Dream Children (Elgar)
Encyclopedia
Dream Children, Op 43 is a musical work for small orchestra by Sir Edward Elgar
. There are two movements:
suggests that they may have been retrieved from the unused material for a symphony celebrating General Gordon
which Elgar had been working on since 1898. They are not complete symphonic movements (the first movement takes a little over three minutes to perform and the second a little over four minutes) but it was Elgar's practice to work in small sections and then put them together into a whole.
The orchestral score and parts were originally published by Joseph Williams Ltd. (London) in 1902, then in 1911 by Schott & Co. with the title "Enfants d'un Rêve" and the translation below this "(Dream-Children)". As with his earlier piece Salut d'Amour
, Elgar agreed with the same publisher that the French title would sell better.
The first performance was at the Queen's Hall
on 4 September 1902, conducted by Arthur W Payne.
by Charles Lamb published in 1822, and Elgar inscribed on the score the following excerpt from the essay. The essay is in one paragraph of over four pages: the writer imagines telling his 'little ones' , called Alice and John, some tales of their great-grandmother Field and her house, and of his own courtship, in hope and eventual despair, for another Alice before, at the end of the essay, mysteriously
The name ‘Alice’ was important in Elgar’s life: not only was his great friend Alice Stuart-Wortley his muse, but his wife was also Alice
. ‘What might have been’ reflects a constant nostalgia throughout Elgar’s music, and is the predominating mood of both the Dream Children pieces, particularly the wistful No 1. No 2 is more smiling in tone, but reverts to nostalgia at the end, where it quotes the theme which began No. 1.
s, 2 oboe
s, 2 clarinet
s in B and A, 2 bassoon
s, 4 horns in F, 3 timpani
, harp
and strings
.
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
. There are two movements:
- 1. Andante in G minor
- 2. Allegretto piacevole in G major
History
These two pieces were written in 1902, when Elgar was approaching the peak of his fame and popularity. Unusually for Elgar they were not written to any commission. Michael KennedyMichael Kennedy (music critic)
Dr. George Michael Sinclair Kennedy CBE is an English biographer, journalist and writer on classical music. He joined the Daily Telegraph at the age of 15 in 1941, and began writing music criticism for it in 1948...
suggests that they may have been retrieved from the unused material for a symphony celebrating General Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
which Elgar had been working on since 1898. They are not complete symphonic movements (the first movement takes a little over three minutes to perform and the second a little over four minutes) but it was Elgar's practice to work in small sections and then put them together into a whole.
The orchestral score and parts were originally published by Joseph Williams Ltd. (London) in 1902, then in 1911 by Schott & Co. with the title "Enfants d'un Rêve" and the translation below this "(Dream-Children)". As with his earlier piece Salut d'Amour
Salut d'Amour
Salut d’Amour, Op. 12, is a musical work composed by Edward Elgar in 1888, originally written for violin and piano.-History:Elgar finished the piece in July 1888, when he was engaged to be married to Caroline Alice Roberts, and he called it "Liebesgruss" because of Miss Roberts’ fluency in German...
, Elgar agreed with the same publisher that the French title would sell better.
The first performance was at the Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
on 4 September 1902, conducted by Arthur W Payne.
Charles Lamb's essay
The pieces are inspired by ‘Dream-Children ; A Reverie’, one of the Essays of EliaEssays of Elia
Essays of Elia is a collection of essays written by Charles Lamb; it was first published in book form in 1823, with a second volume, Last Essays of Elia, issued in 1833 by the publisher Edward Moxon....
by Charles Lamb published in 1822, and Elgar inscribed on the score the following excerpt from the essay. The essay is in one paragraph of over four pages: the writer imagines telling his 'little ones' , called Alice and John, some tales of their great-grandmother Field and her house, and of his own courtship, in hope and eventual despair, for another Alice before, at the end of the essay, mysteriously
- * * * And while I stood gazing, both the children gradually grew fainter
- to my view, receding, and still receding till nothing at last but two mourn-
- ful features were seen in the uttermost distance, which, without speech,
- strangely impressed upon me the effects of speech: "We are not of Alice,
- nor of thee, nor are we children at all. * * * * We are nothing; less than
- nothing, and dreams. We are only what might have been." * * *
The name ‘Alice’ was important in Elgar’s life: not only was his great friend Alice Stuart-Wortley his muse, but his wife was also Alice
Caroline Alice Elgar
Caroline Alice, Lady Elgar was an English author of verse and prose fiction, who married the composer Edward Elgar.- Family :...
. ‘What might have been’ reflects a constant nostalgia throughout Elgar’s music, and is the predominating mood of both the Dream Children pieces, particularly the wistful No 1. No 2 is more smiling in tone, but reverts to nostalgia at the end, where it quotes the theme which began No. 1.
Instrumentation
2 fluteWestern concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s, 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B and A, 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, 4 horns in F, 3 timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
and strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
.