Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39

Elgar began his march in D with an off-beat outburst in E♭. The music then moves down a semitone before the march proper begins. Above the first bar he wrote Allegro, con molto fuoco (fast, with much fire).

Elgar’s first recording of this march, made on 26 June 1914, was cut to just over four minutes. It began with the trio tune so that none of the trio was lost, and some thirty London players made up the orchestra. The 1926 recording heard here was his first complete one.

The trio opens in G major, marked Largamente. First violins, clarinets and horns share a long melody over a steady accompaniment. This is the tune later set as Land of Hope and Glory.

In November 1931, at the opening of the Abbey Road studios, Elgar spoke to the London Symphony Orchestra before conducting this tune: “Please play this tune as though you’ve never heard it before.” Pathé filmed the request.

At A tempo the strings return to their short, accented phrases in D major. Running notes fill the spaces between the heavier beats, and the bass takes up its leaping figure again.

The trio returns in D major, the home key of the march, marked Molto maestoso. The melody is now high above the bass. The full orchestra plays under its long notes, which were quiet when the theme was first heard.

After the long tune ends, quick string figures return and the woodwinds pass short notes down through the orchestra. Elgar closes with a sharp chord followed by a final held D.

On 22 December 1926 Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony recorded the march for Victor in Orchestra Hall, with Walter P. Zimmerman at the organ. Victor made four takes. The third was issued.

At rehearsal A the strings play two firm accents beside a quick run of notes. The bass has a figure of its own, sometimes dissonant against the tune above. The passage, in D, is marked Allegro, con molto fuoco.

The first trio is in G major. Four horns play the long tune with the first violins and clarinets, and the bassoons and lower strings play an even accompaniment. Elgar marks the melody legato e cantabile.

Theodore Thomas conducted the American première of the march with the Chicago Orchestra at the Auditorium on 28 November 1902. In 1926 Stock took the same orchestra into the recording session heard here.

The trio returns in D major, marked Molto maestoso. Elgar wrote the organ part for pedals alone at first, specifying sixteen- and thirty-two-foot stops. Zimmerman’s hands join later on the manuals, adding chords as the tune continues.

After the great tune, Elgar returns to quick notes. The strings play running figures and the woodwinds exchange short phrases. The march ends with a clipped accent and a held D, and the organ pedals join the final chord.

Elgar marked the march Allegro, con molto fuoco (fast, with much fire). The opening phrases begin off the beat and continue in short bursts. In this recording the United States Marine Band plays the orchestral music on woodwind and brass.

The trio has the melody later sung as Land of Hope and Glory. Its phrases rise, hold long notes and are followed by falling steps. Beneath it the accompaniment keeps a steady two-beat pulse.

At Yale on 28 June 1905 Elgar received an honorary doctorate and wore the university’s blue robes. The orchestra played this march as the guests left. Other universities adopted it, and the tune became part of American graduation ceremonies.

The march returns with its short, accented phrases and runs of quick notes. The long melody is absent for the whole section, and the bass and tune resume their brisk exchange.

In 1902 A. C. Benson wrote words to the trio melody for Elgar’s Coronation Ode, then revised them for the separate song Land of Hope and Glory. Clara Butt sang the solo version. Benson’s text includes an appeal for wider boundaries for the British Empire.

After the broad tune ends, the march returns for a few quick phrases, marked a tempo and Più mosso from rehearsal T to the end. Short notes run through the closing passage. A sharp accent comes before the final held chord.