''Canto Popolare'' is an arrangement for

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

with piano accompaniment, made by the English composer

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

. It is from the viola solo in the central section of his concert-overture ''

In the South (Alassio) ''In the South (Alassio)'', Op. 50, is a concert overture composed by Edward Elgar during a family holiday in Italy in the winter of 1903 to 1904. He was working on a symphony, but the local atmosphere inspired him instead to write what some ha ...

'', written in 1904. Following the success of the overture, Elgar was asked to make arrangements of the melody for any instrument: the most important being the version for viola with piano accompaniment, edited by the violist Alfred Hobday. The vocal version, " In Moonlight", was set to words by

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

. Other versions were for small orchestra; and for violin, cello and clarinet accompanied by piano. The composer sent corrected proofs of the arrangements to the publisher

Novello & Co Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

at the end of September 1904. "Canto popolare" (Italian) means "

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

" and the melody has been described as coming from a Neapolitan love song. Elgar first suggested that the melody had come from a popular Italian song, but later admitted that it was his own invention.

Recordings

Solo with piano accompaniment *''Salut d'Amour & other Elgar favourities'' -

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and he has since expanded into jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and background Kenn ...

(violin), Peter Pettinger (piano) (1984); Chandos *Vellinger String Quartet – James Boyd (viola),

Piers Lane Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. His performance career has taken him to more than 40 countries. His concerto repertoire exceeds 75 works. Early life Lane's English father and Australian mother met while au ...

(piano); Classics for Pleasure (1994) *''Heartache, An Anthology of English Viola Music'' – Dame Avril Piston (viola), Shamonia Harpa (piano); Guild GmbH; GMCD 7275 (2004) *''The Art of the Clarinettist'' – Colin Bradbury (clarinet) and Oliver Davies (piano); Clarinet Classics CC0008

Videos

The viola serenade section from "In the South" * Unknown soloist with the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

conducted by

Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, wi ...

, Bedford Corn Exchange, 1944 * Giovanni Pasini (viola) with the

Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra The Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO; ms, Orkestra Filharmonik Malaysia) is a Malaysian orchestra based in Kuala Lumpur. The orchestra is resident at the Petronas Philharmonic Hall (Dewan Filharmonik Petronas). It is one of Asia's leading ...

conducted by Paul Mann, Kuala Lumpur, 2008

References

* * Compositions by Edward Elgar Compositions for viola 1904 compositions {{classical-composition-stub