Overture in D minor (Handel, arr. Elgar)

The Overture in D minor (Handel, arr. Elgar) is a transcription made in 1923 by Sir Edward Elgar of a musical work by George Frideric Handel composed in 1717-18.

The transcription is an arrangement for full orchestra of the overture to Chandos Anthem No. 2 (HWV247) "In the Lord put I my Trust", which Handel wrote when he was resident composer for the Duke of Chandos at Cannons house.

History

The transcription was first performed at the Worcester Festival on 2 September 1923, conducted by the composer.^[1] It was recorded a month after the first performance.^[2] Elgar's friend W. H. Reed wrote of Elgar's enthusiasm for Handel: '...he would speak of Handel with tears in his eyes... would rub his hands gleefully and look up to heaven at the thought of Handel's genius'.^[3] Elgar wrote to John E. West, music editor at Novello & Co., that he had known the overture since he was a little boy and always wanted it to be heard in a large form.^[4]

Elgar's arrangement followed two orchestrations of works by another composer he admired: he transcribed J. S. Bach's Fugue in C minor in 1921 and the Fantasia in C minor in 1922.

The Overture in D minor was published by Novello & Co. in 1923.

Instrumentation

Handel scored it for a small orchestra with first and second violins, oboe, and basso continuo.

Elgar's arrangement is written for a full symphony orchestra consisting of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in B♭, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, side drum), string section, and organ (ad. lib.).^[5]

References

Citations

1. Kennedy 1987, pp. 355–356.
2. McVeagh 2007, p. 187: "Elgar ... conducted its first performance on 2 September 1923 ... he valued it enough to record it the next month."
3. Reed 1989, p. 43.
4. Moore 1984, p. 765: "[Elgar] wrote to Novello's music editor John E. West: 'I have known the overture ... since I was a little boy and always wanted it to be heard in a large form."
5. Novello & Co., full score

Sources

• Kennedy, Michael (1987). Portrait of Elgar (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-284017-7.
• McVeagh, Diana M. (2007). Elgar the Music Maker. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-295-9.
• Moore, Jerrold N. (1984). Edward Elgar: A Creative Life. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-315447-1.
• Reed, W. H. (1989) [First published 1936]. Elgar as I knew him (Second ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-282257-8.