''The Torch'' is a song written 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 ...

in 1909 as his Op.60, No.1. The manuscript is dated 23 December 1909. On the title-page, the song is dedicated "To YVONNE," and it is described as a "Folk-Song (Eastern Europe), paraphrased by Pietro d’Alba and Edward Elgar."Pietro d’Alba (alias Peter Rabbit) was Elgar’s pseudonym for himself It was one of a set of a cycle of four songs that he planned, to his own words. It was shortly after writing the song '' A Child Asleep'' for

Muriel Foster Muriel Foster (22 November 187723 December 1937) was an English contralto, excelling in oratorio. '' Grove's Dictionary'' describes her voice as "one of the most beautiful voices of her time". Muriel Foster was born in Sunderland in 1877. She w ...

, a few days before the Christmas of 1909 that Elgar received the news of the death of a friend, the soprano Olga Ouroussoff, the young wife of

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hund ...

. The inspiration for the songs was the result of this news. Only the first song of the cycle, ''The Torch'' and the last, '' The River'' were written. The song was orchestrated in July 1912 and, with its companion song '' The River'', it was first performed by

at the Hereford Music Festival on 11 September 1912.

Lyrics

THE TORCH ::Come, O my love ! :::Come, fly to me ; ::All my soul :::Cries out for thee : ::Haste to thy home,- :::I long for thee, :::Faint for thee, :::Worship thee ::Only, - but Come ! Dark is the wood,- :The track's ever lonely and gray ; But joyous the blaze :That welcomes and shows thee the way. ::Come, O my love ! :::Come, fly to me : ::All my soul :::Cries out for thee ! ::Haste to thy rest,- :::I long for thee, :::Sigh for thee, :::Faint for thee; ::Come to my breast. Cold is the stream,- :The ford is a danger to thee : My heart is aflame, :As the beacon that lights thee to me. ::Come, O my love ! :::Come, fly to me ! ::All my soul :::Cries out for thee : ::Haste to thy home,- :::I long for thee, :::Faint for thee, :::Worship thee ::Only,- but Come ! ::::::::''Pietro d’Alba.'' ::::::From a Folk-Song (Eastern Europe)

Recordings

The Songs of Edward Elgar SOMM CD 220
Neil Mackie (tenor) with Malcolm Martineau (piano), at Southlands College, London, April 1999

Notes

References

*Banfield, Stephen, ''Sensibility and English Song: Critical studies of the early 20th century'' (Cambridge University Press, 1985) *Kennedy, Michael, ''Portrait of Elgar'' (Oxford University Press, 1968) *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torch, The Songs by Edward Elgar 1909 songs