Elgar: From the Archives, Vol. 1

$20.99
Label
SOMM Recordings
Release Date
January 16, 2026
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      Edward Elgar
    • PERFORMER
      Marjorie Hayward, Una Bourne, The London String Quartet, Royal Albert Hall Orchestra
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      January 16, 2026
    • UPC
      758871504621
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      ARIADNE 5046
    • LABEL
      SOMM Recordings
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Orchestral & Symphonic
    Works ⌄

    1. Theme: Andante

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    2. Introduction - Variation 1: C. A. E. (The Composer's Wife) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    3. Variation 2: H. D. S-P. (Hew David Steuart-Powell) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    4. Variation 3: R. B. T. (Richard Baxter Townshend) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    5. Variation 4: W. M. B. (William Meath Baker) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    6. Variation 5: R. P. A. (Richard Penrose Arnold)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    7. Variation 6: Ysobel (Isabel Fitton) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    8. Variation 7: Troyte (Troyte Griffith) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    9. Variation 8: W. N. (Winifred Norbury) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    10. Variation 9: Nimrod (A. J. Jaeger) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    11. Variation 10: Intermezzo: Dorabella (Dora Penny) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    12. Variation 11: G. R. S. (George Robertson Sinclair) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    13. Variation 12: B. G. N. (Basil G. Nevinson) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    14. Variation 13: Romanza: *** (Lady Mary Lygon) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    15. Variation 14: Finale: E. D. U. (The Composer)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: Royal Albert Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Edward Elgar

    16. I. Allegro: Risoluto (excerpt)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Performer: Marjorie Hayward, Una Mabel Bourne

    17. II. Romance: Andante (excerpt)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Performer: Marjorie Hayward, Una Mabel Bourne

    18. III. Allegro non troppo

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Performer: Marjorie Hayward, Una Mabel Bourne

    19. I. Allegro moderato (excerpt)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: London String Quartet

    20. II. Piacevole (poco andante) (excerpt)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: London String Quartet

    21. III. Allegro molto (excerpt)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: London String Quartet

    22. Theme: Andante

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    23. Introduction - Variation 1: C. A. E. (The Composer's Wife) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    24. Variation 2: H. D. S-P. (Hew David Steuart-Powell) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    25. Variation 3: R. B. T. (Richard Baxter Townshend) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    26. Variation 4: W. M. B. (William Meath Baker) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    27. Variation 5: R. P. A. (Richard Penrose Arnold)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    28. Variation 6: Ysobel (Isabel Fitton) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    29. Variation 7: Troyte (Troyte Griffith) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    30. Variation 8: W. N. (Winifred Norbury) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    31. Variation 9: Nimrod (A. J. Jaeger) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    32. Variation 10: Intermezzo: Dorabella (Dora Penny) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    33. Variation 11: G. R. S. (George Robertson Sinclair) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    34. Variation 12: B. G. N. (Basil G. Nevinson) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    35. Variation 13: Romanza: *** (Lady Mary Lygon) -

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood

    36. Variation 14: Finale: E. D. U. (The Composer)

      Composer: Edward Elgar

      Ensemble: New Queen's Hall Orchestra

      Conductor: Henry Wood


January 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of The Elgar Society, which has, since the late 1990s, offered it's invaluable support to SOMM Recordings for new and archival releases of Elgar's works. In celebration, SOMM is releasing this month Vol. 1 of Edward Elgar from the Archives. The release offers "acoustic" recordings of Elgar's Enigma Variations conducted by the composer in 1920 and by Sir Henry Wood in 1924. Also included-abridged, in order to fit onto the original disc sides-is a 1919 recording of Elgar's Violin Sonata featuring the virtuoso, Marjorie Hayward, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, and the Australian pianist, Una Mabel Bourne. The London String Quartet, founded in 1908, is featured in an abridged version of Elgar's String Quartet, which they recorded in 1921. Elgar's recording of the Enigma Variations, the Violin Sonata, and the String Quartet are all remastered premiere recordings. Before the microphone made it's appearance in 1926, and revolutionized the technicalities of the recording industry through "electrical" recordings, musical performances were captured by "acoustic" recordings. Jutting from the wall in front of the players was a recording horn that was wound in tape to attenuate the "tinny" sound and reduce vibration. On the other side of the wall was a diaphragm, which transmitted the vibrations captured by the horn to a stylus positioned via a gimbal mechanism over the wax disc to be cut. The recordings on this release demonstrate the skill of the forgotten engineers from that era and show how they learnt by experience. Their skill has been realized for modern ears by the musician and master recording engineer of historic reissues, Lani Spahr, whose Elgar Remastered [SOMMCD 261-4] was described as a "vivid new transfer" by Gramophone Magazine when it was named their Historical Choice for Elgar's Symphony No. 1. Elgar and Richard Strauss were the first major composers to take the recording of their music seriously, and the Enigma Variations was Elgar's most substantial piece in his ten years of making recordings. This present performance with the Royal Albert Hall Orchestra was recorded at the HMV Studio, London, in three sessions: February and November 1920 and May 1921. Four years later, Sir Henry Wood conducted the New Queen's Hall Orchestra for Columbia. These two "acoustic" recordings, which bookend the Violin Sonata and the String Quartet on this release, offer a fascinating comparison. Wood's interpretation is marginally quicker overall and, as Lani Spahr points out, "the two orchestras sound to be about the same size but the balances are different and more forward in the Wood. Recording techniques had improved greatly in the four years between the Elgar sessions and when Wood recorded his Elgar set."