The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps: 50 Years (1960-2010)

Per Scriptum E. Wesley - Mackinac Center Intern

As a former member of a local fife and drum corps here in Midland, Michigan, I have had the honor of performing at events alongside the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps; the official musical escort to the President of the United States. Fifing and drumming across America is more than just military music, it is a display of the values of early America set to music. I will always remember Mark Logsdon, drum major for the 1st Michigan Colonial Fife and Drum Corps, instructing us to play as though our survival depended on it. When I play, I attempt to breath into my fife the passions, hopes, and dreams of Americans who were willing to die in the American War for Independence. My instrument is a declaration of war on tyranny, and a herald of liberty. Fifers and drummers all over the country look to the Old Guard and Middlesex County Volunteers as the premier musical fife and drum corps in the world, even as Colonial Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps has distinguished itself for historical pageantry. Formed in 1960, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Old Guard, and with it, a new movement across the country to revive the military music of early America, of which I have been so fortunate to play a part. Watch this 11 and a half minute documentary and learn how a rag-tag idea turned into the official escort to the president of the United States, or alternatively go here for additional free music and video.

Sources:
Image of Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps from Wikipedia
http://www.army.mil/fifeanddrum/about.html
http://www.army.mil/fifeanddrum/50th.html
http://www.army.mil/fifeanddrum/video_history.html
http://www.army.mil/fifeanddrum/audio_video.html
http://1stmichigan.com/
http://www.mcvfifesanddrums.org/
http://www.history.org/history/fife&drum/about.cfm

The Battle of Springfield: June 23, 1780

Huzzah to our old forgotten victory!
At the rivers of Springfield, New Jersey,
Seventeen eighty, on June twenty three,
No King’s grenadier could beat Green or Lee.

In answer to their ranked, ordered folly,
We gave them musket and rifle volley;
And when lack of wadding silenced our noise,
Our minister then said, “Give them Watts, boys!”

There we fought with Presbyterian hymns,
Wadded up in our rifle barrel rims.
And with God turned back every foreign horde
Who in grenadier hero made their lord.

Those murderers, even in their retreat,
Pillaged and burned our town from every street,
Our children would be safe from future raids,
Only if through this we turned England’s blades.

Per Scriptum E. Wesley - Mackinac Center Intern

Known as the "forgotten victory," the Battle of Springfield demonstrated the American spirit and English animosity more than perhaps any other battle in the American War for Independence. Here, American militia and Continental infantry, some with wadding from Presbyterian hymnals, turned back a British-Hessian army of more than twice their strength. Their British opponents were those who hired foreign mercenaries to betray their own countrymen, because not enough men in England were willing to do so. This was the last major battle in the north, and a climax in the enduring tale of American liberty.

The year was 1780, and in the midst of Benedict Arnold's betrayal, British General Clinton ventured south to the Carolinas. During Clinton's absence, Hessian Lieutenant General Baron Wilhelm von Knyphausen decided to risk a march through New Jersey. After the humiliating defeat of the Battle of Connecticut Farms at Hobart Gap, Knyphausen was forced to withdraw, while Washington planed a night attack. Clinton rushed back with reinforcements from the Carolinas, and was furious to find out that Knyphausen had started without him. Clinton found out the hard way how mercenary leadership functions in the context of conflict. The Hessian Knyphausen was a mercenary, fighting for money, not his own empire. He was fighting a war that was not his own, and had little to lose in an adventure. Washington, believing that Clinton would make for West Point next, marched on ahead to West Point, leaving only about 1,500 regulars and 500 militia at Morristown to defend New Jersey under the charge of General Nathanial Greene. Because Clinton expected that Arnold would soon turn over to British command the fort at West Point, he instead ordered on June 23rd that Knyphausen once more approach Hobart Gap, while Clinton himself moved up the Hudson to stop Washington from rescuing Green.

