The Starlight Express
Encyclopedia
"The Starlight Express" is a children's play by Violet Pearn, based on the imaginative novel "A Prisoner in Fairyland" by Algernon Blackwood
, with songs and incidental music written by the English composer Sir Edward Elgar
in 1915.
was invited by Robin Legge, music critic of The Daily Telegraph
, to write the music for a children's fantasy play to be produced at the Kingsway Theatre
that Christmas. The play was "The Starlight Express", an adaptation of a novel by Algernon Blackwood
called "A Prisoner in Fairyland", by Blackwood and Violet Pearn. The baritone and composer Clive Carey
had already started his own setting, but abandoned it when Elgar was commissioned.
The producer was to be Basil Dean
: but since he had been called up for army service in France, he was replaced by the actress Lena Ashwell
. Elgar was soon shown the script by Ashwell and had successful meetings with her and with Blackwood. The story appealed to Elgar because of its similarities to the private fantasy world of his own childhood which he had depicted in the music he wrote for The Wand of Youth; his first thought was to re-use that music, and he wove many reminiscences of it into the score. He worked on it enthusiastically, and in just over a month had produced over 300 pages of score - songs and incidental music - in time for the rehearsals. On 6 December the two chosen singers, the Australian-born soprano Clytie Hine and baritone Charles Mott
, rehearsed with Elgar.
The Starlight Express was produced by Lena Ashwell at the Kingsway Theatre in London, as one of her high-quality wartime entertainments. The production was announced in The Times
, mentioning that the small orchestra pit
of the theatre would be enlarged to accommodate a full orchestra. It opened on 29 December 1915. The premiere was to have been the conducted by the composer, but because Lady Elgar had suffered concussion a few days before as the result of a traffic accident, he stayed at home with her, and the conductor was the young Julius Harrison
. It ran for only one month, closing on 29 January 1916.
The reasons for the failure were inappropriate design of the characters and scenery by Henry Wilson (who had been chosen and his work approved by Lena Ashwell), and the difficulty Pearn had in making something theatrical with her adaptation of the book. Both Blackwood and Elgar had expressed misgivings about the design, and Blackwood had considered using his right to object and get a new artist. Blackwood objected to "this murder of my simple little Play ... Arts & Crafts pretentious rubbish stitched onto your music by a silly crank who has never read the play". Elgar agreed. This would have meant postponement of the opening. The critics who reported their view of the opening night, while praising the music and particular performers, remarked on the lack of substance to the story. The music did not deserve to be forgotten. Elgar negotiated with The Gramophone Company
, and on 18 February 1916, the music was recorded on eight sides, with the songs performed by Agnes Nicholls
and Charles Mott. Later that year the three Organ Grinder's Songs were published by Elkin, with a piano accompaniment arranged by Julius Harrison.
Act I
1. Organ Grinder (Baritone): "To the Children" - "O children, open your arms to me,"
Act II
2. Organ Grinder: "The Blue-Eyes Fairy" - "There's a fairy that hides"
Act II Scene 1
3. Organ Grinder: "Curfew Song" (Orion) - "The sun has gone"
4. Laugher (Soprano): "The Laugher's Song" - "I'm ev'rywhere"
5. Organ Grinder: "Come Little Winds" - "Wake up you little night winds"
Act II Scene 3
6. Laugher: "Tears and Laughter" - "Oh! stars shine brightly!"
7. Jane Anne (Soprano): "Sunrise Song" (or "Dawn Song") - "We shall meet the morning spiders"
Act III
8. Organ Grinder: "My Old Tunes" - "My old tunes are rather broken"
Act III Scene 1
9. Jane Anne: - "Dandelions, daffodils"
Act III Scene 2
10. Laugher: - "Laugh a little ev'ry day"
11. Organ Grinder: "The Dawn" - "They're all soft-shiny now"
12. Jane Anne: - "Oh, think Beauty"
Act III Finale
13. Jane Anne & Cousin Henry, duet: "Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed" - "Dustman, Laugher, Tramp and busy Sweep"
From Elgar's The Music Makers
From the Christmas Carol The First Nowell
Song
1. The Organ Grinder: "To the Children"
O children, open your arms to me,
Let your hair fall over my eyes;
Let me sleep a moment - and then awake
In your garden of sweet surprise !
For the grown up folk are a wearisome folk,
And they laugh all my fancies to scorn,
The grown up folk are a wearisome folk,
And they laugh all my fancies to scorn,
They laugh all my fancies to scorn.
O children, open your hearts to me,
And tell me your wonder thoughts,
Who lives in the palace inside your brain?
Who plays in its outer courts?
Who hides in the hours To-morrow holds?
Who sleeps in your Yesterdays?
Who tip-toes along past the curtained folds
Of the shadow that Twilight lays?
O children, open your eyes to me,
And tell me your visions too.
Who squeezes the sponge when the salt tears flow
To dim their magical blue?
Who brushes the fringe of their lace-veined lids?
Who trims their innocent light?
Who draws up the blinds when the sun peeps in?
Who fastens them down at night?
O children, I pray you speak low to me,
And cover my eyes with your hands.
O kiss me again till I sleep and dream
That I'm lost in your fairy-lands;
That I'm lost in your fairy-lands;
For the grown-up folk are a troublesome folk,
And the book of their childhood is torn!
Is blotted, and crumpled, and torn!
