The Severn Suite
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The Severn Suite, Opus 87, is a musical work written by
Sir 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 a late composition, written in 1930, the result of an invitation to write a test piece for the National Brass Band Championship. It was dedicated to his friend, the author and critic
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
. There are five movements, which follow each other without breaks: # Introduction (Worcester Castle) - ''Pomposo'' # Toccata (Tournament) - ''Allegro molto'' # Fugue (The Cathedral) - ''Andante'' # Minuet (Commandery) - ''Moderato'' # Coda - ''Lento - Pomposo'' The
Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...
of the title is the name of the river which runs through the centre of the city of
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
where Elgar spent his childhood and lived later. The subtitles refer to historic places in the city. These subtitles were not devised by Elgar himself but were later added to the Military Band arrangement published in 1931. Of the five movements, the ''Fugue'' is a reworking of a recent but unpublished piano piece, ''Fugue in C minor'' (1923). The ''Minuet'' is based on wind chamber works written in the 1870s. Many reference books assert that ''The Severn Suite'' was entirely based on "old sketches" but the remaining three movements are, so far as is known, original compositions.


History

The work was commissioned by Herbert Whiteley of the National Brass Band Championship committee and head of the brass band publishers R. Smith & Company. Although it is likely that Elgar originally expected only to supply a "short score" to be orchestrated by a brass band expert, in fact Elgar ultimately performed all the orchestration himself. Henry Geehl, a brass band composer and employee of R.Smith, later claimed to have orchestrated the piece, giving a highly circumstantial account of his involvement to several newspapers. However, in 1995 the original manuscript, entirely in Elgar's hand, resurfaced at auction — its emergence demonstrates that Geehl's longstanding claim to have orchestrated the work was in fact fraudulent. The manuscript was subsequently acquired by the Elgar Birthplace Museum, where it now resides. The first performance was at the National Brass Band Championship at the
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 ...
on 27 September 1930, which was won by the Foden's Motor Works Band. They then recorded excerpts from the work. It was published by R. Smith & Co. that year. Following an invitation to record the work, the composer arranged it for symphony orchestra in 1931, and this had its first performance on 14 April 1932 with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. The full score of this version, first published by Acuta Music in 1991, was based on a handwritten publisher’s fair copy. This publication was subsequently revised following the reappearance of the composer”s original orchestral MS in 2010. Elgar's friend
Ivor Atkins Sir Ivor Algernon Atkins (29 November 1869 – 26 November 1953) was the choirmaster and organist at Worcester Cathedral from 1897 to 1950, as well as a composer of songs, church music, service settings and anthems. He is best known for editi ...
suggested that the Suite should be transcribed for organ. Elgar asked Atkins to work with him on the arrangement. The resulting work was completed in 1932 and published as Elgar's 'Second Organ Sonata'.Performance by Andrew Dewar, 3 August 2011
/ref> In 2019 Professor Stephen Arthur Allen (Rider University) prepared a new 90th Anniversary Critical Edition of the brass band score correcting all errors made by Geehl when preparing the original published version of 1930.


Instrumentation

; Brass band: :
Soprano cornet The soprano cornet is a transposing brass instrument similar to the standard B cornet but pitched a fourth higher in E. A single soprano cornet is usually seen in brass bands and silver bands and can be found playing lead or descant parts in ...
, solo cornet, repiano cornet & flugelhorn, 2nd & 3rd cornets, solo
tenor horn The tenor horn (British English; alto horn in American English, Althorn in Germany; occasionally referred to as E horn) is a brass instrument in the saxhorn family and is usually pitched in E. It has a bore that is mostly conical, like the flug ...
, 1st & 2nd tenor horns, 1st & 2nd baritones, 1st & 2nd tenor trombones, bass trombone,
euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" o ...
, E and B
basses Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass ...
, drums (
side drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used in ...
, cymbals, bass drum). ; Symphony orchestra: : Piccolo, 2 flutes, 2
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...
s, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in B, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s in B, 3
trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
s,
tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
,
timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...
,
side drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used in ...
, cymbals, bass drum and strings.


Arrangements

In addition to the composer's orchestral and brass versions * Military band, arr. Henry Geehl (1931), pub. Keith Prowse * Organ, arr.
Ivor Atkins Sir Ivor Algernon Atkins (29 November 1869 – 26 November 1953) was the choirmaster and organist at Worcester Cathedral from 1897 to 1950, as well as a composer of songs, church music, service settings and anthems. He is best known for editi ...
as Elgar's ''Organ Sonata No. 2, Opus 87a'' (1933), pub. Keith Prowse * Concert Band, trans.
Alfred Reed Alfred Reed (January 25, 1921 – September 17, 2005) was an American neoclassical composer, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble to his name. He also traveled extensively as a ...
(1973), pub. Sam Fox, Inc.


Recordings


The Severn Suite - 90th Anniversary Critical Edition
Prof. Stephen Arthur Allen with the Princeton Brass band


Notes


References

*Allen, Stephen Arthur (Spring, 2019) . 'Sepia Tones and Ghosts Pictured Within: Late Style and Elgar's ''The Severn Suite''', The Musical Times pp1–32 * * * * *


External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Severn Suite, The Suites by Edward Elgar 1930 compositions Compositions for brass band Orchestral suites Worcestershire in fiction