| Marketing Copy | Edward Elgar (1857-1934) wrote the short orchestral piece titled Sevillaña (Scène Espagnole), Op. 7 in 1884 when the composer was twenty-six. 1884 was a time of personal difficulty for Elgar as his engagement to a girl named Helen Weaver was broken off due to pressure from her parents, both of whom assumed that the young man had no prospects. Elgar's violin instructor, Adolf Pollitzer, presented the score to conductor August Manns, who scheduled the work for a premiere at the Crystal Palace in London on May 12, 1884. Although this performance did take place as intended, it was not the premiere as the Worcester Philharmonic Society under William Done immediately performed the work on May 5, 1884 upon hearing word of the London performance, falsely claiming that the work had been written for them. Elgar wrote of the work, “This sketch is an attempt to portray... the humours of a Spanish fête. It consists of three principal themes... an imitation of a Spanish folk-song...; 2nd, a softer strain in the major, which may (or may not) be taken to represent ‘un passage d’amour’, for which, as in England, such gatherings are supposed to lend opportunity; and 3rd, a brisk Valse measure in D major. Something very like an émeute takes place during the progress of this, missiles are freely thrown, and at least one stiletto is drawn – but these are only modern Spaniards and no tragic result follows...” Instrumentation: 2(2nd dPicc).2.2.2: 2.2.3.1: Perc(3-4): Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set). |
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