''Idylle'' is a piece for violin and piano composed by

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 ...

in 1884, as his Opus 4, No. 1. Appended to the title is the description , which means "Easy Sketch". It was Elgar's first published work. It is dedicated to "Miss E. E., Inverness", and first published by Beare & Son in 1885. John Beare was the brother-in-law of Elgar's friend Dr. Charles Buck. Elgar was a young unmarried man of 27 when he met the "Miss E. E." of the dedication whilst on holiday in Scotland in the summer of 1884. It is notable that she shared his initials. He recorded four meetings with her in a diary, but did not reveal her name: the first meeting was on a loch boat to

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

, and the final meeting was at

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, with flowers from him before a last adieu. The work was composed when he returned home from the holiday. It seems appropriate and may be significant that the music contains the

Scotch snap The Lombard rhythm or Scotch snap is a syncopated musical rhythm in which a short, accented note is followed by a longer one. This reverses the pattern normally associated with dotted notes or ''notes inégales'', in which the longer value preced ...

rhythm at the end of the principal subject. The work was later published by Ashdown in 1910.Kennedy, p. 278

Arrangements

''Idylle'' was arranged for orchestra by

Henry Geehl Henry Ernest Geehl ronounced 'Gale'(28 September 188114 January 1961) was an English pianist, conductor, composer and arranger. Born in London in 1881, Geehl studied piano with Benno Schönberger and R. O. Morgan in London, and with Anton Sch ...

Notes

References

* * {{Authority control Compositions by Edward Elgar 1884 compositions