The music continues though the curtain rise on the first scene
in the mountains of Switzerland, showing grown-ups with problems which are first expressed unaccompanied by music: there is Daddy (an unsuccessful author), Mother (with domestic problems), the pension manageress Widow Jequier with residents that do not pay, old Miss Waghorn always searching for her long-lost brother, and Cousin Henry. The children identify with star constellations: Jane Anne the Pleiades
, Jimbo the Pole Star
, and Monkey with the Great
and Little Bear
. Cousin Henry is Orion
. The children are concerned that the adults who have become 'wumbled' (worried/muddled) need 'sympathy' in the form of star-dust.
There is incidental music but no songs in this Act, which has only one Scene.
Song
2. The Organ Grinder: "The Blue-Eyes Fairy"
There's a fairy that hides in the beautiful eyes
Of the children who treat her well;
In the little round hole where the eyeball lies
She weaves her magical Spell.
She is awfully tiny and shy to the sight,
But her magic's past believing,
For she fills you with light and with laughter,
It's the spell of her own sweet weaving.
But! the eyes must be blue,
And the heart must be true,
And the child must be better than gold!
And then if you'll let her,
The quicker the better
She'll make you forget that you're old.
So, if such a child you should chance to see,
Or with such a child to play,
No matter how tired or dull you be,
Nor how many tons you weigh
You will suddenly find that you're young again,
And your movements light and airy
And you'll try to be solemn and stiff in vain-
It's the spell of the Blue-Eyes Fairy.
The scene is concluded by an Entr’acte "In the Forest".
The curtain rises during the Entr’acte music.
Cousin Henry, Monkey and Jimbo are outside the Star-Cave at the edge of a pine-forest. The cave is too narrow for them to enter. They fall asleep. The Sprites appear and Night falls. The Organ-Grinder sings the Curfew Song. The Sprites hide.
Song
3. The Organ Grinder: "The Curfew Song"
The sun has gone;
The tide of stars is setting all our way,
The Pleiades call softly to Orion,
As nightly they have called these million years;
The children lie asleep; now let them out,
And, over-hearing,
We waft the fairy call into your dreams,
That you may swim upon that tide of gold
And list'ning in your hearts,
Just over-hear
That deep tremendous thunder
Signalling reply:
All's well!
Orion answering the Pleiades!
There is the Dance of the Pleiades as the curtain falls.
Scene 1 – Part 2
The curtain rises. It is now night-time and the children are awake. The introduction includes a violin and harp duet, and the "Little Bells" music from "The Wand of Youth".
The Sprites
descend from the Starlight Express: they are the Organ Grinder, the Sweep who sweeps worries away, the Dustman with the stardust of sympathy, the Lamplighter who lights up hope (and the stars), the Head Gardener who makes things grow, the Tramp with instinctive simplicity, and the 'Laugher' who sings troubles into joy. The Woman-of-the-Haystack is the mother of them all, borne on the winds.
Song
4. The Laugher: "I'm everywhere"
(laughs)
I'm everywhere,
The universal solvent of despair,
(laughs)
Ah! that sings away the half
Of ev'ry care because I laugh!
I laugh
Song
5. The Organ Grinder: "Come Little Winds"
Wake up, you little Night Winds :
Blow your best !
We want you all -
Ha-ha! that's East and West,
The North Wind too,
She always blows the strongest:
You all must draw your deepest breath and longest,
With open mouth!
Now go and blow the Haystack out of bed!
Whistle her dreams of straw across the sky
And whirl her canvas skirts about her head -
You can but try!
Go, sweep her to'ards the Cave, and break her trance:
Thick Mother of the Sprites -
She must get in:
Even a Haystack's elephantine dance
Is somewhere thin!
Is somewhere thin!
Interlude
The "Sun Dance" and "Moths and Butterflies" music from the "Wand of Youth
"
The prelude includes a quotation from the "Fairy Pipers" of "The Wand of Youth".
The Sprites enter the cave and scatter stardust on the sleeping villagers. The Dustman scatters the finest dust on the ancient Miss Waghorn, who rests from the search for her brother. The Lamplighter exits to tend "the fires that are going out round the world."
Song
6. The Laugher: "Tears and Laughter"
Oh! stars shine brightly!
He's sleeping tightly !
His pattern's pouring through!
Oh! Sprites come swiftly!
Unwumble deftly!
The world has need of you!
They'll listen to my song
And understand
That, exiled over long,
From Fairyland,
The weary world has rather lost its way!
Rather lost its way!
My secret's double,
For tears of trouble
Are really tears of laughter gone astray.
Song
7. Soprano (Jane Anne's song): "Dawn Song"
We shall meet the morning spiders,
The fairy cotton riders,
Each mounted, each mounted on a star's reflected ray.
With their tiny nets of feather.
They collect our thoughts together,
And on strips of windy weather bring the Day,
And on strips of windy weather bring the Day!
The curtain falls at the end of the scene.
Song
8. The Organ Grinder: "My Old Tunes"
My old tunes are rather broken
And they come from far away,
Bring just a little token
Of a long-forgotten day;
When the children came to listen,
T'other side the garden fence,
And my heart leapt out of prison
At the gift - of seven pence!
Just beyond the Haystack's shadow,
Long ago, that leafy June,
How they danced about the meadow
At the rising of the moon!
While from out a railway carriage,
Standing ready and alight,
Stepped their guests as to a marriage -
Asked to dine - and stay the night!
