What you're getting here takes a little explanation. The Starlight Express started life as a novel for young people by Algernon Blackwood, A Prisoner in Fairyland, a story of a group of children who collect stardust and carry on a secret existence apart from the adult world. It is not unlike Peter Pan in its general outlines, but from the evidence here it is not nearly as elegantly done. Blackwood's novel was made into a play by one Violet Pearn, and Elgar, in 1915, was asked to write incidental music and songs for this ...
Read More
What you're getting here takes a little explanation. The Starlight Express started life as a novel for young people by Algernon Blackwood, A Prisoner in Fairyland, a story of a group of children who collect stardust and carry on a secret existence apart from the adult world. It is not unlike Peter Pan in its general outlines, but from the evidence here it is not nearly as elegantly done. Blackwood's novel was made into a play by one Violet Pearn, and Elgar, in 1915, was asked to write incidental music and songs for this play, turning it into a kind of melodrama. Next, the play was reduced here to a narrative, read by actor Simon Callow and structured in such a way as to keep apparently all of Elgar's music, including some little songs. Finally, three songs and a long sequence of instrumental excerpts were collected into a pair of suites by the present conductor, Andrew Davis, leading the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and an assortment of British singers. These final suites are probably the most attractive...
Read Less
