Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance Marches / Cockaigne Overture / Menuhin

1. Pomp and Circumstance, 5 marches for orchestra, Op. 39
Composed by Edward Elgar
Conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin

2. Coronation March for orchestra, Op.65
Composed by Edward Elgar
Conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin

3. Pageant of Empire for voice, chorus & orchestra Empire March
Composed by Edward Elgar
Conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin

4. Imperial March for orchestra, Op.32
Composed by Edward Elgar
Conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin

5. Caractacus, cantata for soloists, chorus & orchestra, Op.35 Triumphal March
Composed by Edward Elgar
Conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin

6. Cockaigne Overture ("In London Town") for orchestra, Op. 40
Composed by Edward Elgar
Conducted by Sir Yehudi Menuhin

Customer Reviews:

Super collection of Elgar's major works.......2004-06-28

Most compilations of composers works usually only feature, at best, maybe one or two works in recordings that are of outstanding quality, especially if different artists are featured. Such is absolutely not the case with this collection, one of the finest of its sort ever issued.

This box makes a perfect one stop shopping choice for the major, most-well-known works the British composer Sir Edward Elgar. The title is misleading though. The box, on 8 CDs at an incredible price, contains both Orchestral AND Choral works.
Since Amazon does not list the contents, I will :

Symphony Nos. 1 & 2 -- LPO , Solti
Serenade for strings - ASMF , Marriner
Intro and Allegro - ECO , Britten
Cello Concerto - Webber , RPO , Menuhin
Enigma Var. -- CSO , Colti
Cockaigne Over -- LPO , Solti
Violin Con -- Chung , LPO , Solti
Falstaff -- Montreal , Dutoit
Dream of Gerontius -- LSO , Britten
Sea Pictures -- RPO , Mackerras
In the South -- LPO , Solti
Pomp and Circumstance -- LPO , Solti
Imperial MArch -- Band of Grebadier Guards , Bashford
Sospri -- ASMF , Marriner
Elegy -- ASMF , Marriner
Wand of Youth -- Welsh NO , Mackerras
Starlight Express -- Welsh NO , Mackerras
Dream Children -- Welsh NO , Mackerras

Look up almost any of the individual works and you should be able to find these recordings in their individual issues, many with several 5 start ratings.

I won't elaborate on any of the specific recordings, just take my word for that there isn't a dud in the box.

Tracks:

Pomp And Circumstance Marches Op. 39: No. 1 In D Major: Allegro molto fuoco
Pomp And Circumstance Marches Op. 39: No. 2 In A Minor: Allegro molto
Pomp And Circumstance Marches Op. 39: No. 3 In C Minor: Con fuoco
Pomp And Circumstance Marches Op. 39: No. 4 In G Major: Allegro marziale
Pomp And Circumstance Marches Op. 39: March No.5 In C Major: Vivace
Coronation March Op. 65
Pageant Of Empire: Empire March
Imperial March Op.32
Caractacus Op. 35: Triumphal March
Cockaigne Overture Op. 40

Customer Reviews:

Radical Re-Thinking of Pomp and Circumstance.......2005-04-25

I am now listening to my recordings of Elgar's Pomp and Cirumstance Marches. This one might be my favorite except for one thing-very fast tempos. Menuhin almost rushes the 2nd one off its feet (about 3 minutes and 34 seconds when it is usually about 5). The "Land of Hope and Glory" theme almost jogs along. But I still enjoy these recordings. The percussion is fabulous; and the organ is tremendous, especially on the Coronation March. Most of the other marches are not very well known; one of my favorites in missing on this recording, the "March of the Mogul Emperors", which Judd has on his new Naxos recording. Menuhin's "Cockaigne" is also very well done, although this is not one of my favorite Elgar pieces. Judd has the neglected "Polonia" on his CD, which is a bonus. I have to keep listening to my recordings before I pass judgement (Kunzel's recording of No.1 with the Cincinatti Pops has always been a favorite of mine) but all of them are very impressive so far. Soon I will review Judd's CD and also Bliss and Andre Previn's recordings. An embarrassment of riches!

Sloppy editing kills a great album.......2002-05-15

Virgin's engineers have clipped off the first two bars of Track 1, the famous P & C March no. 1. The effect is ghastly cheap; Virgin should have the integrity to recall all copies of this edition for the crusher and reissue this otherwise magnificent album. I've played my copy on both DVD and CD players to verify that it wasn't a DVD track-marker problem, but it's just sloppy engineering. Menuhin has done some other Elgar collections and I find his directing style to be appropriately vigorous, so I would steer you to them first...

An outstanding recording of Elgarýs greatest hits.......2000-06-30

The trio of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March Number 1 is immediately familiar to high school graduates. It has an undeserved reputation as a pretentious, stodgy tune. Yet as this great recording shows, there is more to the march than the trio, and there are four other highly inventive, brilliantly orchestrated marches in the same group. This is fun music, yet substantial enough to reward multiple hearings.

Rounding out the disc are five more marches that Elgar wrote for various occasions. These are longer and, with the exception of opus 40, more serious than the first five, but every bit as enjoyable. The Cockaigne Overture, a.k.a. "In London Town," is a whimsical portrayal of the bustling English capital. It belongs to the same family of musical travelogues as Gershwin's An American in Paris and Respighi's Fountains of Rome.