Knyphausen began mobilizing his overwhelming force of 5,000. Meanwhile, Greene, being ridiculously outnumbered, began taking up positions along strong geographic locations. He placed divisions of men along the rivers surrounding Springfield, particularly on the bridges across the Rahway River. The planks of the Galloping Hill Road bridged were removed nearer the town, and to the north, the Vauxhall Road bridges were destroyed. Under the command of Colonel Elias Dayton, the 3rd New Jersey with extra militia formed up on the Galloping Hill Road near Connecticut Farms. Behind the 3rd New Jersey, the 2nd Rhode Island, commanded by Colonel Israel Angell, held the first bridge. The 2nd New Jersey under Colonel Israel Schreve defended the second bridge. Behind this bridge, General Greene himself supervised another line on the heights outside of Springfield composed of the New Jersey militia under Major General Philemon Dickinson. North of the town, Major Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee formed a second set of lines along the bridges of the Vauxhall Road, with the 1st New Jersey under Colonel Mathias Ogden as support. Stationed at Bryant's Tavern, a final force including two New England regiments under Brigadier General John Stark and what remained of the New Jersey Brigade under Brigadier General William Maxwell was set up to reinforce both lines. Meanwhile, Knyphausen's British-Hessian army set out from Staten Island and moved through Elizabethtown with a force including the Musketeer Regiment von Bose, Jäger Corps the Musketeer Regiment von Donop, Cheshire Regiment, Brigade of Guards, 43rd Regiment of Foot, 17th Lancers, Royal Regiment of Artillery, 1st American Regiment (the Queen's Rangers), and the Scottish Black Watch.

American to American, the battle ironically opened with the Loyalist Queen's Rangers striking Daton's 3rd New Jersey and militia. Daton held out initially until the Ranger's finally outflanked him and forced him to mesh with Angell's men across the bridge. Knyphausen then sent more divisions to the north in order to flank Angell, and created a simultaneous front and flank attack at the fire of his signal gun. This attack failed twice due to impregnable American defenses backed with a rear cannon. Eventually, Knyphausen's men fanned out and crossed the few feet deep river. Angell held out for a total of five assaults before finally falling back and joining Schreve at the second bridge. Knyphausen once again brilliantly fanned out and crossed the second river, as well as bringing the 20 artillery pieces to bear and forcing the 38th regiment past the right flank of the Americans. However, the progress of this brilliant move was suddenly slowed when gunfire erupted from a stone house nearby and militia counterattacked. The sheer force of British-Hessian strength finally forced the Americans to the heights and Greene's headquarters. During one of these encounters, Dayton's men were driven back to a Presbyterian church and began to run out of gun wadding. The regiment Chaplain, Reverend James Caldwell, promptly entered the church and garbed the all familiar Issac Watts Hymnals; hymns that were sung by Americans everywhere. Passing out the inspiring lyrics, he charged his regiment, "Give them Watts, boys!" Initially, Lee's men on the north were faced with the same sort of pressing defeats, being forced to leave the bridges after fierce fighting. However, Greene sent Stark's two reserve regiments north to Lee's relief on the Short Hills. This brought the British assault on the north side to a standstill. Rather than attack the heights, the British retreated back to Knyphausen, burned and looted the entire town of Springfield, and left the field for New York. This battle was the last major encounter in the north, and gave General Greene defensive experience for his vital battles in the south that were to come.

Although overshadowed by later southern battles like Yorktown, the Battle of Springfield was crucial in shaping the war in the north, and is important for symbolic reasons if for nothing else. It is perhaps the most symbolic battle in the entire American War for Independence. King George III referred to the War as a "Presbyterian Rebellion." Nowhere is George III's claim more symbolically validated than at Springfield. Another fact to note, is that because the War was so controversial in England, George III couldn't find enough British recruits, and therefore used public money to hire a Hessian mercenary army to betray and destroy his own countrymen in American, in spite of the fact that many Englishmen were virtuous enough not to fight. At Springfield, not only were Hessians involved in the fighting, the battle was directed by Knyphausen, a Hessian. Defeating Knyphausen was an American triumph over the King's trademark of betrayal and tyranny. The British further degraded their cause and revealed their spite by cruelly burning the entire town of Springfield rather than retreat as gentlemen. "Give them Watts, boys" is rightfully the motto of this battle, and represents the victory of Christian America over betrayal and injustice.

