Land of Hope & Glory (413.11.2Perc)

Land of Hope & Glory (413.11.2Perc) "Land of Hope and Glory" was written by Edward Elgar in 1902, with lyrics by A. C. Benson. The music to which the words of "Land of Hope and Glory” are set is the "trio" theme from his “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1”. The words were fitted to this theme on the suggestion of King Edward VII who thought the melody would make a great song. "Land of Hope and Glory" has traditionally been sung amidst flag-waving at the climax of the BBC “Last Night of the Proms”. Englishman Sir Edward William Elgar, (1857-1934) whose best-known compositions are orchestral works are Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. Appointed Master of the Kings Musick in 1924, Elgar is often regarded as perhaps the most typical of English composers and was self-taught, but most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. He was regarded with suspicion in some quarters and in the class-conscious society of Victorian and Edwardian Britain, he was acutely sensitive about his humble origins. Importantly Elgar has been described as the first composer to take the gramophone seriously and conducted a series of acoustic recordings of his works between 1914 and 1925. After the invention and introduction of the microphone it now made it far easier to make more accurate sound reproduction possible.