The
Pomp and Circumstance marches are • March No. 1 in
D major (1901) • March No. 2 in
A minor (1901) • March No. 3 in
C minor (1904) • March No. 4 in
G major (1907) • March No. 5 in
C major (1930) • March No. 6 in
G minor (written as sketches, elaborated by
Anthony Payne in 2005–2006) The first five were all published by
Boosey & Co. as Elgar's
opus 39, and each of the marches is dedicated to a particular musical friend of Elgar's. Later conductors have generally taken slightly slower tempi. Payne's completion of the sixth march is longer in duration, at eight minutes or a little over.
March No. 1 in D Dedication March No. 1, was composed in 1901 and dedicated "to my friend
Alfred E. Rodewald and the members of the Liverpool Orchestral Society".
Instrumentation The instrumentation is: two
piccolos (2nd
ad lib.), two
flutes, two
oboes, two
clarinets in A,
bass clarinet in A, two
bassoons,
contrabassoon, four
horns in F, two
trumpets in F, two
cornets in A, three
trombones,
tuba, three
timpani, percussion (
bass drum,
cymbals,
triangle,
side drum,
jingles,
glockenspiel (
ad. lib.) and
tambourine (ad lib.)), two
harps,
organ, and
strings.
History The best-known of the six marches,
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 had its premiere, along with the second march, in
Liverpool on 19 October 1901, conducted by the composer. Both marches were played two days later at a
promenade concert in the
Queen's Hall London, conducted by
Henry Wood, with March No. 1 played second. Wood remembered that the audience "… rose and yelled … the one and only time in the history of the Promenade concerts that an orchestral item was accorded a double encore." The piece has been played in all but six of the Prom seasons since 1901, and in every one since 1944, conducted by Wood and twenty-five later conductors. The
trio contains the tune known as "
Land of Hope and Glory". In 1902 the tune was re-used, in modified form, for the "Land of Hope and Glory" section of his
Coronation Ode for King
Edward VII. March No. 1 was the first piece in the
recessional music for the coronations of
George VI and
Elizabeth II, followed in both cases by March No. 4. , recorded in 1931 In Canada, the Philippines, and the United States, the trio section "Land of Hope and Glory" of March No. 1 is often known simply as "Pomp and Circumstance" or as "The Graduation March" and is played as the
processional tune at most high school and college graduation ceremonies. It was first played at such a ceremony on 28 June 1905, at
Yale University, where the Professor of Music,
Samuel Sanford, had invited his friend Elgar to attend
commencement and receive an honorary
doctorate of music. Elgar repaid the compliment by dedicating his
Introduction and Allegro to Sanford later that year.
Description March No. 1 opens with an introduction marked Allegro, con molto fuoco (Lively, with much fire). The introduction leads to a new theme: strong pairs of beats alternating with short notes, and a bass which persistently clashes with the tune. The bass tuba and full brass are held back until the section is repeated by the full orchestra. A little rhythmic pattern is played by the strings, then repeated high and low in the orchestra before the section is concluded by a chromatic upward scale from the woodwind. The whole of this lively march section is repeated. The bridging section between this and the well-known trio has rhythmic chords from the brass punctuating high held notes from the wind and strings, before a fanfare from trumpets and trombones leads into the theme with which the march started. There are a few single notes that quieten, ending with a single quiet tap from side drum and cymbal accompanied by all the bassoons. The lyrical "Land of Hope and Glory" trio follows (in the subdominant
key of G), played softly (by the first violins, four horns and two clarinets) and repeated by the full orchestra including two harps. What follows is a repetition of what has been heard before, including a fuller statement of the trio (this time in the 'home' key of D) in which the orchestra is joined by organ as well as the two harps. The march ends, not with the big tune, but with a short section containing a brief reminder of the brisk opening march.
March No. 2 in A minor where the first two of the marches were premiered|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=coloured postcard of the exterior of a Victorian concert hall
Dedication March No. 2 was composed in 1901 and dedicated "To my friend
Granville Bantock".
Instrumentation The instrumentation is: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, bass clarinet in A, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in F, 2 cornets in A, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion 2 side drums (the second is
ad. lib.), triangle, glockenspiel, jingles, bass drum & cymbals, and strings.
History It was first performed, as was March No. 1, by the Liverpool Orchestral Society at the
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool on 19 October 1901.
March No. 3 in C minor Dedication , dedicatee of the third march|thumb|upright=0.6|alt=middle-aged white man in lounge suit, with neat hair and greying moustache March No. 3 was completed in November 1904 and published in 1905. It was dedicated "To my friend
Ivor Atkins". It was first performed on 8 March 1905, in the
Queen's Hall, London, conducted by the composer.