Sources:
Image of the Battle of Springfield NJ 1780 from Wikipedia
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/americanrevolution/p/springfield.htm
http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/800623.htm
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~njdar/churchandcannon/chapter.html
http://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com/new_jersey_revolutionary_war_sites/towns/springfield_nj_revolutionary_war_sites.htm
http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations/AAI3172505/

The Magna Carta: Signed June 15, 1215

"Our king a mock, a coward he
Did fail our land across the sea!
His sword was blunt, his armor weak,
From lack of use with rust did creak.

"And after this expensive venture,
He earned the Roman Pope’s censure,
Till we like Joseph have been sold,
As slaves, by a friend and brother cold.

"What is liberty but from this,
To have a sure deliverance?
At our feet shall tyrants assent,
To spurn not oaths of service lent!"

Thus spoke Sir Robert Fitz-Walter,
A cry for freedom without falter,
Which past nobility rang forth,
Telling mankind liberty's worth.

Per Scriptum E. Wesley - Mackinac Center Intern

June 15, 1215 went down in history as a cornerstone to the development of freedom in the Western world. Although the Magna Carta didn’t apply to all men and women when first crafted, it implemented the concept of fundamental human rights into political reality. In the West, it was arguably the first step towards forming a society with explicit rights for humanity, and limitations on how a ruler can rule over his subjects. Strife, war, and taxes were preludes to such a vital document.

In 1204, King John of England was forced to concede the loss of his French provinces. However, he was determined to regain popularity among the English nobles by continuing renewed military campaigns with France. This necessitated a rise in English taxes to support the foreign wars, which only led to more dissatisfaction among the nobility. Meanwhile, John also disagreed with Pope Innocent III over the Canterbury archbishopric election. The Pope threatened to depose John in 1212, but stopped when John (as a necessary compromise) offered England as a fief to the Church. John, in attempting to save his own power, now became a puppet.

The nobility, now completely enraged at John’s most resent political blunder, began to form a confederacy. Ironically, Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury revealed a copy of Henry I’s charter of freedoms in a meeting of nobility in London. The nobles swore to renew the observance of this charter. Soon, the confederacy spread throughout England and comprised the vast majority of the all the nobility. A much larger meeting was called at St. Edmundsbury by Langton, and the results were the same. It was agreed that after Christmas, they would trek to London for a “petition.” In the meantime, they armed themselves.

At the festival of Easter, when the nobles expected to hear the King’s reply to their petition, 2,000 knights in majestic array (and countless others of inferior rank) formed at Brackley, 15 miles from Oxford. The King, in an angry rant, refused to limit his power. Not a good idea! The confederacy then chose Robert Fitz-Walter as their general. They besieged Northampton castle (though unsuccessfully), marched through the gates of Bedford castle, and rode on to London. Upon reaching London, the nobles issued compulsory orders to other loyal barons to join the fight. The confederacy trashed the King’s palaces and parks, and “loyalists” flocked to their ranks all the more as an opportunity to make their secret hopes of freedom a reality. King John, having only 7 knights left, finally capitulated. In Runnymede, on June 15th 1215, John signed the “Great Charter” into law.

The Magna Carta’s influence is extraordinary. It laid the foundation for local elections in England (originally, only for the nobility). When England began to institute the “election” into society as a legitimate means of governance, it simultaneously spelled doom on its class system. Noble councils became parliaments, and rights to lords became rights to mankind. America would then take these seeds and plant them in a new world.

