Elgar: Coronation Ode; The Spirit of England

On this disc are two very different Elgar choral works. The Coronation Ode was written for King Edwar VII's coronation in 1902, and was in fact never played, because the original coronation ceremony was cancelled when the king became ill.

It is very rarely heard today, probably on the grounds of political correctness: the text, written by A C Benson, is cringingly imperialistic and jingoistic.

The highlight of the work is the original setting of the Pomp and Circumstance March No 1's 'big tune' as "Land of Hope and Glory."

It is, of course, real 'Last Night of the Proms' stuff, and if you enter into it in that spirit, the music is terrific.

But the highlight of the disc is the setting of the three Lawrence Binyon poems inspired by the First World War.

Though they were written in 1914, they indicate an awareness of the enormity of the suffering to come.

For once Elgar gets verse worthy of his great music, and the setting of "Spirit of England" - the third of the trilogy - stands comparison with anything else he composed.

Gibson gets to the heart of it: a great performance which gets the sonics we have come to expect from Chandos.

On this disc are two very different Elgar choral works. The Coronation Ode was written for King Edwar VII's coronation in 1902, and was in fact never played, because the original coronation ceremony was cancelled when the king became ill.

It is very rarely heard today, probably on the grounds of political correctness: the text, written by A C Benson, is cringingly imperialistic and jingoistic.

The highlight of the work is the original setting of the Pomp and Circumstance March No 1's 'big tune' as "Land of Hope and Glory."

It is, of course, real 'Last Night of the Proms' stuff, and if you enter into it in that spirit, the music is terrific.

But the highlight of the disc is the setting of the three Lawrence Binyon poems inspired by the First World War.

Though they were written in 1914, they indicate an awareness of the enormity of the suffering to come.

For once Elgar gets verse worthy of his great music, and the setting of "Spirit of England" stands comparison with anything else he composed.

Gibson gets to the heart of it: a great performance which gets the sonics we have come to expect from Chandos.