Description March No. 3 differs from the others in its opening mood, which is solemn and described by
Michael Kennedy as "slightly sinister". It begins with a dark subdued quick march led by low clarinets, three bassoons and the horns (with drum-beats inserted between the notes of the tune), before a vigorous theme (with brass alone at the first beats), erupts from the full orchestra. The dark theme re-appears, is then restarted boldly, and then ended abruptly. The central section commences with a lively tune played by a solo clarinet with simple string accompaniment, which is followed by another of Elgar's noble tunes played by the strings of the orchestra. All the themes re-appear and there is the final section which ends abruptly.
March No. 4 in G March No. 4 is as upbeat and ceremonial as No. 1, containing another big tune in the central trio section.
Dedication , to whom the fourth march is dedicated|thumb|upright=0.6|alt=middle-aged white man with spectacles, neat moustache and short hair March No. 4 was completed on 7 June 1907, and dedicated "To my friend
Dr G. Robertson Sinclair, Hereford". Sinclair was then the organist of
Hereford Cathedral and "G.R.S." of the
Enigma Variations, Variation XI. The march was first performed on 24 August 1907, in the Queen's Hall, London, conducted by the composer.
History The trio was used by Elgar in a song called "
The King's Way" which he wrote, to
his wife's words, in celebration of the opening of an important new London street called
Kingsway in 1909. During the
Second World War, No. 4 followed No. 1 in acquiring words: a patriotic poem by
A. P. Herbert with the refrain beginning "All men must be free" was used as "
Song of Liberty". It was the first piece in the recessional music for the
coronation of Charles III on 6 May 2023.
Description The march has an opening section consisting mainly of two-bar rhythmic phrases which are repeated in various forms, and a lyrical trio constructed like the "Land of Hope and Glory" trio of March No. 1. The first eight bars of the march are played by the full orchestra with the melody played by the violas. Both harps play from the beginning, while the cellos, double basses and timpani contribute a simple bass figure. The bass clarinet, contrabassoon, trombones and tuba are held "in reserve" for the repeat, when the first violins join the violas with the tune. There are subdued fanfares from the brass interrupted by little flourishes from the strings before the opening march is repeated. There is a pause and then a little section which starts forcefully but quietens, leading into the trio. The trio follows the pattern of March No. 1, with the melody (in the
subdominant key of C) played by clarinet, horn and violins. The violins start the trio tune on the lowest note they can play, an open G-string, and they are directed to play the passage
sul G on the same string, for the sake of the tone-colour, and the accompaniment is from the harps, low strings and bassoons. The big tune is repeated by the full orchestra; the opening march section returns; the grand tune is repeated once more, in the home key of G major; and the last word is had by a re-statement of the opening rhythmic patterns. The march prepares the audience for its end as surely as a train pulling into a station, with the violins, violas, and cellos ending on a resonant open G.
March No. 5 in C Dedication March No. 5 was composed in 1930, and dedicated "To my friend
Dr. Percy C. Hull, Hereford".
Instrumentation The instrumentation is: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in B, bass clarinet in B, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani (3), percussion (side drum, bass drum & cymbals), and strings.
Description Without introduction, the opening episode proceeds directly into the trio section. The trio starts quietly in a similar way to the introduction of Elgar's
First Symphony: just a moving bass line and a tune, also in the same key (
A). The tune is re-stated strongly and then developed. The re-statement of the opening employs the same instruments of the orchestra, but is this time started as softly as possible for just four bars before a quick
crescendo. There is more development before a large-scale return of the trio theme, in the home key of C, and a jubilant ending.
March No. 6 in G minor History Elgar left sketches for a sixth
Pomp and Circumstance march, to be the final work in the set.
Version completed by Anthony Payne In 2005 Elgar's sketches were sent by the lawyer for the Elgar Will Trust to the English composer
Anthony Payne, who had earlier reconstructed the
Third Symphony from Elgar's sketches. Also included was an article titled "Circumstantial Evidence" by the Elgar authority Christopher Kent from the August 1997
Musical Times explaining the sketches. but Kent believed that Elgar's compositional thoughts and time were by then engaged with the Third Symphony and
The Spanish Lady, and that the main theme for the march was "unpromising". Payne felt there was not enough in the sketches to complete the march, but three pages of score in Elgar's handwriting were discovered at the
Royal School of Church Music Colles Library marked "P&C 6". In 2006, the score and sketches were turned into a performing version. Payne observed in his programme notes that "Nowhere else in the Pomp and Circumstance marches does Elgar combine compound and duple metres in this way". The first commercial recording was by the
BBC National Orchestra of Wales under
Richard Hickox.
Instrumentation The instrumentation of the Payne version is: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in B, bass clarinet in B, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani (4), percussion (side drum, cymbals, bass drum, jingles, glockenspiel), and strings with
octobass. ==Critical reception==