Sweep and Laugher danced together,
And a man who had a lamp
Capered lightly as a feather
With a lazy-looking Tramp;
When a Voice disturbed the Lancers:
"Children, come, it's time for bed"
Railway carriage, Sprites and Dancers
Flew up to the stars instead!
Now I am a Constellation,
Free from ev'ry earthly care,
Playing nightly at my station
For the Big and Little Bear.
But my tunes are still entrancing
As that night in leafy June,
When I caught the children dancing
With the Sprites beneath the moon!
Still the children come to hear me
In the lane or dingy street;
Still the heavy pavement near me
Flutters to their happy feet;
For my tunes are ne'er forgotten,
And they bring the scent of musk:
Grown-up folk may call 'em rotten,
But I'm looked for when it's dusk!
Song
9. Jane Anne: "Dandelions, daffodils"
Dandelions, daffodils,
Sheets of yaller roses,
Goldenrods and Marigolds,
Buttercups for posies!
The curtain closes for the Entr’acte which is the "Blue-Eyes Fairy" Waltz, and this is followed by the "Dance of the Pleiades".
Madame Jequier rejoices because Cousin Henry has secretly paid all the debts of her pension. Daddy enters, speaking through the "Starlight" music:
Song
10. The Laugher: "Laugh a little ev'ry day"
Laugh a little ev'ry day
At yourself, that is to say.
Plan it, seed it.
Millions want it.
Hark! Their dreams
Have split the seams.
Song
11. Organ Grinder: "The Dawn"
They're all soft-shiny now
The time draws near;
Their hearts are dusted
And the path's swept clear!
The tide of stars is setting all one way,
Bring on the dawn - yet not the dawn of day!
Incidental music, including the "Dance of the Pleides" and "Fairy Pipers" from "The Wand of Youth".
Song
12. Jane Anne: "Oh, think Beauty"
Oh, think Beauty,
It's your duty.
Ev'ry loving gentle thought
Of this fairy brilliance wrought.
While the busy Pleiades,
Sisters to the Hyades,
Seven by seven,
Across the Heaven.
Song
13. Jane Anne and Cousin Henry (Organ Grinder):
Jane Anne (Laugher):
Dustman, Laugher, Tramp and busy Sweep,
Head Gardener too,
The world now waking from her heavy sleep
Has need of You!
Gypsy, Lampman, come! take of our best,
Our sweetest dust
And sow earth's little gardens of unrest
With joy and trust -
For ev'ry hour
A golden flower,
For ev'ry hour
A golden flower,
Love, Laughter, Courage, Hope, and all the
Duet:
Jane Anne and Cousin Henry (Organ Grinder):
JA ( rest - - - - - -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)
CH( Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed )
( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)
( With your softest, sweetest )
( With your softest, sweetest best. )
( best - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
( Dust, that comes from very )
( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
( far. Ah! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
( Daddy's pattern, heart and brain )
( - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
( Sprinkle with the golden, golden )
( Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed . .)
( rain, with your softest, sweetest best )
( With your softest, sweetest golden dust! )
( - - dust, With your softest, sweetest, . . . )
( For the rising of the star.)
( For the rising of the star.)
The Star of Bethlehem rises while the melody of the Christmas carol
"The First Nowell" merges into the music.
", 5 January 1916. The reviewer, the drama critic Joseph Thorp, used to sign himself "T".
Curiously, Clytie Hine, 'The Laugher', gets no mention. The Musical Times thought well of her.
The Starlight Express
Daddy .............. O. B. Clarence
Mother ............. Ruth Maitland
Grannie ............ Una O'Connor
Jimbo ............... Ronald Hammond
Monkey ............ Elsie Hall
Jane Anne ........ Mercia Cameron
Cousin Henry .... Owen Roughwood
Mme Jequier ..... Juliette Mylo
Miss Waghorn ... Mary Barton
Tramp ............... Charles Mott
Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
, with songs and incidental music written by the English composer Sir 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 1915.
Production
On 9 November 1915 Sir Edward ElgarEdward 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...
was invited by Robin Legge, music critic of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, to write the music for a children's fantasy play to be produced at the Kingsway Theatre
Novelty Theatre
The Novelty Theatre was a London theatre. It was located on Great Queen Street, accessed off Little Queen Street until 1905, and from the new Kingsway road from 1905 onwards...
that Christmas. The play was "The Starlight Express", an adaptation of a novel by Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Blackwood
Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE was an English short story writer and novelist, one of the most prolific writers of ghost stories in the history of the genre. He was also a journalist and a broadcasting narrator. S. T...
called "A Prisoner in Fairyland", by Blackwood and Violet Pearn. The baritone and composer Clive Carey
Clive Carey
Francis Clive Savill Carey CBE , known as Clive Carey, was a British baritone, singing teacher, composer, opera producer and folk song collector.-Biography:Clive Carey was born at Sible Hedingham, Essex in 1883...
had already started his own setting, but abandoned it when Elgar was commissioned.
The producer was to be Basil Dean
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
: but since he had been called up for army service in France, he was replaced by the actress Lena Ashwell
Lena Ashwell
Lena Ashwell, OBE was a British actress and manager, known as the first to organize large-scale entertainment for troops at the front, which she did during World War I....