Note: This post is a modified version of an earlier post I wrote for Trying Liberty.

Also note: The poetic speech of Sir Robert Fitz-Walter was completely of my own invention, and is not real history. Although Sir Robert Fitz-Walter was chosen as a ringleader, I don't know his actual words. In my poem, I'm trying to get at the spirit of the Magna Carta from the nobles' perspective.

Sources:
Image of Joao sem terra assina carta Magna from Wikipedia
http://www.historyoflaw.info/magna-carta-history-a.d.-1215.html

The Battle of Glenshiel: June 10, 1719

Noise lashed the deeps, seas quaked and raged,
The wrath of God would not be assuaged,
The Spaniard fleet was helpless caged
In the storm Providence waged.

From cleft to cleft and rise to rise,
All about the river dell lies,
The highland band in kilted guise.
The pibrochs blare, the chieftain cries.

The knights of James for battle array,
While James himself is still away,
That reiver Rob Roy and Lord Murray,
Broadsword to broadsword pledged to stay.

Ore’ one thousand of highland name,
Ore’ two hundred Spaniards with the same,
“Swords out!” muskets begin to flame,
For Hanoverians now came.

Beneath the slopes of Glenshiel
Murry’s clans swiftly fled the dell
Great must have been Roy’s anguished yell
When Seaforth wounded too soon fell.

Per Scriptum E. Wesley - Mackinac Center Intern

In 1320, the signers of the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath vowed, "for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule." Ever since that time, the Scots strove to maintain their autonomy. In 1603, King James VI of Scotland became the "I" of England and Scotland. However, the Stuart kings proved too troublesome for the English, and in 1688, William and Mary took the throne. In Scotland, many remained loyal to the old Stuart line, and began to think of the new British line of royalty as usurpers. With the advent of the Hanovers in the early 18th century, the Jacobites began uprising in greater vigor. After the failure of the 1715 uprising, Swedish minister Georg Heinrich, Freiherr von Schiltz Gortz, arranged an alliance between Spain and the Jacobites such that Spain would supply an invasion army. Much like in 1588 when Spain had targeted the Protestant English with its Armada, Spanish success could have very well put an end to the right of Protestant religious freedom in England.

Spain should have learned from its earlier try back in 1588. On March 9, 1719, the 29 ship fleet, along with 5,000 men and 30,000 muskets scattered in a raging storm. However, 250 Spaniards accompanying the Earl of Marischal did arrive in Scotland ready to strike. Marischal's brother James Keith told Marischal the news that the Spanish fleet attacking England had been scattered. At Stornoway, the highland chiefs held council, and because Marischal had promised he would relinquish his command when someone of superior rank was found, Marischal reluctantly gave command of the army over to William Murray, the Earl of Tullibardine. The plan became to sail to the mainland and take the castle of Inverness, where there was only a small garrison numbering 300 soldiers. However, after landing at Loch Alsh, mustering the clans wasn't so easy, and most would not commit unless a Spanish fleet arrived. Tullibardine set up an invasion base at Eilean Donan Castle, and wasted more time arguing. Ormonde, commanding the scattered fleet, sent back word to Tullibardine that the invasion had been canceled and that the only way to continue was to muster the clans while he tried his best to send some arms. Accordingly, the Jacobites moved to the Crow of Kintail, leaving only 48 Spaniards to guard the gunpowder. By this time the Hanover English military was on the move. While the chiefs were away, three English warships swooped in and shelled the castle, forcing the Spanish to surrender. Furthermore, Inverness was reinforced with a force under Maj. Gen. Joseph Wightman. Finally, some more Highland clans joined Tullibardine's ranks; 150 Camerons from Lockaber, 400 to 500 highlanders under William McKenzie, fifth Earl of Seaforth, some men from Perthshire under Lord George Murray, and 1,000 more including Mackinnons, Mackenzies, and MacGregors. Of course, the outlaw Rob Roy came with his clan, the MacGregors. The Chisholm clan brought the news that General Wightman had already departed on June 5th from Inverness to challenge the clans with a force of 850 infantry, 120 dragoons, 200 grenadiers, 130 Whig clansmen, and 6 coehorn mortars of bronze.

