CANTO POPOLARE

---a little chapel by a group of pine trees, Classical in style, like a temple, it was falling into ruin and the sudden impact of its beauty silenced us'. Relating the events of a January afternoon with the Elgar family in the Vale of Andorra in 1904, Rosa Burley describes the composer's inspiration for the Concert Overture In the South (Alassio), which was performed in March of that year at the three-day Elgar festival at Covent Garden. The unexpected appearance of a passing shepherd completed the picture, and led to the inclusion of the simple folk-like tune, Elgar's own, which forms the interlude at the heart of this work. By the end of the year Elgar had given this tune a life of its own, firstly as a song, setting Shelley's words 'As the moon's soft splendour' under the title In Moonlight, and then as a salon piece entitled Canto Popolare. Like the popular Salut d'Amour it appeared in numerous instrumental versions from small orchestra to piano solo, including violin, viola, cello and clarinet. The arrangements for violin, cello and clarinet, like that for small orchestra, are in F major. The viola version is in C major, the key in which the tune appears in the overture. Slight discrepancies between the two piano parts suggest that at least one of these was arranged by someone other than Elgar, and this has permitted some minor tidying-up of phrasing in the present edition. Elgar did, however, send corrected proofs - presumably scores as well as parts - to Jaeger on 29 September 1904, noting that he had himself phrased the clarinet part and requesting Jaeger's wife (the violinist Isabella Donkersley) to edit the others. In the event the names of three of Elgar's professional colleagues - Alfred Hobday (viola), W.H. Squire (cello) and Charles Draper (clarinet) - appeared on the printed parts, though in the last case at least the words 'edited by' seem hardly to have been justified. Draper's contribution was to suggest that the piece would lie better on the clarinet in A natural rather than on the clarinet in B flat, and the part was accordingly re-engraved. Draper's judgement, however, was a personal one, and in this edition the part has been printed for both B flat and A clarinets, leaving the performer a choice. - Colin Bradbury and Oliver Davies

Digital Delivery Details

You will receive two separate emails: one which contains the order confirmation and receipt; one which includes the links to your downloaded products.
You will also find these links within the My Account area of the website - click on the relevant order number within the Downloads tab to find them. For this reason it is mandatory to register for, or log in to, your online account in order to purchase/retrieve Digital Editions.

Digital Editions are watermarked on every page with the purchaser’s name, email address, order date and order number.

You have 2 attempts to download each PDF. If you have any problems downloading the files, or both attempts are unsuccessful, please Contact us giving full details of the problems you've experienced and we'll do our best to resolve the issue.

PLEASE NOTE:
- Digital editions cannot be downloaded onto a mobile phone.
- Please ensure that you check all your details are correct before confirming your order.
- We cannot refund Digital Editions where a download has been attempted.
- Digital Editions are for individual use only and NOT for resale.