Salut d’Amour, Op. 12, is a musical work composed by Edward Elgar

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...

 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

Caroline Alice Elgar

Caroline Alice, Lady Elgar was an English author of verse and prose fiction, who married the composer Edward Elgar.- Family :...

, and he called it "Liebesgruss" ('Love’s Greeting') because of Miss Roberts’ fluency in German. When he returned home to London on 22 September from a holiday at the house of his friend Dr. Charles Buck, in Settle

Settle

Settle is a small market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is served by the Settle railway station, which is located near the town centre, and Giggleswick railway station which is a mile away. It is from Leeds Bradford Airport...

, he presented it to her as an engagement present. Alice, for her part, offered him a poem called "The Wind at Dawn

The Wind at Dawn

"The Wind at Dawn" is a poem set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1888. The poem was written in 1880 by Caroline Alice Roberts, before she had met Elgar, though they were married in the year after the song was written....

" which she had written years before and which he soon set to music.

The dedication was in French: "à Carice". "Carice" was a combination of his wife's names Caroline Alice, and was the name to be given to their daughter born two years later.

It was not published (by Schott & Co.) until a year later, and the first editions were for violin and piano, piano solo, cello and piano, and for small orchestra. Few copies were sold until Schott changed the title to "Salut d’Amour" with Liebesgruss as a sub-title, and the composer’s name as 'Ed. Elgar'. The French title, Elgar realised, would help the work to be sold not only in France but in other European countries: Schott was a German publisher, with offices in Mainz

Mainz

Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

  and Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.

The first public performance was of the orchestral version, at a Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. More than 14,000 exhibitors from around the world gathered in the Palace's of exhibition space to display examples of the latest technology developed in...

 concert on 11 November 1889, conducted by August Manns

August Manns

Sir August Friedrich Manns was a German-born conductor who made his career in England. After serving as a military bandmaster in Germany, he moved to England and soon became director of music at London's Crystal Palace. He increased the resident band to full symphonic strength and for more than...

.

Arrangements

"Salut d’Amour" has certainly been published in more different forms and arrangements than any other work of Elgar’s.

As early as 1901, the list is substantial:

Violin and Piano (in E, original) Piano in E (original) Violin (Violoncello ad lib.) & Piano (in D) Piano in B Two Violins & Piano Violoncello & Piano Flute & Piano Clarinet & Piano Oboe & Piano Small Orchestra (in E) score and parts Mandolin Mandolin A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... e & Piano, arranged by G. B. Marchisio Two Mandolines & Piano, arr. G. B. Marchisio Two Mandolines & Guitar, arr. G. B. Marchisio Organ Piano for 4 hands Piano, Violin & Violoncello ad lib.

Piano, 2 Violins & Violoncello ad lib. Cornet & Piano Viola & Piano 2 Violoncelli & Piano Piano & Harmonium Organ (in E), transcribed by E. H. Lemare Edwin Lemare Edwin Henry Lemare was an English organist and composer who lived the latter part of his life in the United States.-Biography:... Organ (in B), transcribed by C. J. Grey Small Orchestra, arr. Torbie Guitar Full Orchestra, arr. Kaiser Adaptations for Voice and Piano by Max Laistner: "Pansies" (in three keys: E, F, and G), words by Percy E. Pinkerton Percy E. Pinkerton Percy Edward Pinkerton was an English translator and poet.- Biography :Percy Edward Pinkerton was born on 19 June 1855, at Manor Road, Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington, London, Middlesex. He was the third child of George Pinkerton and Mary Easum... "Pansies" (in F), with added Violin part "Woo thou, Sweet Music" (in G, F, A, and E), words by A. C. Bunten, "Pensées" (in G and F), French words by G. Ferrari "Viola del Pensiero" (in F), Italian words by F. Rizzelli "Liebesgruss" (in G and F), German words by E. Klingenfeld

Many arrangements have been made since. For example, the song can also be found in Swedish as "Violer" ("Violets").

Recordings

• The first recording was made in January 1915, with Elgar conducting a 'Symphony Orchestra'. This acoustic recording was made for The Gramophone Company and appeared under the H.M.V. label, on disc D180.
• New Light Orchestra (Victor Concert Orchestra Cond.: Rosario Bourdon). Recorded in New York City
  New York City
  New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
  
   on September 4, 1929. It was released by Victor Records as catalogue number 4527B (in USA) and by EMI
  EMI
  The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
  
   on the HMV Records label as catalogue number B 3926.
• Sarah Chang (violin) - Debut This 1992 CD recording includes Salut d'Amour
• Nigel Kennedy Chandos
• David Halen and Peter Henderson AAM 040102
• Kyung Wha Chung and Phillip Moll Eloquence #476755
• Julian Lloyd Webber
  Julian Lloyd Webber
  Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
  
   with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
  
   on the CD Made In England
• Elgar Society Several recordings available

Performances on Video

A selection

• Alvaro Siviero Piano solo.
• Sarah Chang (violin) Violin and piano.
• Joanna Westers (violin) Violin and piano.
• Clara Garde (violin), Marie-Benedicte Cohu (Piano) Violin and piano.
• Helen Cho (violin), Harold Wu (piano) Violin and piano.
• Young-nim Ma (violin), Miyang Kim (piano) Violin and piano.
• Valerie (9) (violin), Dominique(11) (piano) Violin and piano.
• Ferenc "Pepe" Mocsár (cello) and cimbalom Violin and cimbalom.
• A. Usami (flute) Flute and piano.
• Karen Constant (violin), Yleesh Constant (cello), Elena Semenets (piano) Violin, cello and piano.
• Danny Takagi (violin), Yumiko Moro-oka (cello), Mariya Ando (piano) Violin, cello and piano.
• Attila Lakatos (violin), Kriszti Magyar (flute), Ond Székely (cello), Kulcsár Janka (piano) Violin, flute, cello and piano.
• Li Chuanyun (violin), Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra Violin and orchestra.
• Daiske Nagamine (conductor), TSU Philharmony Orchestrea Orchestra.
• Harmonie Köln Mandoline orchestra.