. Elgar was soon shown the script by Ashwell and had successful meetings with her and with Blackwood. The story appealed to Elgar because of its similarities to the private fantasy world of his own childhood which he had depicted in the music he wrote for The Wand of Youth; his first thought was to re-use that music, and he wove many reminiscences of it into the score. He worked on it enthusiastically, and in just over a month had produced over 300 pages of score - songs and incidental music - in time for the rehearsals. On 6 December the two chosen singers, the Australian-born soprano Clytie Hine and baritone Charles Mott
Charles James Mott
- Biography :Charles James Mott was born in Hornsey, North London, the son of Henry Isaac Mott, a surveyor's clerk, and Eliza Brockley, a singing teacher. He was one of a large family. His early music was as a choirboy at St. James' Church in Muswell Hill...
, rehearsed with Elgar.
The Starlight Express was produced by Lena Ashwell at the Kingsway Theatre in London, as one of her high-quality wartime entertainments. The production was announced in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, mentioning that the small orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
of the theatre would be enlarged to accommodate a full orchestra. It opened on 29 December 1915. The premiere was to have been the conducted by the composer, but because Lady Elgar had suffered concussion a few days before as the result of a traffic accident, he stayed at home with her, and the conductor was the young Julius Harrison
Julius Harrison
Julius Allan Greenway Harrison was an English composer who was best known as a conductor of operatic works.-Life and career:...
. It ran for only one month, closing on 29 January 1916.
The reasons for the failure were inappropriate design of the characters and scenery by Henry Wilson (who had been chosen and his work approved by Lena Ashwell), and the difficulty Pearn had in making something theatrical with her adaptation of the book. Both Blackwood and Elgar had expressed misgivings about the design, and Blackwood had considered using his right to object and get a new artist. Blackwood objected to "this murder of my simple little Play ... Arts & Crafts pretentious rubbish stitched onto your music by a silly crank who has never read the play". Elgar agreed. This would have meant postponement of the opening. The critics who reported their view of the opening night, while praising the music and particular performers, remarked on the lack of substance to the story. The music did not deserve to be forgotten. Elgar negotiated with The Gramophone Company
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
, and on 18 February 1916, the music was recorded on eight sides, with the songs performed by Agnes Nicholls
Agnes Nicholls
Agnes Nicholls was one of the greatest English sopranos of the 20th century, both in the concert hall and on the operatic stage....
and Charles Mott. Later that year the three Organ Grinder's Songs were published by Elkin, with a piano accompaniment arranged by Julius Harrison.
Cast of characters
Cast list:- Daddy ("John Henry Campden", an author)
- Mother (his wife "Henrietta")
- Jane Anne ("Jinny", their eldest daughter, aged 17)
- Monkey (their youngest daughter, aged 12)
- Jimbo (their son, aged 10)
- Grannie (Irish mother of Henrietta)
- Cousin Henry ("Henry Rogers", cousin of Daddy)
- Madame Jequier (a Widow, owner of the PensionPension (lodging)A pensione is a family-owned guest house or boarding house. This term is typically used in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, other Continental European countries, in areas of North Africa and the Middle East that formerly had large European expatriate populations, and in some parts of South America...
Wistaria) - Organ-Grinder (may also be the TrampTrampA tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. In British English meanwhile a tramp simply refers to a homeless person, usually not a travelling one....
) - Children ('Street ArabsStreet childrenA street child is a child who lives on the streets of a city, deprived of family care and protection. Most children on the streets are between the ages of about 5 and 17 years old.Street children live in junk boxes, parks or on the street itself...
') who accompany the Organ-Grinder before the curtain - Miss Waghorn and three other retired Governesses
- The PleiadesPleiades (star cluster)In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
(dancers) - SpritesSprite (creature)The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts. In Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books,...
: Tramp, LamplighterLamplighterA lamplighter, historically, was an employee of a town who lit street lights, generally by means of a wick on a long pole. At dawn, they would return and extinguish them using a small hook on the same pole. Early street lights were generally candles, oil, and similar consumable liquid or solid...
, Gardener, DustmanWaste collectorA waste collector is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and remove refuse and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection site for further processing and disposal...
, SweepChimney sweepA chimney sweep is a worker who clears ash and soot from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During...
, Woman-of-the-Haystack, Little Winds and Laugher
Songs
1. Organ Grinder (Baritone): "To the Children" - "O children, open your arms to me,"
Act II
2. Organ Grinder: "The Blue-Eyes Fairy" - "There's a fairy that hides"
Act II Scene 1
3. Organ Grinder: "Curfew Song" (Orion) - "The sun has gone"
4. Laugher (Soprano): "The Laugher's Song" - "I'm ev'rywhere"
5. Organ Grinder: "Come Little Winds" - "Wake up you little night winds"
Act II Scene 3
6. Laugher: "Tears and Laughter" - "Oh! stars shine brightly!"
7. Jane Anne (Soprano): "Sunrise Song" (or "Dawn Song") - "We shall meet the morning spiders"
Act III
8. Organ Grinder: "My Old Tunes" - "My old tunes are rather broken"
Act III Scene 1
9. Jane Anne: - "Dandelions, daffodils"
Act III Scene 2
10. Laugher: - "Laugh a little ev'ry day"
11. Organ Grinder: "The Dawn" - "They're all soft-shiny now"
12. Jane Anne: - "Oh, think Beauty"
Act III Finale
13. Jane Anne & Cousin Henry, duet: "Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed" - "Dustman, Laugher, Tramp and busy Sweep"
Musical quotations
From Elgar's The Wand of Youth Suites- The Little Bells (Scherzino) - in all Acts
- Fairy Pipers - in all Acts
- Sun Dance - interlude at the end of Act II
- Moths and Butterflies - introduction to Act II Scene 3
- March - in Act III
From Elgar's The Music Makers
- a sequence in Jane Anne's song at the end of Act II Scene 2
From the Christmas Carol The First Nowell
- at the end of Act III
Publications
- Piano Suite, arranged by Albert KetèlbeyAlbert KetèlbeyAlbert William Ketèlbey , born Ketelbey, was an English composer, conductor and pianist.-Biography:...
