-
1 of 253523 objects
Coronation ode / written by Arthur Christopher Benson ; set to music...by Edward Elgar. 1902
28.0 x 1.5 cm (book measurement (inventory)) | RCIN 1077759

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Coronation ode / written by Arthur Christopher Benson ; set to music. . . by Edward Elgar 1902

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Coronation ode / written by Arthur Christopher Benson ; set to music. . . by Edward Elgar 1902

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Coronation ode / written by Arthur Christopher Benson ; set to music. . . by Edward Elgar 1902




-
In late 1901, Edward Elgar was commissioned by the Covent Garden Grand Opera Syndicate to compose a new piece of music to be performed at a gala in honour of King Edward VII’s Coronation in June 1902. It was made with input from the King, who believed that the ‘trio’ from Elgar’s first Pomp and Circumstance March (1901) could be reused in the new work and that the melody would suit having a lyrical accompaniment. Elgar approached Arthur C. Benson to provide the libretto for the piece and Benson soon prepared lyrics for a five-part Coronation Ode with the Pomp and Circumstance trio forming a new patriotic song, Land of Hope and Glory, that would serve as a rousing finale to the piece.
Elgar began writing the music in February 1902, finishing the vocal score in late March. Benson then noticed that his ode ought to have a piece in honour of Queen Alexandra, and—much to Elgar’s annoyance at having to amend his work at short notice—quickly supplied an additional part, titled Daughter of ancient Kings, to follow the introductory Crown the King.
Rehearsals were well underway for the premiere performance to take place at Covent Garden on 30 June, four days after the Coronation itself, when news broke on 23 June that King Edward VII had suddenly been taken ill. The ceremony at Westminster Abbey was postponed until 9 August and the debut cancelled. The Coronation Ode did not receive its first performance until 2 October 1902 at the Sheffield Festival.
Recognising the popularity of Land of Hope and Glory, the publishers Boosey & Co. soon asked Elgar to amend the finale so that it could be produced as a separate song. The first performance of it took place at a Coronation Concert a week before the Ode’s first London performance on 26 October 1902.
While Benson and Elgar dedicated the piece to the King and Queen—this is Queen Alexandra’s copy of the printed score, acquired and signed by her in 1902—they did not see a public performance of it until the gala held at the Royal Albert Hall on 25 June 1903 to mark the first anniversary of the Coronation. The Coronation Ode was amended in 1911 for the Coronation of King George V with The Queen replacing Daughter of ancient Kings as the second part in honour of Queen Mary. Pieces from it were later performed to mark the Coronations of King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
Provenance
Acquired by Queen Alexandra, 1902.
-
Creator(s)
(publisher)Acquirer(s)
-
Measurements
28.0 x 1.5 cm (book measurement (inventory))