Falstaff (Elgar)
Falstaff – Symphonic Study in
The work was well received at its première in 1913, but did not inspire the great enthusiasm aroused by some of Elgar's earlier works. The composer thought it his finest orchestral piece, and many Elgar admirers agree, but it has not become a popular favourite. Compared to other Elgar works, it is infrequently played in the concert hall, although it is well represented in the CD catalogues.
Instrumentation
Falstaff is scored for an orchestra of two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and cor anglais, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (side drum, triangle, tabor, tambourine, bass drum, cymbals), two harps (second harp ad lib), and strings.
Structure
Elgar set out the divisions of the score in an "analytical essay" in The Musical Times in 1913:[1]
- I. Falstaff and Prince Henry
- II. Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk' (Poco allegretto)
- III. Falstaff's march – The return through Gloucestershire – Interlude: Gloucestershire. Shallow's orchard (Allegretto) – The new king – The hurried ride to London
- IV. King Henry V's progress – The repudiation of Falstaff, and his death
In the first section, Elgar establishes the two main themes of the piece, that for Prince Hal (marked grandioso) being courtly and grand, and that for Falstaff himself showing "a goodly, portly man, of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye and a most noble carriage."
The subsequent development of the score follows closely the key events of the two parts of Henry IV, in which Falstaff features. The Gadshill section (from Henry IV, Part 1) shows him attempting a gold bullion robbery but being himself attacked and robbed by the disguised Hal and his companions. Falstaff returns to his base at the inn and drowns his sorrows in drink. In his drunken sleep, he dreams of his youth, when he was a slim page to the Duke of Norfolk. Here too Boito/Verdi and Elgar treat the same material quite differently: in the opera, Falstaff's nostalgic reminiscence is a lively little aria ("Quand' ero paggio"),[5] but Elgar's treatment is slow and wistful.
Part III of the score moves to Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2. After Falstaff's summons to court and commission to raise soldiers for the King's army, there is a battle scene and then a second interlude, an English idyll in a Gloucestershire orchard. This is dispelled by the news of the King's death and Prince Hal's accession. As in the play, Falstaff hurries to London, confident of favours from the new monarch, but is instead dismissed and banished. Finally the broken Falstaff, having crept away, lies dying – "the king hath killed his heart" – and after a return of the theme of the second interlude, a piano C major chord in the brass and a hushed roll on the side-drum portray Falstaff's death. The work ends with a very brief version of Prince Hal's theme showing, in the composer's words, that "the man of stern reality has triumphed."[1]
History and critical reception
In 1912 the Leeds Festival commissioned Elgar to write a new work to be performed the following year. Before the première Elgar told a reporter, "I have, I think, enjoyed writing it more than any other music I have composed and perhaps for that reason it may prove to be among my better efforts".[6] It was first performed at Leeds on 1 October 1913, conducted by the composer. The Musical Times commented, "the work is unsurpassed in modern music for variety, effectiveness and sureness of orchestral writing."[7] The London première was on 3 November 1913, at the Queen's Hall, conducted by the dedicatee, Landon Ronald. The Times said of the London première that it was played to "a not very large but very enthusiastic audience"[8] and subsequently Falstaff has remained less popular than other major Elgar works, though much loved by aficionados. Music and Letters noted in its obituary of Elgar that though "a majority would call Falstaff his greatest work" most people would "say they like the Enigma best."[9] Even during Elgar's lifetime, the musical scholar Percy Scholes wrote of Falstaff that it was a "great work" but "so far as public appreciation goes, a comparative failure."[10]
Recordings
Though concert performances have been comparatively rare,
Notes
- ^ a b c Elgar, Edward. "Falstaff", The Musical Times, Vol. 54, No. 847 (1 September 1913), pp. 575–79
- Henry IV, part 1, II. iv. 400–401
- ^ Heyworth, Peter. "Falstaff and the Verdi canon", The Observer, 14 May 1961
- ^ Reed, p. 110
- ^ Verdi, II.ii, pp. 239–242
- ^ a b c d e Achenbach, Andrew, "A knight to remember", Gramophone, November 2007, p. 57
- ^ The Musical Times, 1 November 1913, p. 744
- ^ The Times, 4 November 1913 p. 11
- ^ Music and Letters, April 1934, p. 109
- ^ The Musical Times, 1 August 1929, p. 696
- ^ Music and Letters, January 1935, p. 1
- ^ Sackville-West, p. 255
- ^ Shaw, George Bernard. "The Music of the Future", Laurence, p. 534
- ^ Kennedy (Barbirolli), p. 82
- ^ The New York Times online archive
- ^ Kennedy (Elgar), p. 35
- ^ Reed, p. 151. Reed played the violin solos in Elgar's recording of the work.
- ^ Reed, p. 113
- ^ e.g. The Elgar Society's list of world-wide public performances for November 2007 included 9 performances of the Cello Concerto, 8 of Enigma, 7 of Gerontius, but none of Falstaff. The society's list for April 2010 similarly included multiple listings of the Cello Concerto, Enigma, Gerontius and the Symphonies but none of Falstaff.
- ^ Webb, A W B, "The Elgar Recordings", The Gramophone, May 1937, p. 9; and Sanders, Alan. Gramophone, June 1992, p. 92
- ^ BBC CD Review Building a Library
- ^ March, Ivan. "Falstaff and others", Gramophone, February 1978, p. 34
- ^ Radio 3 Record Review online archive
References
- Kennedy, Michael (1970). Elgar Orchestral Music. London: BBC Publications. ISBN 0563101504.
- Kennedy, Michael (1971). Barbirolli – Conductor Laureate. London: MacGibbon and Kee. ISBN 0261633368.
- Laurence, Dan H, ed. (1989). Shaw's Music – The Complete Musical Criticism of Bernard Shaw, Volume 3. London: Max Reinhardt. ISBN 0370312724.
- Moore, Jerrold Northrop (1998) [1973]. Notes to EMI CDM 7 63113 2. London: EMI Classics. OCLC 77584747.
- Reed, W H (1939). Elgar. London: J M Dent & Sons. OCLC 223077075.
- OCLC 5686577.
- Verdi, Giuseppe; Arrigo Boito (1980) [1893]. Falstaff. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0486240177.
External links
- Falstaff: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project