, pub. Elkin & Co. Ltd. London & New York, 1916- To the Children (Organ-Grinder's Song)
- Dance of the Pleiades
- Sunrise Song
- In the Forest
- "The Blue-Eyes Fairy" (Organ-Grinder's Song)
- Finale
- Organ Grinder's Songs, piano accompaniment arranged by Julius Harrison, pub. Elkin & Co. Ltd. London & New York, 1916
- 1. "To the Children"
- 2. "The Blue-Eyes Fairy"
- 3. "My Old Tunes"
Act I
After short musical overture, the Organ Grinder appears in front of the curtain and sings "To the Children". The Song (first at the words "eyes; Let me sleep a moment") includes self-quotations of "The Little Bells" music from "The Wand of Youth".Song
1. The Organ Grinder: "To the Children"
O children, open your arms to me,
Let your hair fall over my eyes;
Let me sleep a moment - and then awake
In your garden of sweet surprise !
For the grown up folk are a wearisome folk,
And they laugh all my fancies to scorn,
The grown up folk are a wearisome folk,
And they laugh all my fancies to scorn,
They laugh all my fancies to scorn.
O children, open your hearts to me,
And tell me your wonder thoughts,
Who lives in the palace inside your brain?
Who plays in its outer courts?
Who hides in the hours To-morrow holds?
Who sleeps in your Yesterdays?
Who tip-toes along past the curtained folds
Of the shadow that Twilight lays?
O children, open your eyes to me,
And tell me your visions too.
Who squeezes the sponge when the salt tears flow
To dim their magical blue?
Who brushes the fringe of their lace-veined lids?
Who trims their innocent light?
Who draws up the blinds when the sun peeps in?
Who fastens them down at night?
O children, I pray you speak low to me,
And cover my eyes with your hands.
O kiss me again till I sleep and dream
That I'm lost in your fairy-lands;
That I'm lost in your fairy-lands;
For the grown-up folk are a troublesome folk,
And the book of their childhood is torn!
Is blotted, and crumpled, and torn!
The music continues though the curtain rise on the first scene
Scene 1
The curtain rises on a family living in a pensionPension (lodging)
A pensione is a family-owned guest house or boarding house. This term is typically used in Portugal, France, Spain, Italy, other Continental European countries, in areas of North Africa and the Middle East that formerly had large European expatriate populations, and in some parts of South America...
in the mountains of Switzerland, showing grown-ups with problems which are first expressed unaccompanied by music: there is Daddy (an unsuccessful author), Mother (with domestic problems), the pension manageress Widow Jequier with residents that do not pay, old Miss Waghorn always searching for her long-lost brother, and Cousin Henry. The children identify with star constellations: Jane Anne the Pleiades
Pleiades (star cluster)
In astronomy, the Pleiades, or Seven Sisters , is an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot B-type stars located in the constellation of Taurus. It is among the nearest star clusters to Earth and is the cluster most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky...
, Jimbo the Pole Star
Pole star
The term "Pole Star" usually refers to Polaris, which is the current northern pole star, also known as the North Star.In general, however, a pole star is a visible star, especially a prominent one, that is approximately aligned with the Earth's axis of rotation; that is, a star whose apparent...
, and Monkey with the Great
Ursa Major
Ursa Major , also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can best be seen in April...
and Little Bear
Ursa Minor
Ursa Minor , also known as the Little Bear, is a constellation in the northern sky. Like the Great Bear, the tail of the Little Bear may also be seen as the handle of a ladle, whence the name Little Dipper...
. Cousin Henry is Orion
Orion (constellation)
Orion, often referred to as The Hunter, is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous, and most recognizable constellations in the night sky...
. The children are concerned that the adults who have become 'wumbled' (worried/muddled) need 'sympathy' in the form of star-dust.
There is incidental music but no songs in this Act, which has only one Scene.
Act II
Before the curtain opens, there is a short musical prelude, and the Organ Grinder sings the waltz-song "The Blue-Eyes Fairy".Song
2. The Organ Grinder: "The Blue-Eyes Fairy"
There's a fairy that hides in the beautiful eyes
Of the children who treat her well;
In the little round hole where the eyeball lies
She weaves her magical Spell.
She is awfully tiny and shy to the sight,
But her magic's past believing,
For she fills you with light and with laughter,
It's the spell of her own sweet weaving.
But! the eyes must be blue,
And the heart must be true,
And the child must be better than gold!
And then if you'll let her,
The quicker the better
She'll make you forget that you're old.
So, if such a child you should chance to see,
Or with such a child to play,
No matter how tired or dull you be,
Nor how many tons you weigh
You will suddenly find that you're young again,
And your movements light and airy
And you'll try to be solemn and stiff in vain-
It's the spell of the Blue-Eyes Fairy.
The scene is concluded by an Entr’acte "In the Forest".
Scene 1
Scene 1 – Part 1The curtain rises during the Entr’acte music.
