''Le drapeau belge'' ''("The Belgian Flag")'' is a recitation with orchestral accompaniment 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 ...

as his Op. 79, in 1917. The words are by the Belgian poet

Émile Cammaerts Émile Leon Cammaerts CBE (16 March 1878 in Saint-Gilles, Belgium – 2 November 1953, Radlett, Hertfordshire) was a Belgian playwright, poet (including war poet) and author who wrote primarily in English and French. Cammaerts translated three b ...

. The poem reflects on the wartime meaning of the colours of the

Belgian flag The national flag of Belgium ( nl, vlag van België, french: drapeau de la Belgique, german: Flagge Belgiens) is a tricolour consisting of three equal vertical bands displaying the national colours of Belgium: black, yellow, and red. The colours ...

. It was first performed at the birthday concert for

King Albert I Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-S ...

in the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it ...

, London, on 14 April 1917, with the recitation by Belgian dramatic performer Carlo Liten, and the orchestra conducted by

Hamilton Harty Sir Herbert Hamilton Harty (4 December 1879 – 19 February 1941) was an Irish composer, conductor, pianist and organist. After an early career as a church organist in his native Ireland, Harty moved to London at about age 20, soon becoming a w ...

. On 15 August 1918, ''Le drapeau belge'' and ''

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

'' were performed with success at a popular concert in Prospect Park,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, with the recitations by Carlo Liten.Pay Belgium Tribute in Brooklyn concert
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Lyrics

''The original words were in French, and an English translation was provided by

Lord Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

.''

Recordings

Elgar: War Music
Richard Pascoe (narrator), Barry Collett (conductor), Rutland Sinfonia

References

*Kennedy, Michael, ''Portrait of Elgar'' (Oxford University Press, 1968) *Moore, Jerrold N. “Edward Elgar: a creative life” (Oxford University Press, 1984)

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drapeau Belge, Le Compositions by Edward Elgar 1917 compositions Belgium in World War I