Tullibardine chose his ground carefully, and decided to face these Hanoverians at Glenshiel (see above photo). David Sharp in an article published for Military History magazine describes the location:

The valley had a drover's road that crossed the Shiel River by a stone bridge. At that point the shoulder of a hill jutted into the valley, causing it to narrow into a gorge, the steep sides of which were covered by heather, bracken and birches. The road entered the valley from the flat area above the pass on a shelf on the north side between the river and the hill. The Jacobites sought to strengthen the center of their proposed line by throwing up a series of entrenchments on the contours of the hill to the north of the Shiel. They also erected a barrier across the drover's road that ran the length of the glen between the river and the entrenched hill. They held a strong position protected on the right by a rivulet and on the left by a ravine. The land in front of the entrenchments was steep and rugged.

Here, about 1,600 Jacobites took their positions across the valley floor. Fourteen-year-old Lord Murray held the right flank south of the river on high ground. To Murray's left, were some from the Spanish Regimento numero 3 La Corona marine unit under Don Nicolas Bolano. After the Spanish, from right to left, was Locheil's men, Rob Roy's MacGregors, Sir John Mackenzie of Coul and his Mackenzies, the Campbells from Ormdale and GlenDarul, clan Mackintosh, and finally Seaforth on a steep side with his men on the left flank. In the afternoon of June 10th, the Hanoverians under Wightman set up their army. The MacKays took up the left flank facing Murray, and a strong right wing set up on the north side of the river under Lt. Col. Jasper Clayton, comprising John, second Duke of Montagu's Grenadier Regiment, the 11th and 15th battalions of foot, and a Dutch troop regiment. One hundred and fifty dismounted dragoons supported the right wing flank on the road and river. A left wing with Clayton's own regiment, 80 Culcairn's clansmen under Captain George Munro, and the six mortars held the south side of the river. After some preliminary skirmishes, full fledged battle began between 5:00 and 6:00 pm. Young Murray beat back the first attack on the Jacobite right flank from 4 platoons of Clayton's regiment and some of Munro's clansmen. However, after regrouping, the Hanoverians drove Murry back to the protective high banks of the burn. From here, Murry could have counter-attacked by swooping down if only reinforcements were available. Now that Wightman had driven back the Jacobite right flank, he focused on the Jacobite left. As such, Montagu shook Seaforth's flank until Seaforth requested reinforcements. Rob Roy rushed toward Seaforth, only to find that the line had disintegrated, and Seaforth was removed being wounded in the arm. Now it was for the center! Wightman roared the mortars at the La Corona regiment, while the valiant Spaniards stood their ground despite the heather around them caught fire. Eventually the highlander Jacobites fled into the highlands, and the Spanish regiment chose to surrender to the English rather than hide up in the highlands. The Hanoverians suffered 21 dead, 121 wounded, while the Jacobites probably lost only slightly more (maybe about 40 dead and 120 wounded). Rob Roy MacGregor lurked in the hills of Glen Shira, and afterward returned to his home at Balquidder (actually, my ancestor clan, the MacLaurins, also spelled MacLaren, owned Balquidder first, before the MacGregors pillaged us out). Thus ended the Jacobite "little rising."

