The Music Makers , Op. 69, is a work for contralto or mezzo-soprano , chorus and orchestra composed by Edward Elgar . It was first performed at the Birmingham Festival in 1912.
15-538: Music Makers or We Are the Music Makers may refer to: Music [ edit ] Classical [ edit ] The Music Makers (Elgar) , a musical setting of O'Shaughnessy's poem composed by Edward Elgar in 1912 Bands [ edit ] Music Makers (Saint Kitts and Nevis band) , a 1940s Canadian Carnival band We Are the Music Makers (band) , an American new prog band Harry James and His Music Makers,
30-410: A big band led by Harry James in the 1930s and 1940s Blue Ridge Music Makers, an act associated with old-time fiddle player Charlie Bowman Albums [ edit ] Music Makers (album) , a 1986 album by Helen Merrill We Are the Music Makers , a 2005 album by Joy Electric Songs [ edit ] "Music Makers", a 1940s big band piece by Al Lerner and Harry James "We Are
45-520: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Music Makers (Elgar) The text of the work is the 1874 poem Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy , which Elgar set in its entirety. He had been working on the music intermittently since 1903, without a specific commission. He completed it after receiving a commission from the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival . It
60-587: Is for the most part reserved and personal, and Elgar quotes his own music several times. Sometimes there is a specific verbal cue: for example, the word "dreams" is accompanied by a theme from The Dream of Gerontius , and "sea-breakers" by the opening of Sea Pictures . The music also quotes the first and second symphonies, the Violin Concerto , "Nimrod" (from the Enigma Variations ), Rule, Britannia and La Marseillaise . Most of
75-489: The 1846 festival he composed and conducted the premiere of his oratorio Elijah , another new work commissioned by the Festival. He was paid 200 guineas . Elijah was played at every successive festival. Mendelssohn died a year later. The Birmingham Festival Choral Society (still extant, in 2021) was founded in 1845, for the purpose of providing the chorus for the festivals, and sang at the premiere of Elijah . In 1873
90-511: The Festival commissioned Arthur Sullivan who composed his oratorio The Light of the World . The 1879 Festival commissioned a work from Max Bruch , Das Lied von der Glocke . In 1882 Charles Gounod was commissioned and produced Redemption , which was performed twice. In 1885 Antonín Dvořák provided The Spectre's Bride and Gounod provided Mors et Vita . In 1891 Dvořák's commission delivered his Requiem for £650. 1900 saw
105-434: The Music Makers," a track on Aphex Twin's album Selected Ambient Works 85–92 "We Are the Music Makers," a song by Scarling. on the 2005 album So Long, Scarecrow Other [ edit ] Music Makers (TV series) Ode (poem) , an 1874 poem by English poet Arthur O'Shaughnessy that begins: "We are the music makers." See also [ edit ] Music Maker (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
120-428: The artist to his society. The Music Makers was commissioned for, and first performed at, the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival on 1 October 1912, with Muriel Foster as the soloist and the composer conducting. Performances are now rare, particularly outside England. Early criticism of the work was directed more at the words than at the music, but it was also dismissed as tawdry and self-centred. The music
135-528: The commission The Dream of Gerontius from Edward Elgar . The chorus master, Charles Swinnerton Heap had died suddenly four months before the concert was due, and with ten works in hand and only one copy of the score, rehearsal started only a few days before the performance date. It was not sung well but was strongly applauded and well reviewed as a composition. Elgar returned in 1903 with The Apostles , and 1906 with The Kingdom . His commission for 1912 created The Music Makers , incorporating themes from
150-647: The hospital. Originally hosted in St Philip's Church (later to become the city's cathedral) or the Theatre Royal on New Street the available venues became too small for the festival. As a result, the Birmingham Town Hall was built, and opened in 1834 to house it. The festival for 1832 was delayed by two years during its erection. Vocal works were generally sung in English. Hans Richter
165-667: The music however is original. The self-quotations inevitably bring to mind Strauss's Ein Heldenleben , but with different intent; Elgar is depicting the artist not as hero but as bard. Birmingham Triennial Music Festival The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival , in Birmingham , England , founded in 1784, was the longest-running classical music festival of its kind. It last took place in 1912. The first music festival, over three days in September 1768,
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#1732772807505180-421: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Music Makers . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Music_Makers&oldid=1175221554 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
195-463: Was appointed principal conductor in 1885. In 1837 Felix Mendelssohn conducted a performance of his St. Paul oratorio, played the organ, and played the piano part in the premiere of his second Piano Concerto , specially commissioned by the Festival. He appeared in the following festival, playing his first Piano Concerto . During that visit, he made a pen and ink sketch of the Town Hall. For
210-457: Was dedicated to "my friend Nicholas Kilburn". The words of the poem no doubt appealed to Elgar's nature, as it celebrates the dreaming artist — by 1912, he was established as part of British artistic society, but was ambivalent at best about that society. The mood of the Ode is clear in the first lines, which depict the isolation of the creative artist: Later verses celebrate the importance of
225-504: Was to help raise funds to complete the new General Hospital on Summer Lane. It proved to be very popular and successful, but it took another event in 1778 to achieve the funds required. The hospital opened September 1779. From September 1784 the performances became a permanent feature and ran every three years, becoming the Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, still with the aim of raising funds for
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