Elgar – Chanson De Matin, Opus 15 No. 2 (String Quartet Parts)

At the height of his maturity as a composer, Elgar made two suites for orchestra by expanding and developing some incidental music he had composed at the age of twelve for some private theatricals. This arrangement by Carlo Martelli is the penultimate number from the second suite and is ideal for colleges.

In the early 1890s, whilst on holiday in Bavaria, Elgar composed several pieces for chorus and keyboard for a group of musicians he met at the inn in which he was staying. He later orchestrated three of the pieces that were published as Three Bavarian Dances - this arrangement is the second movement of that suite. The Pavão Quartet recorded this arrangement on the CD Dreaming, released in 2008 on Discrete Recordings DISC0801 and re-released in 2010 on Discadia Records DISCA001. Included on the same CD are four more of Martelli’s Grieg, Beethoven, Debussy and Dvořák arrangements also published by Broadbent & Dunn.

This piece, arranged by Bill Thorp, forms part of a group of Edward Elgar's much-loved salon pieces, that are as fresh and exquisite as when first conceived over a century ago. Chanson de Nuit evokes the (appropriately) Edwardian golden age, and will be ever-popular because it is so beautifully written.

Arranged for string quartet by Carlo Martelli, this lively piece, better known in its orchestral arrangement, is the final movement of a suite of choral songs Elgar composed while on holiday in Bavaria. For conservatories and professionals.