A few political observations of these events are in order. Scotland's only claim to the English throne was through Stuart family inheritance, and when the English decided to switch royal lines, Scotland had a hereditary right to be excluded from the domain of the new English king, being that the terms of inheritance had been violated. However, instead of fighting for their independence like Wallace and Bruce had done, the Jacobites voluntarily allied themselves with England's worst enemies, planed large-scale foreign invasions of England, and attempted to reclaim the entire British throne with a Stuart Catholic king. Catholic kings in England by this time had become socially impossible in the long run. Hence, these uprisings quickly degenerated into a zero-sum games. If England won, Scotland would have to submit, if Scotland won, England would have to submit. Providentially, all of the large-scale Catholic military invasions of England failed. The Scots would have probably found more support for their own cause if they had fought for pure independence instead of a royal line. For one thing, the Lowlands possibly would have joined the cause. However, the Western world would have to wait until the end of the 18th century, before a successful war for independence was won; this time, without a king or single figurehead other than God.

Sources:
Image of Glenshiel from Wikipedia
http://www.constitution.org/scot/arbroath.pdf
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-glenshiel.htm
http://www.clan-cameron.org/battles/1719.html
http://www.clan-macrae.org.uk/scotland/history.cfm?ID=94
http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/kingbio.htm

Sir Edward Elgar: The Last Bard of Great Britain

See that thy navies speed, to the sound of the battle-song;
Then, when the winds are up, and the shuddering bulwarks reel,
Smite, the mountainous wave, and scatter the flying foam,
Big with the battle-thunder that echoeth load, loud and long;

A. C. Benson in Elgar's Coronation Ode Op 44, Britain, ask of thyself

Per Scriptum E. Wesley - Mackinac Center Intern

Although the light of his musical genius has faded with the passing of time and fancy, Sir Edward Elgar resurrected English Classical music from a long slumber to a climax of patriotic fervor by setting to music the strongest British sentiments that ever beat in an Edwardian Englishman's heart. With the performance of Elgar's Coronation Ode at the coronation of King Edward VII himself, Elgar reached at the very heart of the splendor and moral code of the English court and all that had been "Victorian" and would become "Edwardian." However, even with the utterance of Elgar's invocation at the 1902 coronation, "Lord of Life, we pray, Crown the King with Life!," the British Empire stood upon the brink of its greatest and final collapse in the 20th century, and these golden days would soon turn to blood. Elgar became the last bard of Great Britain.

Elgar was born on June 2, 1857 in Worcester, and grew up playing the violin and organ without any official musical training. He composed the Wand of Youth for a family play at twelve years old, and continued music as an assistant organist for St. George's Church in Worcester and as a bandmaster. Against the will of Alice's parents, Elgar married a former pupil of his, Caroline Alice Roberts in 1889. Alice became his most constant companion and helpmeet, encouraging Elgar on every new stride. Biographer Jerrold Northrop Moore in his Edward Elgar: A Creative Life wrote; "Without the marriage to Alice and without her encouragement, he might himself have remained one of the 'hundreds of villain churls' whose ploughings of earth never adorn the pages of history." Elgar himself wrote to Dr. Buck regarding his new wife, "And now (after all our talks about the mystery of living), I must tell you how happy I am in my new life & what a dear, loving companion I have & how sweet everything seems & how understandable existence seems to have grown..." His career was now ready to begin.

Romanticism had its hold on Elgar as well as England in the late 1880s and 90s. He began to explore the themes of Medieval chivalry in The Black Knight (1889-92) and Froissart (1890). Visiting his old church in April 1890 filled him with a sense of youthful heroism that led into Froissart. He chose Froissart because he remembered a dialogue between a Royalist commander and a youthful hero in Sir Walter Scott's Old Mortality,

Did you ever read Froissart?... His chapters inspire me with more enthusiasm than even poetry itself. And the noble canon, with what true chivalrous feeling he confines his beautiful expressions of sorrow to the death of the gallant and high-bred knight, of whom it was a pity to see the fall, such was his loyalty to his king, pure faith to his religion, hardihood towards his enemy, and fidelity to his lady-love! -- Ah, and benedictine! how he will mourn over the fall of such a pearl of knighthood, be it on the side he happens to favour, or on the other. But, truly, for sweeping from the face of the earth some few hundreds of villain churls, who are born but to plough it, the high-born and inquisitive historian has marvellous little sympathy.

