry Newman, Edward Elgar and the Dream of Gerontius
- Percy M. Young / Paperback / Published 1991
- Letters to Nimrod: Edward Elgar to August Jaeger, 1897-1908
- Sir Edward Elgar, Percy M. Young / Hardcover / Published 1965
- Pictures of Malvernia in Poet Words : Celebration of a Quarter Century of Exploring the Elgar Country
- Richard D. Watkins / Paperback / Published 1986
- Pictures of Malvernia in Poet Words : Celebration of a Quarter Century of Exploring the Elgar Country: Pt.1: Winter-Spring
- Richard D. Watkins / Paperback / Published 1986
- Pictures of Malvernia in Poet Words : Celebration of a Quarter Century of Exploring the Elgar Country: Pt.2: Summer-Autumn
- Richard D. Watkins / Paperback / Published 1986
- Short Guide to Edward Elgar in Malvern
- Cora Weaver / Paperback / Published 1991
- Soliloquy for Oboe and Piano
- Edward Elgar, et al / Paperback / Published 1996
- Symphony No.3: The Sketches for Symphony No.3 Elaborated by Anthony Payne
- Edward Elgar, Anthony Payne / Paperback / Published 1998
- That Sweet Borderland : Elgar and Hereford
- Martin Passande / Paperback / Published 1979
 |
| David Garrick as Richard III by Hogarth |
Garrick was descended from a French Huguenot family that came to England in 1685. He studied with Samuel Johnson at Lichfield academy and followed the great man to London, where Garrick planned a business career in the wine trade. There he associated with Johnson's circle and, with leading stage actors such as Charles Macklin, began to play small parts in London and the provinces. Rejected by the managers of Drury Lane and Covent Garden theaters, he acted at Goodman's Fields Theatre, where as Richard III in 1741 he launched a triumphant career. He was especially noted for his expressive features and his naturalistic acting style, which determined the direction of acting technique.
His great tragic roles included Hamlet, Macbeth, and Lear. His famous comedy parts included Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Able Drugger in The Alchemist, and Bayes in The Rehearsal. Garrick had a strong temper and a reputation for vanity, snobbishness, and parsimony.
As the manager of Drury Lane from 1746 to 1766, Garrick prompted significant advances in representational scene design, ended the practice of audience seating on the stage, and renewed the popularity of Shakespeare's plays, which he often emended. He was instrumental in furthering the career of Sarah Siddons (see below). His own plays include Lethe (1740) and Miss in Her Teens (1747), which were published along with his others in 1768. His unsuccessful Shakespeare Jubilee at Stratford in 1769 was a program of odes, songs, and speeches by Garrick and did not include a word by Shakespeare. Reynolds, Hogarth, and Gainsborough all painted Garrick's portrait, and a great deal is known about his life from his diaries and letters and from a number of sketches by his contemporaries. He was interred at Westminster Abbey.
Andrew Kelly (Grolier's Encyclopedia © Grolier Inc. 1992)
Bibliography: Burnim, Kalman A., David Garrick, Director (1961); Davies, Thomas, Memoirs of the Life of David Garrick, Esq., 2 vols. (1808); Dircks, P.T., David Garrick (1985); Oman, Carola, David Garrick (1958); Price, Cecil John Layton, Theatre in the Age of Garrick (1973); Stone, George W., Jr., and Kahril, George M., David Garrick: A Critical Biography (1979).
Books about David Garrick
© Starblazer 2001
- Actors and Managers of the English and American Stage: Series 2: The Papers of David Garrick, Pt.1: Correspondence from the John Forster Collection at the National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Paperback / Published 1988
- Biography of David Garrick
- Benedetti / Hardcover / Published 1999
- "The Clandestine Marriage": Together with Two Short Plays
- David Garrick / Paperback / Published 1995
- David Garrick, 1717-1779
- Helen R. Smith / Paperback / Published 1979
- Dramatic Art : Theatrical Paintings from the Garrick Club
- Desmond Shawe- Taylor / Paperback / Published 1997
- Dramatic Works
- David Garrick / Hardcover / Published 1969
- Garrick
- Ian McIntyre / Hardcover / Published 1999
- Garrick and Loutherbourg
- Christopher Baugh / Paperback / Published 1990
- Garrick Claims the Stage : Acting as Social Emblem in Eighteenth-century England
- Leigh Woods / Hardcover / Published 1984
- The Garrick Collection of Old English Plays
- George M. Kahrl, et al / Hardcover / Published 1982
- Garrick to Kean : Theatres and Theatrical Personalities of Richmond-upon-Thames
- Diana Howard, Nicholas Lawrence / Paperback / Published 1974
- Garrick, Arne and the Masque of Alfred
- Michael Burden / Hardcover / Published 1994
- Letters to David Hume, David Garrick and Sir Robert Listan, 1764-83
- Marie Jeanne Riccoboni, J.C. Nicholls / Paperback / Published 1976
- Pictures in the Garrick Club : A Catalogue of the Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture
- Geoffrey Ashton, et al / Hardcover / Published 1997
- Plays by David Garrick and George Colman the Elder
- Hardcover / Published 1982
- Plays by David Garrick and George Colman the Elder
- Paperback / Published 1982
- Stage to Screen: Theatrical Origins of Early Film: David Garrick to D.W.Griffith
- NicholasA. Vardac / Paperback / Published 1988
 |
| Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse by Reynolds |
After her marriage in 1773 to a fellow member of the troupe, one William Siddons, she was brought to London by David Garrick, another native of Hereford. Her first appearance at Drury Lane was a failure, but in 1781, she triumphed in the tragedy of "Isobella" and became the "toast of the town." Following this, her talent and good looks made her the brightest star of the time. She was honoured by princes and potentates, immortalised on canvas by both Gainsborough and Reynolds and eulogised by many writers and poets, including Wordsworth, Byron, Lamb, Scott and Hazlitt. She died on June 8th, 1831 and was buried in a churchyard near Paddington Green.
