Sir Edward Elgar, Sea Pictures, op. 37: The Enhancement of Musical and Dramatic Performance through the Orchestration of Romantic Song Literature

Abstract

Sir Edward Elgar's song cycle Sea Pictures, op. 37 premiered on 5 October 1899. Written for contralto and orchestra, it was a part of the orchestral song cycle genre of the Romantic era. This new type of composition created an opportunity for musical and dramatic exploration in the art song through its use of the different colors and timbres an orchestra contains as opposed to the more traditional, and more homogenous sounding, piano. This paper is divided into six major parts: Elgar's biographical background, and his connection to the natural world; his general compositional style; his interest and participation in sound recording; a detailed analysis of Sea Pictures; and finally a comparison of orchestral versus pianistic song cycle performance. By significant study of the orchestration and instrumentation that Elgar uses, a performance with piano will be improved through knowledge of the colors and instruments that the composer employs at specific moments in the music to fulfill the Romantic ideal of painting a picture, thereby creating both a visual and aural world for the listener.