The Spirit of England: Three Poems by Laurence Binyon, Set to Music for Tenor or Soprano Solo, Chorus, and Orchestra

TitleThe Spirit of England: Three Poems by Laurence Binyon, Set to Music for Tenor or Soprano Solo, Chorus, and Orchestra
Publication TypeBook
Year of Publication1917
AuthorsElgar, Edward
Number of Pages53
PublisherNovello and Co.
CityLondon
Abstract

Edward Elgar set to music three poems by the English poet Laurence Binyon as a symphonic cantata for soprano (or tenor), chorus, and orchestra under the title The Spirit of England. Dedicated “to the memory of our glorious men,” the work culminated with a setting of Binyon’s perhaps most famous poem, For the Fallen. The work is about England, her heroism, and her sacrifice, as well as the construction of community in a commemorative piece of art. The composition conjured community through musical means: The combination of a single solo voice with chorus and orchestra that Elgar deployed in The Spirit of England is well established as a symbolic representation of the individualized voice of a mourning community, in turn stepping out of, and blending in with, the communal musical expression. Elgar’s work—like numerous others on both sides of the conflict—drew in its musical texture, genre, and form on a gendered hierarchy of musical signifiers that also carried national overtones.

URLhttps://urresearch.rochester.edu/institutionalPublicationPublicView.action;jsessionid=A0964223DB86F57480A58166081A0929?institutionalItemId=5160
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230559826

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