Cousin Henry, Monkey and Jimbo are outside the Star-Cave at the edge of a pine-forest. The cave is too narrow for them to enter. They fall asleep. The Sprites appear and Night falls. The Organ-Grinder sings the Curfew Song. The Sprites hide.
Song
3. The Organ Grinder: "The Curfew Song"
The sun has gone;
The tide of stars is setting all our way,
The Pleiades call softly to Orion,
As nightly they have called these million years;
The children lie asleep; now let them out,
And, over-hearing,
We waft the fairy call into your dreams,
That you may swim upon that tide of gold
And list'ning in your hearts,
Just over-hear
That deep tremendous thunder
Signalling reply:
All's well!
Orion answering the Pleiades!
There is the Dance of the Pleiades as the curtain falls.
Scene 1 – Part 2
The curtain rises. It is now night-time and the children are awake. The introduction includes a violin and harp duet, and the "Little Bells" music from "The Wand of Youth".
The Sprites
Sprite (creature)
The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts. In Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books,...
descend from the Starlight Express: they are the Organ Grinder, the Sweep who sweeps worries away, the Dustman with the stardust of sympathy, the Lamplighter who lights up hope (and the stars), the Head Gardener who makes things grow, the Tramp with instinctive simplicity, and the 'Laugher' who sings troubles into joy. The Woman-of-the-Haystack is the mother of them all, borne on the winds.
Song
4. The Laugher: "I'm everywhere"
(laughs)
I'm everywhere,
The universal solvent of despair,
(laughs)
Ah! that sings away the half
Of ev'ry care because I laugh!
I laugh
Song
5. The Organ Grinder: "Come Little Winds"
Wake up, you little Night Winds :
Blow your best !
We want you all -
Ha-ha! that's East and West,
The North Wind too,
She always blows the strongest:
You all must draw your deepest breath and longest,
With open mouth!
Now go and blow the Haystack out of bed!
Whistle her dreams of straw across the sky
And whirl her canvas skirts about her head -
You can but try!
Go, sweep her to'ards the Cave, and break her trance:
Thick Mother of the Sprites -
She must get in:
Even a Haystack's elephantine dance
Is somewhere thin!
Is somewhere thin!
Interlude
The "Sun Dance" and "Moths and Butterflies" music from the "Wand of Youth
Wand of Youth
The Wand of Youth Suites No. 1 & No. 2 are works for full orchestra by the English composer Edward Elgar. The titles given them by Elgar were, in full:-History:...
"
Scene 2
PreludeThe prelude includes a quotation from the "Fairy Pipers" of "The Wand of Youth".
The Sprites enter the cave and scatter stardust on the sleeping villagers. The Dustman scatters the finest dust on the ancient Miss Waghorn, who rests from the search for her brother. The Lamplighter exits to tend "the fires that are going out round the world."
Scene 3
The Introduction while the curtain rises includes "Moths and Butterflies" from "The Wand of Youth".Song
6. The Laugher: "Tears and Laughter"
Oh! stars shine brightly!
He's sleeping tightly !
His pattern's pouring through!
Oh! Sprites come swiftly!
Unwumble deftly!
The world has need of you!
They'll listen to my song
And understand
That, exiled over long,
From Fairyland,
The weary world has rather lost its way!
Rather lost its way!
My secret's double,
For tears of trouble
Are really tears of laughter gone astray.
Song
7. Soprano (Jane Anne's song): "Dawn Song"
We shall meet the morning spiders,
The fairy cotton riders,
Each mounted, each mounted on a star's reflected ray.
With their tiny nets of feather.
They collect our thoughts together,
And on strips of windy weather bring the Day,
And on strips of windy weather bring the Day!
The curtain falls at the end of the scene.
Act III
After a short prelude which includes part of the "March" from "The Wand of Youth", The Organ Grinder sings "My Old Tunes".Song
8. The Organ Grinder: "My Old Tunes"
My old tunes are rather broken
And they come from far away,
Bring just a little token
Of a long-forgotten day;
When the children came to listen,
T'other side the garden fence,
And my heart leapt out of prison
At the gift - of seven pence!
Just beyond the Haystack's shadow,
Long ago, that leafy June,
How they danced about the meadow
At the rising of the moon!
While from out a railway carriage,
Standing ready and alight,
Stepped their guests as to a marriage -
Asked to dine - and stay the night!
Sweep and Laugher danced together,
And a man who had a lamp
Capered lightly as a feather
With a lazy-looking Tramp;
When a Voice disturbed the Lancers:
"Children, come, it's time for bed"
Railway carriage, Sprites and Dancers
Flew up to the stars instead!
Now I am a Constellation,
Free from ev'ry earthly care,
Playing nightly at my station
For the Big and Little Bear.
But my tunes are still entrancing
As that night in leafy June,
When I caught the children dancing
With the Sprites beneath the moon!
Still the children come to hear me
In the lane or dingy street;
Still the heavy pavement near me
Flutters to their happy feet;
For my tunes are ne'er forgotten,
And they bring the scent of musk:
Grown-up folk may call 'em rotten,
But I'm looked for when it's dusk!
Scene 1
The curtain rises on Jane Anne.Song
9. Jane Anne: "Dandelions, daffodils"
Dandelions, daffodils,
Sheets of yaller roses,
Goldenrods and Marigolds,
Buttercups for posies!
The curtain closes for the Entr’acte which is the "Blue-Eyes Fairy" Waltz, and this is followed by the "Dance of the Pleiades".
