"FALSTAFF' Elgar London Symphony "His Master's Voice" BLP 1090 10' Vinyl Import

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Falstaff, completed in 1913 but in the composer’s mind since 1901, is in many respects another self-portrait. ‘Falstaff is the name’, Elgar wrote, ‘but Shakespeare—the whole of human life—is the theme.’ Later he said that he had enjoyed writing Falstaff ‘more than any other music I have ever composed and perhaps for that reason it may prove to be among my best efforts’. Many would now agree with him, but the work was a failure at its first performance at the Leeds Festival in October 1913 and for many years afterwards. Indeed it was probably not fully appreciated until he made his famous recording in 1931-32. Elgar called it a symphonic study and it is in four movements with two interludes. All can be related to Elgar himself. The first movement opens with musical portraits of Falstaff and Prince Hal, their principal themes running through the whole work, suitably varied. The second movement shows Falstaff and the Prince in the Boar’s Head, Eastcheap, jesting with the landlady and carrying out a robbery at Gadshill , music that reminds us how Elgar enjoyed ‘japes’ and practical jokes. Falstaff falls asleep and, in the first interlude , dreams of his youth as page to the Duke of Norfolk—Elgar in his most nostalgic mood for ‘what might have been’. Part 3 is like a scherzo, with Falstaff leading a ‘scarecrow army’ in battle. He returns through the apple orchards of Elgar’s own West Country, the cue for more nostalgia and the second interlude in Justice Shallow’s orchard, accompanied by ‘sadly merry pipe and tabor music’. Part 4 begins with news of Hal’s accession to the throne. Falstaff hurries to London for the pomp and circumstance of the coronation, but the new king brutally rejects his old friend and the work ends with Falstaff on his deathbed wistfully recalling the past. His last thought is of Hal.
Elgar Falstaff Symphonic Study Op. 68
RCA Long Play 33 1/3 R.P.M. Record (10" Vinyl) BLP 1090
Section 1: Presenting Falstaff and Prince Henry Section 2: Eastcheap, Gadshill, The Boars Head, revelry and sleep Section 3: Falstaff's march, the return through Gloucestershire, the new King, the Hurries ride to London Section 4: King Henry V's progress. The repudiation of Falstaff and his death
The outer sleeve is in excellent condition, no splits and the album description can be read easily. The inner sleeve is plastic and is in very good condition. The vinyl is in very good condition, no scratches and very little ware on the spindle hole.