Other members of the Kemble family became famous in the theatre. Her brothers, John Kemble (1757-1823) and Charles Kemble (1775-1854) were leading members of the London stage. Charles had a daughter, Fanny Kemble, the "Queen of Tragedy" of the early American stage.
Books about the Kembles
© Starblazer 2001
- Three Tragic Actresses : Siddons, Rachel, Ristori
- Michael R. Booth, et al / Hardcover / Published 1996
- John Philip Kemble: The Actor in His Theatre
- Herschel Clay Baker / Hardcover
- Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838-1839
- Fanny Kemble / Paperback / Published 1984
- Principles and Privilege : Two Women's Lives on a Georgia Plantation
- Frances A. Kemble, Frances A. Butler Leigh / Paperback / Published 1995
- Fanny Kemble Journals
- Mavor / Hardcover / Published 1990
- Principles and Privilege
- Frances Kemble, Frances A. Butler Leigh / Hardcover / Published 1994
 |
| Nell Gwynne, painted by an artist in Sir Peter Lely's studio, circa 1675 ©Photo Library, National Portrait Gallery |
How Ellen Gwynne came to be an orange seller at the King's Theatre in Drury Lane, we may never know. But it is said that she met a distinguished young man there by the name of Duggan who, having taken a fancy to her sharp wit, good looks and pretty feet, introduced her to the stage. Samuel Pepys recorded in his diary a visit to the theatre in 1665. His enjoyment of the play was made the more by sitting next to, "pretty, witty Nell at the King's House." His account of her conversation with her fellow actors, in which she referred to her early life in Hereford, is the strongest evidence we have of her true origins.
Restoration England under Charles II was a place of great merriment and considerable licenctiousness. After the sombre mood of Cromwell's dictatorship, during which the playhouses were closed, people flocked to the new theatres in search of amusement and fortune. In this hedonistic atmosphere, Nell's charms brought her quickly to the attention of the royal court and led to appearances at White Hall, where she entertained the King.
|
| Reputed birthplace of Nell Gwynne, demolished in 1857. |
More recently (2000), their descendent, the current Earl of Burford will be remembered for ever as the hereditary peer who declared his removal to be, "under duress", from the House of Lords with the cry, "Treason!". This followed the Bliar government's reform of the Lords which removed the rights of many such peers to sit in the House. It is curious how, in the days of Cromwell, the Puritans were content to destroy merely graven images and prohibit dancing, while today they commit even greater acts of vandalism to some of the most colourful and historic institutions of the state.
It is claimed that Nell inspired the King to set up the Royal Hospital at Chelsea along the lines of the Coningsby Hospital in Hereford. Nell would have been familiar with the distinctive red uniforms of the Coningsby Servitors, the pensioners of the Hereford almshouse established by Sir Thomas Coningsby, in 1614, to house twelve "worn out" soldiers. The connection is at best tenuous but the anecdote is often cited as further "proof" of Nell's connection with Hereford.
It is said that on his deathbed in 1685, King Charles implored his ministers, "Let not my poor Nelly starve." Sadly, her last years were marked by declining health and financial hardship and she was forced to sell the great pearl necklace which had been a present from the King and which she had worn in many of her portraits. She died of apoplexy in November 1687 and was buried near her mother, Eleanor, in the churchyard of St. Martins-in-the-Field, London. A plaque marks the site of her birthplace in Gwynne Street, Hereford, although the actual building was demolished in 1857.
Return to Index