Scene 2
The final scene is the Pine forest by night, before the Star Cave.Madame Jequier rejoices because Cousin Henry has secretly paid all the debts of her pension. Daddy enters, speaking through the "Starlight" music:
Song
10. The Laugher: "Laugh a little ev'ry day"
Laugh a little ev'ry day
At yourself, that is to say.
Plan it, seed it.
Millions want it.
Hark! Their dreams
Have split the seams.
Song
11. Organ Grinder: "The Dawn"
They're all soft-shiny now
The time draws near;
Their hearts are dusted
And the path's swept clear!
The tide of stars is setting all one way,
Bring on the dawn - yet not the dawn of day!
Incidental music, including the "Dance of the Pleides" and "Fairy Pipers" from "The Wand of Youth".
Song
12. Jane Anne: "Oh, think Beauty"
Oh, think Beauty,
It's your duty.
Ev'ry loving gentle thought
Of this fairy brilliance wrought.
While the busy Pleiades,
Sisters to the Hyades,
Seven by seven,
Across the Heaven.
Finale
The stone is rolled away from the Star-cave. The scene is brightened by the entrance of the Sprites, and the humans enter. The ghost of Miss Waghorn enters 'clothed in light'.Song
13. Jane Anne and Cousin Henry (Organ Grinder):
Jane Anne (Laugher):
Dustman, Laugher, Tramp and busy Sweep,
Head Gardener too,
The world now waking from her heavy sleep
Has need of You!
Gypsy, Lampman, come! take of our best,
Our sweetest dust
And sow earth's little gardens of unrest
With joy and trust -
For ev'ry hour
A golden flower,
For ev'ry hour
A golden flower,
Love, Laughter, Courage, Hope, and all the
Duet:
Jane Anne and Cousin Henry (Organ Grinder):
JA ( rest - - - - - -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)
CH( Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed )
( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .)
( With your softest, sweetest )
( With your softest, sweetest best. )
( best - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
( Dust, that comes from very )
( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
( far. Ah! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
( Daddy's pattern, heart and brain )
( - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -)
( Sprinkle with the golden, golden )
( Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed . .)
( rain, with your softest, sweetest best )
( With your softest, sweetest golden dust! )
( - - dust, With your softest, sweetest, . . . )
( For the rising of the star.)
( For the rising of the star.)
The Star of Bethlehem rises while the melody of the Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...
"The First Nowell" merges into the music.
Contemporary Review
Review from the weekly magazine "PunchPunch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
", 5 January 1916. The reviewer, the drama critic Joseph Thorp, used to sign himself "T".
Curiously, Clytie Hine, 'The Laugher', gets no mention. The Musical Times thought well of her.
The Starlight Express
Daddy .............. O. B. Clarence
Mother ............. Ruth Maitland
Ruth Maitland
-Selected filmography:* The Faithful Heart * The Farmer's Wife * Bed and Breakfast * Aren't Men Beasts! * At the Villa Rose * The Second Mr. Bush * It Happened to One Man...
Grannie ............ Una O'Connor
Una O'Connor
Una O'Connor was an Irish actress who worked extensively in theatre before becoming a notable character actress in film.-Life and work:...
Jimbo ............... Ronald Hammond
Monkey ............ Elsie Hall
Jane Anne ........ Mercia Cameron
Cousin Henry .... Owen Roughwood
Mme Jequier ..... Juliette Mylo
Miss Waghorn ... Mary Barton
Tramp ............... Charles Mott
Charles James Mott
- Biography :Charles James Mott was born in Hornsey, North London, the son of Henry Isaac Mott, a surveyor's clerk, and Eliza Brockley, a singing teacher. He was one of a large family. His early music was as a choirboy at St. James' Church in Muswell Hill...
Legacy
- The Starlight Express was not the only collaboration of Blackwood and Pearn. Note
- Karma: A Re-Incarnation Play in Prologue, Epilogue & Three Acts. London: Macmillan, 1918 and New York: E.P. Dutton, 1918. "A love story re-enacted through four existences."
- Through The Crack (an adaptation of The Education of Uncle Paul by Blackwood). London and New York: Samuel French. Produced at Christmas 1920, then in 1925.
- On 22 May 1918, Lance Corporal Charles James Mott, the successful singer in that first production of The Starlight Express was in the London Regiment (Artists' Rifles) when he was mortally wounded by a German shell-burst. He was 37. Elgar, writing to a friend, said "It is difficult to believe that Charles Mott is dead; dead of wounds in France. I am overwhelmed: a simple, honest GOOD soul."
- In 1933 the conductor Joseph Lewis constructed from the score a 40-minute selection from The Starlight Express which he conducted in several BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
radio broadcasts. But his score and other valuable BBC material was destroyed in an air-raid in 1940.
- In September 1940 the Kingsway Theatre was damaged by fire in an air raid. All The Starlight Express stage props and music (conductor's score and orchestra parts) was destroyed. However, Elgar had left his manuscript full score of the music with the publishers, Messrs Elkin & Co., and apart from memories and reviews, this became the only surviving remnant. Fortunately this score also contained many of his own written notes on the performance. The score is signed "Edward Elgar, Finis, A.E. December 1915" - A. E. was his wife's initials, and Elgar, typically doubled the pun with the inscription "AE 15" (abbreviated Latin "AETATIS 15", English "Age 15"): he was a child again!
- In 1984 Richard Adams provided a 'performing narrative' to accompany a performance of Elgar's score in Holland. The narrator for the occasion was composer Michael Berkeley.
