Main Performers | Agnes Nicholls, Gervase Elwes, Plunket Greene - vocals, H L Balfour - organ |
Conductors | Sir Frederick Bridge, Sir Edward Elgar, Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir Hubert Parry |
Set List | 'The Spirit of England', Laurence Binyon, Elgar (Sir Edward Elgar): 'The Fourth of August' (Agnes Nicholls), 'To Women' (Gervase Elwes), 'For the Fallen' (Agnes Nicholls) INTERVAL 'Songs of the Fleet', Henry Newbolt, C V Stanford (Charles Villiers Stanford), 'Sailing at Dawn', 'The Song of the Sou'-Wester', 'The Middle Watch', 'The Little Admiral', 'Fare well', 'I Will Sing Unto The Lord', Hubert Parry (Agnes Nicholls), 'The Chivalry of the Sea', Robert Bridges, H Parry (Sir Hubert Parry), 'A Carol of Bells', C V Stanford (Gervase Elwes), 'The Inchcape Rock', Robert Southey, F Bridge (Sir Frederick Bridge) |
Performance Notes | Until recently, the first full performance of 'The Spirit of England' was first believed to have taken place at a Royal Choral Society concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 24 November 1917. However, based upon evidence published in the November 1996 issue of the Elgar Society Journal it was shown that Elgar himself had conducted a complete performance of the work in Leeds some three weeks earlier. However, even this performance was preceded by a complete performance in Birmingham on 4 October 1917, conducted by Appleby Matthews, a notable local musician who, three years later, founded the orchestra that was to become the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. |
Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1917/50) |