(1857 - 1934)
Edward Elgar was the greatest English composer since Purcell and the first to win widespread international recognition. He was the son of a music shopkeeper and piano tuner in provincial Worcester and brought up as a Catholic. Elgar had a practical training as a performer on the violin and other instruments, and taught himself composition. His reputation was slow to spread beyond the West Midlands, but he attained national prominence in 1899 when his ‘Enigma’ Variations were premiered in London. His next major work, the oratorio The Dream of Gerontius, quickly became successful in Britain and Germany. A heady decade followed which saw the composition of two further oratorios, The Apostles and The Kingdom, and a stream of orchestral works culminating in the First Symphony and the Violin Concerto. Elgar moved to London, and took on the conductorship of the London Symphony Orchestra for the 1911/12 season. After the premiere of the Cello Concerto in 1919 and the death of his wife the following year, Elgar moved back to the West Midlands and went into virtual retirement. However, he was working with renewed energy on an opera and a Third Symphony when he died in 1934.
Edward Elgar Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Cockaigne Overture
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
5 percussion
Triangle, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, sleigh bells, snare drum, tambourine
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Crown of India Suite
Timpani + 5 percussion
Sleigh bells, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, snare drum, suspended cymbal, triangle, tambourine, D gong, glockenspiel, tam tam, tom tom
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Dream of Gerontius
2 Timpani (2nd Timp only req. for c. 12 bars) + 3 percussion
Tam tam, triangle, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, sleigh bells, snare drum, glockenspiel
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Enchanted Garden
Timpani (doubling percussion) + 5 percussion
Timpani) whip, 1) vibraphone, snare drum, 2) tambourine, 3) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, 4) orchestral bass drum, tenor drum, triangle, 5) glockenspiel
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Enigma Variations
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
3 percussion
Clash cymbals, triangle, orchestral bass drum, snare drum
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Falstaff
Timpani + 4 percussion
Tabor, tambourine, triangle, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, snare drum
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From the Bavarian Highlands
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) clash cymbals, 3) triangle, (some notes on the timp part), 4) orchestral bass drum
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Grania and Diarmid
Timpani + 2 percussion
1) tam tam, clash cymbals, 2) orchestral bass drum
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In the South - Overture
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
3 percussion
Clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, snare drum, triangle, glockenspiel
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Nursery Suite
Timpani + 5 percussion
1) glockenspiel, triangle, 2) snare drum, 3) clash cymbals, 4) tambourine, 5) orchestral bass drum
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Pomp and Circumstance March No 1
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
5 percussion
Snare drum, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, sleigh bells, glockenspiel, tambourine, triangle
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Pomp and Circumstance March No 2
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
5 percussion
Glockenspiel, sleigh bells, 2 snare drums, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, triangle
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Pomp and Circumstance March No 3
Timpani + 5 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) tenor drum, 3) clash cymbals, 4) orchestral bass drum, 5) triangle, suspended cymbal
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Pomp and Circumstance March No 4
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) clash cymbals, 3) orchestral bass drum
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Sanguine Fan
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) triangle, snare drum, 2) tambourine, 3) clash cymbals, 4) orchestral bass drum, tam tam
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Sevillana
No Timpani + 4 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) tambourine, 3) clash cymbals, 4) orchestral bass drum
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Spirit of England
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) clash cymbals, 3) orchestral bass drum
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Symphony No 1
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
3 percussion
Snare drum, clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum
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Symphony No 2
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26 Prem 32/30/28
4 percussion
Tambourine, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, snare drum
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The Apostles
Timpani + 5 percussion
1) triangle, snare drum, 2) orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal (shared with 3), 3) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal (shared with 2) 4) Eb piccolo bell, tam tam, tambourine, 5) glockenspiel, antique cymbals
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The Kingdom
Timpani + 3 percussion
Snare drum, clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal
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The Music Makers
Timpani + 3 percussion
Snare drum, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, triangle
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Wand of Youth Suite No 1
Timpani + 4 percussion
Clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, triangle, snare drum
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Wand of Youth Suite No 2
Timpani + 6 percussion
1) xylophone, glockenspiel, 2) tambourine, Eb bell, 3) snare drum, 4) clash cymbals, 5) orchestral bass drum, 6) triangle
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