Recordings
- On 18–19 February 1916, a selection of the songs and music were given an acoustic recording at the HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
Studios, Hayes, by The Gramophone CompanyGramophone CompanyThe Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
. The singers were Charles MottCharles James Mott- Biography :Charles James Mott was born in Hornsey, North London, the son of Henry Isaac Mott, a surveyor's clerk, and Eliza Brockley, a singing teacher. He was one of a large family. His early music was as a choirboy at St. James' Church in Muswell Hill...
and Agnes NichollsAgnes NichollsAgnes Nicholls was one of the greatest English sopranos of the 20th century, both in the concert hall and on the operatic stage....
, and Elgar conducted the "Symphony Orchestra". There were four 12-inch records (D455-8): (1) To the Children and The Blue-Eyes Fairy (Mott); (2) My Old Tunes and Curfew Song (Mott); (3) Come Little Winds (Mott), Wind Dance (orchestra), Tears and Laughter and Sunrise Song (Nicholls); (4) The Laugher's Song (Nicholls) and Finale - Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed (Nicholls and Mott).
- In December 1935, four of the songs were recorded at the HMV Studios, Hayes, by The Gramophone Company. The singers were Stuart Robertson and his wife Alice Moxon. It is not known who conducted the orchestra. The songs were To the Children, The Laugher's Song, The Blue-Eyes Fairy and My Old Tunes.
- On 26 September 1946, two of the Organ Grinder's songs (My old tunes and To the Children) were recorded at Decca StudiosDecca StudiosDecca Studios was a recording facility in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead, North London, England.Famously, The Beatles failed their audition with Decca Records at the location on 1 January 1962, and subsequently signed with Parlophone instead....
in London. The singer was Henry Cummings, with an orchestra conducted by Charles GrovesCharles GrovesSir Charles Barnard Groves CBE was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors....
(in his first recording session).
- In 1964 EMIEMIThe 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...
/HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
released The Miniature Elgar inspired by the BBC-TV Monitor film. It included the songs My old Tunes and To the Children, performed by Frederick Harvey with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lawrance Collingwood.
- In 1973, Chandos RecordsChandos RecordsChandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
recorded some of the songs, performed by John Lawrenson and Cynthia Glover, with Michael Austin (organ) and the Bournemouth SinfoniettaBournemouth SinfoniettaThe Bournemouth Sinfonietta was a chamber orchestra founded in 1968 as an off-shoot of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.-Formation:The orchestra was initially conducted by George Hurst, who acted as artistic adviser, and Nicholas Braithwaite, in order to perform the classical repertoire in the...
conducted by George HurstGeorge HurstGeorge Hurst is a British conductor.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh in 1926, Hurst studied at Bishops College School in Lennoxville, Quebec and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto Canada....
. The songs were To the Children, The Blue-Eyes Fairy, The Laugher's Song, Tears and Laughter, The Dawn Song, My Old Tunes, Jane Anne's song and Finale.
- In 1974-1975, a complete recording was made by EMIEMIThe 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...
/HMVHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
on 28/29 November 1974, 20/22 December 1974 and 22 October 1975. This was at Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, London. The singers were Derek Hammond-StroudDerek Hammond-StroudDerek Hammond-Stroud, OBE is an English opera singer best known for his performances of German lieder and opera.-Life and career:...
and Valerie MastersonValerie MastersonMargaret Valerie Masterson , is a retired English opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera. After study in Italy, she began to sing opera in Europe...
, with the London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
conducted by Vernon HandleyVernon HandleyVernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his...
.
- In December 1990 some of the songs were recorded by Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. The singers were Bryn TerfelBryn TerfelBryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
and Alison Hagley, with the Welsh National OperaWelsh National OperaWelsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
Chorus and Welsh National Opera Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles MackerrasCharles MackerrasSir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
. The songs were To the Children, The Blue-Eyes Fairy, The Laugher's Song, Come Little Winds, Tears and Laughter, The Dawn Song, My Old Tunes, Jane Anne's song and Finale.
- In 1997, the 1990 Decca recording of 'The Starlight Express' was remastered.
- The Starlight Express London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vernon HandleyVernon HandleyVernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his...
, with Valerie MastersonValerie MastersonMargaret Valerie Masterson , is a retired English opera singer, a lecturer and Vice-President of British Youth Opera. After study in Italy, she began to sing opera in Europe...
(soprano) and Derek Hammond-StroudDerek Hammond-StroudDerek Hammond-Stroud, OBE is an English opera singer best known for his performances of German lieder and opera.-Life and career:...
(baritone) - The Starlight Express Suite Cynthia Glover (Soprano), John Lawrenson (Baritone), Bournemouth Sinfonietta conducted by George HurstGeorge HurstGeorge Hurst is a British conductor.-Biography:Born in Edinburgh in 1926, Hurst studied at Bishops College School in Lennoxville, Quebec and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto Canada....
. Tracks: To the Children, The Blue-Eyes Fairy, The Laugher's Song, O stars shine brightly, The Dawn Song, My Old Tunes, Jane Anne's song and Finale. Chandos CHAN6582
External links
- Elgar and the occult
- The Starlight Express, Op. 78 by Sir Edward Elgar Song texts and recordings
- Elgar Society page: The Starlight Express
- Elgar on Radio 3: The Starlight Express
- Mott - Elgar's Baritone Mott and The Starlight Express