The ''Nursery Suite'' is one of the last compositions by Edward Elgar. Like Elgar's ''

The Wand of Youth ''The Wand of Youth'' Suites No. 1 and No. 2 are works for full orchestra by the English composer Edward Elgar. The titles given them by Elgar were, in full: ''The Wand of Youth'' (Music to a Child's Play) First Suite, Op. 1a (1869–1907) and ...

'' suites, it makes use of sketches from the composer's childhood. There are seven movements and a coda:Kennedy, p. 2 :1. Aubade (Awake) :2. The Serious Doll :3. Busy-ness :4. The Sad Doll :5. The Waggon (Passes) :6. The Merry Doll :7. Dreaming – Envoy (Coda)

History

The composition of the ''Nursery Suite'' came about when Elgar mentioned in September 1930 to William Laundon Streeton of

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(the Gramophone Company) that he had lately run across a box of musical sketches from the days of his youth. Streeton suggested that, as

Master of the King's Musick Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orch ...

, he might suitably draw on them for a work to mark the recent birth of Princess Margaret Rose (then fourth in line to the throne).Kennedy, p. 3 The suite was dedicated to Princess Margaret, her older sister Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen Elizabeth II) and their mother (the Duchess of York). Most of the movements appear light, in the style of ''

'' suites, and predominantly sunny in character. Some commentators have made an exception of "The Waggon (Passes)": the Elgar authority Michael Kennedy suggests that as the wagon (Elgar used the older spelling, 'waggon') rumbles towards us the music becomes sinister in a manner reminiscent of the bars in the Scherzo of the Second Symphony, when, in Elgar's words, "the wheels go over my head".

Anthony Payne Anthony Edward Payne (2 August 1936 – 30 April 2021) was an English composer, music critic and musicologist. He is best known for his acclaimed completion of Edward Elgar's third symphony, which subsequently gained wide acceptance into Elga ...

drew on the form of this movement for the ending of his elaboration of the Third Symphony sketches. The ''Nursery Suite'' was one of the first pieces of orchestral music to receive its premiere in a recording studio (

Kingsway Hall The Kingsway Hall in Holborn, London, was the base of the West London Mission (WLM) of the Methodist Church, and eventually became one of the most important recording venues for classical music and film music. It was built in 1912 and demolished ...

, London) rather than a concert hall (although Elgar's very first recording session, in January 1914, had included the premiere of the miniature "Carissima"). At its premiere on 23 May 1931, all but the two last movements were recorded under the baton of the composer. The last two movements were added when the whole suite was performed on 4 June 1931 before an invited audience including Princess Elizabeth, aged five, and her parents. The piece takes about 25 minutes to perform. Reviewing the work when it first appeared, W.R. Anderson wrote in ''

The Gramophone ''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ...

'': "The last movement, with its striking violin cadenza, seems especially significant. It hints at memories, which even in music are best hinted at, not explicitly stated: not because they hurt, but because youth can only understand them so. … There is the old fire here, with at least two movements out of the other six showing a freshness distinct from that of the ''Wand of Youth'' … with the natural greatness of heart and spirit – something more than any genius can confer – that marks, and has marked through all his life, our beloved Edward Elgar." The ballet "Nursery Suite", with Elgar's music, choreography by

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russ ...

and scenery and costumes by Nancy Allen, was first performed by the

Vic-Wells Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

(now

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

) on 19 March 1932 at the Sadler's Wells Theatre. The cast included Anton Dolin,

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internation ...

and Joy Newton. The choreographer Frederick Ashton used ''The Nursery Suite'' for a new ballet (his last) in 1986 for the Queen's sixtieth birthday gala at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

.Levene, Louise
"The people's ballerina"
''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'', 13 March 2005

Instrumentation

It is scored for 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, 2 clarinets in B, 2 bassoons, 4

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

s in F, 2

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 (both in B & C), 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 ...

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 ...

(3), 2

percussionists A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excl ...

(first with

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

and glockenspiel, second with snare drum, triangle, tambourine, bass drum and

cymbals A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

) and string section. Not all these instruments are played in all movements.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

* *
Nursery Suite
on the website of the

Elgar Society The Elgar Society was founded in 1951 to promote performance of the music of British composer Edward Elgar, especially the more rarely performed items. Registered as a charity on 22 January 1988, It is particularly concerned with introducing the c ...

{{authority control Suites by Edward Elgar 1930 compositions Orchestral suites Compositions for symphony orchestra