''Polonia'' is a symphonic prelude by the English composer

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

written in 1915 as his Op. 76.

History

On 13 April 1915 the Polish conductor

Emil Młynarski Emil Szymon Młynarski (; 18 July 18705 April 1935) was a Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue. Life Młynarski was born in Kibarty (Kybartai), Russian Empire, now in Lithuania. He studied violin with Leopold Auer and composi ...

asked Elgar to compose something, thinking of how Elgar's ''

Carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

'' had been a recent tribute to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, but this time using Polish national music. The piece was mainly Elgar's own work, but he included

quotations A quotation is the repetition of a sentence, phrase, or passage from speech or text that someone has said or written. In oral speech, it is the representation of an utterance (i.e. of something that a speaker actually said) that is introduced by ...

from the Polish National Anthem ''

Mazurek Dąbrowskiego ( " Dąbrowski's Mazurka"), in English officially known by its incipit Poland Is Not Yet Lost, is the national anthem of the Republic of Poland. The original lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggio Emilia, in Northern Italy, between ...

'', the '' Warszawianka'' and other Polish patriotic songs, and themes by Chopin and

Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versail ...

. It was first performed at the Polish Victims' Relief Fund Concert in the

Queen's Hall The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect Thomas Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. Fro ...

, London on 6 July 1915, with the orchestra conducted by the composer. The Relief Fund was a worldwide effort, organised by Paderewski and

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, espe ...

, in aid of refugees from the terrible conflict in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

between the forces of Russia and Germany. There were elaborately engraved programmes, each tied with a red and white ribbon, containing messages from Paderewski. Elgar conducted his première and

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Roya ...

conducted the remainder of the concert. Elgar dedicated ''Polonia'' to Paderewski, already a distinguished pianist and composer. Paderewski had written his own "Polonia" in 1908, his Symphony in B minor, to which he had given that subtitle.

Elgar's correspondence with Paderewski

On 29 August 1915, Elgar wrote to Paderewski, asking for permission for the quotation from his ''Fantasie Polonaise'' to be published: Paderewski received the work with genuine admiration. He wrote to Elgar after hearing the work for a second time in October:

Themes

Elgar quotes Polish patriotic songs, the Polish National Anthem, and themes by Chopin and

, integrating with them a theme of his own, said to be the motive of his admiration for the Polish people. The first theme that Elgar uses is heard, after an introductory flourish, played by the

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuos ...

s. It is a quote from the '' Warszawianka'', which has the words ''"Śmiało podnieśmy sztandar nasz w górę"'' ("Bravely let us raise our flag"). This is immediately followed by a ''Nobilmente'' theme (Elgar's own), broadly stated then dying away to lead to the second national theme which is the dignified ''"Chorał"'' or ''"Z dymem pożarów"'' ("With the smoke of fires"), first played simply by the cellos (with a

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an al ...

) and a

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

, later by the woodwind with a violin

countermelody In music, a counter-melody (often countermelody) is a sequence of notes, perceived as a melody, written to be played simultaneously with a more prominent lead melody. In other words, it is a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the prima ...

, before being played by the full orchestra. The ''Warszawianka'' theme is then developed, leading into a brief return of Elgar's theme, before a quotation from Paderewski's ''Fantasie Polonaise'' appears, signalled by the ring of a

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

. The magical section following quotes from Chopin's Nocturne in G minor, played by a solo violin, during which the Paderewski theme is heard, and is quietly interrupted by the ''Warszawianka''. There is further development which leads to a triumphant return of the ''Chorale'', which sounds like a conclusion to the work, but no: the ''Chorale'' dies away, there is a simple statement of the Polish National Anthem ''"Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła"'' ("

Poland Is Not Yet Lost ( "Dąbrowski's Mazurka"), in English officially known by its incipit Poland Is Not Yet Lost, is the national anthem of the Republic of Poland. The original lyrics were written by Józef Wybicki in Reggio Emilia, in Northern Italy, between ...

"), and it is this Anthem which brings the work to a brilliantly orchestrated conclusion. For the final bars, the instruments of the orchestra are joined by the

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. A thorough appreciation and analysis of the work has been made by American-born Polish musician Joseph A. Herter.Herter, Elgar Society Journal, vol.11, no.2, July 1999, ''Elgar's Polonia''.

Recordings

*The Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Edward Elgar, recorded 22 May 1919, issued on HMV D493 atrix HO3726af & HO3728af reissued in "The Elgar Edition. The Acoustic HMV Recordings," 1914–25. Pearl CD GEMMCDS9951/5. *1975 "Elgar Orchestral Music", London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, includes "Polonia". EMI Records, ASD 3050 stereo.
Elgar Collector's Edition
Modern edition of the same recording – London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Adrian Boult.

Rutland Sinfonia, Barry Collett.
British Symphonic Collection Vol 2: Elgar
Munich Symphony Orchestra, Douglas Bostock.
Elgar: Marches
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, James Judd.
Transcribed for organ
played b
Simon Nieminski
at St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.
Elgar: Violin Concerto (Violin Concerto/ Polonia/ Interlude From The Crown Of India)
played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

References

* Herter, Joseph A

''A Polish Overture by a British Composer: "Polonia", Op. 76 by Edward Elgar''. Also in ''Elgar Society Journal, Vol.11 No.2 - July 1999.'' * * * pages 165–168

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Compositions by Edward Elgar 1915 compositions Compositions for symphony orchestra