In Scott's quote, we see Elgar's personal life begin to reflect Victorianism. Whereas many Romantics of the early 19th century left Romanticism unrestrained, Victorians bridled Romanticism with truth, loyalty, and Christian ethics. One need look no further than Kipling's Birkenhead Drill from the heroism that Victorians held dear ever since the wreck of the H.M.S. Birkenhead in 1853. Scott led the way for many Victorians by putting morals first, which explains the popularity of his novels in the late 19th century and the Queen Victoria's craze over Scotland. Youth was thought to be naively faithful, similar to Mathew 18:3 "unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (NKJV). However, as G. A. Henty's and Martha Finley's very popular historical fiction novels prove, Victorians also respected history as a tool to instruct those living in the present and mold as much as inspire the young. Elgar was perhaps inadvertently following Henty's and Scott's steps by using historical fiction in art. Carrying with him his almost melancholy longing for his childhood, Elgar musically expressed this common Victorian sentiment in Enigma Variations (1889). In Enigma, Elgar hinted at a well known tune but never exposed it as audibly recognizable. He also used different parts of the Enigma to reminisce about his friends in his life. All attempts at exposing Elgar's theme in Enigma have so far failed, and this piece still remains a mystery. What is plain is that it embodies a feeling of melancholy remembrance unique to Victorianism.

Although Elgar went on to compose such masterpieces Sea Pictures (1900), The Dream of Gerontius (1900), and later the Cockaigne (In London Town) Overture (1901), his four Pomp and Circumstance marches (beginning in 1901) and the Coronation Ode (1902) defined him as the quintessential English composer of his time. After the Coronation, he set to music his Catholic Christian faith in The Apostles (1903) and The Kingdom (1901-06). Being knighted in 1904 by Edward VII, Elgar composed his flourishing Symphony No. 1 (1908), which, before preforming it Hans Richter proclaimed, "Gentlemen, let us now rehearse the greatest symphony of modern times, written by the greatest modern composer - and not only in this country." In 1911 he composed the Violin Concerto, the Symphony No. 2 in 1912, the Music Makers in 1913, and the Falstaff in 1914. The Coronation Ode in five marches and six movements was his brightest star as an English musician, as it embodied the high ideals of Victorianism and the aspirations of Great Britain at the advent of Edward's reign. The first march begins a prayer for God's blessing on the King, and by extension the nation, with lyrics written by A. C. Benson:

Listen to a preview here.

Read lyrics for: I - "Crown the King" - Introduction Soloists and Chorus

What is interesting to note is that true leadership is defined as very specific Christian virtues that are startling to the modern reader. For instance, peace is exemplified as "long suffering," mimicking the rhetoric of the King James Bible in Ephesians 4:2 and 2 Timothy 3:10. The virtues themselves draw on Christianity and classical Western ideas; life, might, peace, love, faith, and salvation. "Crown the King" epitomizes the English Christian tradition of "saving" the king. Going back to the Enigma, Elgar transitions the theme into a fresher majesty. Employing descending steps and sudden drops gives a sense of "recessional." The second movement details the Queen Alexandra's history and destiny:

Preview here.

Read lyrics for: (a) "The Queen" (b) "Daughter of ancient Kings"

Delicately gorgeous, one can almost here the queen's steps across the palace in the melody. The sustained notes combined with the hushed chorus make these verses sparkle like the royal wind in verse four. Once again "guileless faith" is of vital importance in the Victorian mind. Truth was what the previous Queen Victoria exemplified, and Alexandra is exhorted to follow in her footsteps. Purity is a unique virtue to this verse as is the feminine "sparkling." The third movement drastically shifts gears to a marshal military tone:

Preview here.

