The two large choral works here date from early in Edward Elgar's career, before he broke through with the Enigma Variations in 1899. Both are substantial secular cantatas; Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf was composed for the Staffordshire Choral Festival in 1896, and The Banner of Saint George marked the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The nearly 110-minute King Olaf is the better work of the two; The Banner of Saint George, a romantic Crusader tale, has a singsong quality set to a doggerel-like text. The text of King ...
Read More
The two large choral works here date from early in Edward Elgar's career, before he broke through with the Enigma Variations in 1899. Both are substantial secular cantatas; Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf was composed for the Staffordshire Choral Festival in 1896, and The Banner of Saint George marked the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The nearly 110-minute King Olaf is the better work of the two; The Banner of Saint George, a romantic Crusader tale, has a singsong quality set to a doggerel-like text. The text of King Olaf is by none other than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose popularity crossed the Atlantic; it was revised for Elgar's purposes by one Harry Arbuthnot Acworth. The piece embodies exciting episodes in the life of King Olaf, a figure from the Norse epics, and it's a swashbuckling, colorful work of which annotator Andrew Neill writes: "This is the world of 'muscular' Christianity at its most extreme." Sample Olaf's tenor exhortation, "Behold me, my people, and answer and say," CD 1,...
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Providing great media since 1972. All used discs are inspected and guaranteed. Cases may show some wear. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
