The winter of 1907/8 was not the best time for Elgar to be productive. His somewhat poor health of recent years had persuaded him and Alice that it was better to winter in Italy, as he had done in 1904/5, when Alassio was composed. During 1907, he had completed Pomp & Circumstance March No. 4 and the Wand of Youth Suites; also he had been inspired to start work on his first Symphony and the Violin Concerto. The festivals at Gloucester, Cardiff and Leeds, at which he conducted The Kingdom, with other work in Birmingham and London, made the autumn particularly strenuous and exhausting, so he was relieved to be able to recover abroad, in the company of Alice and their daughter, Carice, now aged 17.

However, December in Rome produced more work on the Symphony, and he composed a Christmas Greeting, with words by Alice, to send back to Dr Sinclair and his Hereford choristers. The Hereford Times for January 4 was proud to report at length on “Hereford Cathedral Choristers – Carol Concert” given in Hereford Town Hall on the Wednesday previously. This was “an artistic triumph”, with the space in the hall being “totally inadequate“ for the huge number wishing to attend the event – many had to stand, with others turned away. The main reason for this success was the “new composition by Sir Edward and Lady Elgar” included in the programme, this being the Christmas Greeting. It proved to be a total triumph and received calls for a second encore. The report also stated that “the great musician and his wife, by residence and innumerable kindly thoughts and acts on behalf of the people of Hereford, have endeared themselves greatly to all classes”. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Elgar also composed a marching song, by request, and four part-songs. Sadly, in January, he succumbed to a bad attack of influenza, which Alice also caught, and recovery took some time. Eventually, they did enjoy the spring, studying Italian and enjoying visits to the opera, historic sites and various social functions, with Carice taking singing lessons, and guests being entertained, including the Brodskys. Their return to Hereford was not until May. Elgar was glad to be back at Plas Gwyn, and to enjoy the inspiration of the countryside on his bicycle, in spite of the increasing presence of motor cars. On his 51st birthday (June 2) he sketched a song In Memory of a Seer, but his main concentration had to be on the Symphony. Alice’s letter to Jaeger had a message from EE: “the Sym. is A1 – it is gorgeous”, and he wrote to Troyte Griffith, one of his Enigma friends: “Do come over: I am writing heavenly music and it will do you good to hear it” – this it certainly does still, for us 100 years later. Those who attended the Three Choirs Concert in Hereford in 2003, when Vernon Handley conducted the Philharmonia playing the 1st Symphony, will never forget that wonderful performance.

Now we look forward to the 2008 Elgar in Hereford Music Award being announced and presented in Leominster Priory on Sunday evening. The occasion is the Festival Concert by Leominster Choral Society, with last year’s winner, another Vernon (Thurgood) conducting A Sea Symphony by Elgar’s successor, Vaughan Williams.

4 Sir Edward Elgar feeding titbits to his beloved cairn terriers (Picture reproduced courtesy of the Elgar Birthplace Museum, Lower Broadheath, Worcester).

Above left: The Elgar in Hereford Award.