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Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask (DVD) | Crux Productions CRUXGZ002DVD

Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask (DVD)

Label: Crux Productions

Cat No: CRUXGZ002DVD

Barcode: 5056083202058

Format: DVD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Documentary

Release Date: 6th April 2018

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Contents

Artists

James Creswell (bass)
Janice Watson (soprano)
Michael Laird (shofar)
Mark Wilde (tenor)
David Owen Norris (piano)
Crouch End Festival Chorus
Schola Cantorum of Oxford
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Conductors

Edward Gardner
James Burton

Works

Elgar, Edward

Part-Songs (excerpts)
The Apostles, op.49 (excerpts)
The Music Makers, op.69 (excerpts)

Artists

James Creswell (bass)
Janice Watson (soprano)
Michael Laird (shofar)
Mark Wilde (tenor)
David Owen Norris (piano)
Crouch End Festival Chorus
Schola Cantorum of Oxford
BBC Symphony Orchestra

Conductors

Edward Gardner
James Burton

About

With his noble bearing, stiff upper lip and imperial moustache, the composer Sir Edward Elgar is often seen as the epitome of Edwardian England. But this image was deliberately contrived, and far from reality.

Based on the enigmatic clues he left in his music and in his private correspondence, John Bridcut’s film looks behind the famous moustache to disclose the apparently self-confident Elgar as a brilliant but neurotic musician, with a chip on his shoulder about his lowly origins and his Catholic religion, who despised the Establishment, yet longed to belong to it. Elgar’s intense relationships with several women apart from his wife belong to his restless, obsessive nature, and fresh evidence of the nature of these relationships is revealed in the film.

This surprising portrait of a musical genius, originally shown on BBC Television, explores the secret conflicts in Elgar’s heart which produced some of Britain’s greatest music. Among the specially-shot performances are the dark, suicidal music of Judas in The Apostles (rarely-heard and never filmed before, yet this is Elgar at his most operatic), the turmoil of The Music Makers, and the bleak, almost atonal character of some of his unaccompanied partsongs.

The musicians taking part include the BBC Symphony Orchestra (conductor: Edward Gardner) with James Creswell (bass), Janice Watson (soprano), Michael Laird (shofar) and Crouch End Festival Chorus; Schola Cantorum of Oxford (conductor: James Burton); Mark Wilde (tenor) and David Owen Norris (piano).

Running time: 90 mins approx.

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