Read lyrics for: III "Britain, ask of thyself" - Solo Bass and Chorus (Tenor and Bass)

The preservation of the Empire is of first concern to Elgar as far as practical application. Here is where all Englishmen are charged to live out the Romanticized chivalrous virtues and make them real in history. This is a clash between good and evil. It is applicable, stark, dramatic, and marshal. It represents the world wide British Empire at a time when the sun never set on it. In other words, if England will not be brave, who will? The horns blare, the drums crash, the soloist bellows, and the chorus yells. The strength and stability of Victorian valiance is forever captured in this march. It is the last march of the age. In typical Victorian sentiment, the fourth movement falls back on youth for personal reflection to balance the call of war:

Preview here.

Read lyrics for: (a) "Hark, upon the hallowed air" (b) "Only let the heart be pure"

Like the Enigma, reminiscing over one's youth as a nation is what adds bitter sweetness to the Coronation. However, true to Victorianism, the last verse states that truth and wisdom must guide youth; "So shall Wisdom, one with Truth, Keep undimm'd the fires of youth, Strong to conquer, strong to bless, Britain, Heaven hath made thee great!" It is in fact the courage that one finds from the personal past (youth) that inspires the bravery that must in turn curb youth out of its wildness. Purity is the guard. Elgar uses a melodramatic male soloist to represent this youth, and a slower pace to create remembrance. The fifth movement moves from remembrance to peace.

Preview here.

Read lyrics for: V "Peace, gentle peace" - Soli (S.A.T.B.) and Chorus unaccompanied

Just like in a church, an unaccompanied chorus rains down blessings upon the nation. It resembles the same hushed tone of the second movement. This is a tranquil blessing wreathed in quietness. The next movement employed the grandest accomplishment yet, a tune Elgar himself said "will knock 'em flat."

Listen here.

Read lyrics for: VI - "Land of hope and glory" - Finale (Contralto Solo and Tutti)

Set to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance, the finale clearly links the monarch with the survival of the moral striving of the nation in the tradition of English liberty. Again, truth takes its preeminence in Victorian virtue, followed by "Right" and "Freedom." This is what the West stood for; this is what the Empire was. The hope and glory of all British across the world was balanced in this ceremony. Seen in this light, pomp and circumstance wasn't just for show, or the blessing of the King and Empire needless flattery. It was an exhortation, a rebuke if needs be, a challenge to live rightly; it was a dedication to all that was British. It was in faith and freedom that they crowned their king: "Strong in Faith and Freedom, we have crowned our King!"

Elgar all too soon found out what a definitive finale this was as Great Britain entered WWI and the Empire declined to rise no more, save for its brief "finest hour." In 1919 after witnessing five long years of death, Elgar's patriotism turned to gloom and lamentation in the Cello Concerto, as he was overwhelmed by the grief and totality of destruction. He could only weep for his country now. In 1920, his wife Alice died, ending his source of encouragement and inspiration to continue composing. He only rose again for a brief time from 1928 to 1934, during which time he left two major works unfinished. Elgar died on February 23, 1934 from a malignant tumor. With his passing ended an age and the song of a kingdom. Although he had boosted England's long awaited lead in music, his Pomp and Circumstance had no reality to shine in the modern and post-modern eras. In this sense, Sir Edward Elgar is the last bard of Great Britain.

Sources:
Image of Edward Elgar from Wikipedia
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=WRULnIDJRH8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Edward+Elgar:+A+Creative+Life+By+Jerrold+Northrop+Moore&source=bl&ots=1DbFDtmNyL&sig=DOLnRhvINwlBUphwR63_xm-9Ahk&hl=en&ei=c0oDTJCYK5ey0gTm_ZT3Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/elgar.html
http://www.clainesfriends.org.uk/elgar.html
http://www.elgarfoundation.org/elgar_fr.htm
http://www.classicalarchives.com/work/203993.html
http://www.sterlingtimes.org/memorable_images15.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugieMcWPgOk
http://www.musicweb-international.com/programme_notes/elgar_froissov.htm
Lyrics for Coronation Ode from Wikipedia