Edward Elgar’s (Midland) Musical Footprints
My, that’s a fine moustache!
Edward Elgar may not be a familiar name to many, but it’s likely you know some of his compositions. He wrote ‘Land of Hope and Glory’. His grand-daughter married the pioneer of the Sunday School movement.
If you’re a fan of Last Night of the Proms, you may like to know that it was in Herefordshire that he wrote the Pomp and Circumstance March. If you think you don’t know it – you do! Take a listen.
One of the first composers to embrace recorded music, he was also quite eccentric. He named his bicycle (Mr Phoebus) and created handmade soap (a bit dangerous, due to caustic soda).
He was an avid fan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and would cycle 40 miles from his home in the Malverns, to watch them play. He even wrote England’s first national anthem (no doubt more lyrical than ‘It’s coming home, it’s coming home, football’s coming home!.)
He had a very happy marriage to his wife (who was cut off from her family, for marrying a Catholic). He adored dogs, and even wrote music dedicated to them.
Elgar first discovered Herefordshire as a young man. He often travelled by bicycle from his home in Worcester, soaking in the rural scenery. Locals still remember stories of Elgar sitting under the trees, jotting down themes that would appear in his music.
