''Salut d'Amour'' (''Liebesgruß''), Op. 12, is a musical work 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 1888, originally written for violin and piano.

History

Elgar finished the piece in July 1888, when he was romantically involved with Caroline Alice Roberts, and he called it ''"Liebesgruss"'' ('Love's Greeting') because of Miss Roberts' fluency in German. On their engagement she had already presented him with a poem "''

The Wind at Dawn "The Wind at Dawn" is a poem written by Caroline Alice Roberts, and set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1888. History The poem was written in 1880 by Roberts before she had met Elgar, though they were married in the year after ...

''" which he set to music and, when he returned home to London on 22 September from a holiday at the house of his friend Dr. Charles Buck in

Settle Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ''S ...

, he gave her ''Salut d'Amour'' as an engagement present. The dedication was in French: ''"à Carice"''. ''"Carice"'' was a combination of his wife's names ''Car''oline Al''ice'', and was the name to be given to their daughter born two years later. It was published a year later by Schott & Co., a German publisher, with offices in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. The first published editions were for violin and piano, piano solo, cello and piano, and for small orchestra. Few copies were sold until Schott changed the title to ''"Salut d'Amour"'' with ''Liebesgruss'' as a sub-title, and the composer's name as 'Ed. Elgar'. The French title, Elgar realised, would help the work to be sold not only in France but in other European countries. The first public performance was of the orchestral version, at a

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building * ...

concert on 11 November 1889, conducted by

August Manns Sir August Friedrich Manns (12 March 1825 – 1 March 1907) was a German-born British conductor who made his career in England. After serving as a military bandmaster in Germany, he moved to England and soon became director of music at London' ...

. The first recording of that version was made in 1915 for

The Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the ''His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the European ...

with an orchestra conducted by the composer. As a violin-and-piano piece ''Salut d'Amour'' had been recorded for The

Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early record company, recording companies, the parent organisation for the ''His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, a ...

(predecessor to The Gramophone Company) as early as 1901 by Jacques Jacobs, leader/director of the Trocadero Restaurant orchestra.

Auguste van Biene Auguste van Biene (16 May 1849 – 23 January 1913) was a Dutch composer, cellist and actor. He became best known for his composition ''The Broken Melody'', performed by the composer as part of a musical play of the same name. Van Biene gre ...

recorded a

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

transcription in 1907.

Legacy

''"Salut d'amour"'' is one of Elgar's best-known works and has inspired numerous arrangements for widely varying instrumental combinations. There are also versions with lyrics in different languages, for example the song ''"Woo thou, Sweet Music"'' with words by A. C. Bunten,Alice Chambers Bunten, scholar, author and lyricist for many songs, well known for her ''Life of Alice Barnham, Wife of Sir Francis Bacon'' (London: Oliphants Ltd., 1928). She translated the ''Wesendonck-Lieder'' of Wagner. and ''"Violer"'' (Pansies) in Swedish.

Notes

References

* Kennedy, Michael, ''Portrait of Elgar'' (Oxford University Press, Third ed., 1987) * Moore, Jerrold N. ''Edward Elgar: a creative life'' (Oxford University Press, 1984)

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Edward Elgar 1888 compositions Chamber music compositions Compositions in E major