Overture, Cockaigne (In London Town), Op.40
In 1901, the end of the Victorian era, London was the greatest city in the world. In its trade, its glittering ceremonial, its vast kaleidoscope of human life, it embodied the whole panache, exuberance and colour of the global Empire at whose head it stood - the Imperial city, crowning glory of an age. Little wonder that it should exert a powerful pull on the 44 year-old Edward Elgar, whose career had only then, after the triumph of his "Enigma" Variations two years earlier, taken flight. The confidence and excitement of the great city must have echoed his own new-found creative confidence, and in the spring of 1901 he wrote an overture which evoked every aspect of the city in its full Edwardian splendour.
"Cockaigne", an old English name for an imaginary land of splendour and plenty, is also supposed to be the source of the term "Cockney" for a Londoner; and the opening and closing moods of the overture are those of playful good-humour and grandiloquent ceremonial. A jokey, very "whistleable" tune opens the work, and a string of colourfully orchestrated ideas follow, most noteably a broad, nobilmente melody (perhaps embodying the ancient dignity of the City, with its medieval guilds and traditions) and a more lyrical, reflective subject - Elgar, the countryman, was especially sensitive to the London of grassy parks and secluded Georgian squares. With these as his main scenes, Elgar crafted a closely-woven sonata-form tapestry of London life - a compact musical whole, full of colour and incident. A number of characterful episodes punctuate the narrative - a brilliantly glittering military band passes in great pomp; a rather less splendid ensemble, led by clarinets and tambourine, shuffles past a couple of streets away. And at the heart of the Overture, an oasis of tranquility and tenderness - perhaps a reflective moment in one of the ancient City guild-halls or a quiet corner of Hyde Park. But it is no more than an interlude before the clattering hustle and bustle of the vigorous development section - an aspect of London which may seem rather more familiar to the modern listener. The main themes of the overture pass once more, and the return of the military band in full panoply heralds a grandiose coda - the nobilmente theme for the final time, bringing the pageant to a close both dignified and exuberant. "Stout and steaky" was how Elgar described "Cockaigne" to his publisher Jaeger "Honest, healthy, humorous, and strong but not vulgar". But he omitted to mention the colour, feeling and real poetry which he brought to his subject in this overture; a blend of attributes which make it, while unmistakeably of its time, perpetually as fresh as new paint. "Cockaigne" is dedicated to "My many friends, the members of British orchestras".
Richard Bratby
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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