Imperial March (Elgar)

Instrumentation#

The work is written for an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals, and side drum) and the string section.

Structure#

Pomposo 4/4 B flat major Ex. 1. The opening, quiet and noble, is developed in a lively festive way: \relative c’ \key bes \major \time 4/4 \tempo “Pomposo.” \partial 8 \clef bass f,,8\p ^\markup (Timp) bes4-. \clef treble > r g'4 ^\markup (Vn) _\markup \italic sostenuto \ g16 es4! Ex. 2. The middle section, in E flat major, has violins and clarinets introduce a new theme for development: \relative c’ \new Staff \with \remove “Time_signature_engraver” \key es \major \time 4/4 \tempo “Poco meno mosso.” bes'8. _\markup \dynamic p \italic dolce molto espress. g16( > aes8. c16( f8.) d16( es8.) c16( > bes8.\ bes16!( > d8. bes16( c8.) g16( bes8.) g16( > f8. g16( aes8.) a16 After the recapitulation of Ex. 1, Ex. 2 leads into the coda, which mainly uses Ex. 1 and magnificently concludes the work. Average performance needs approximately 5 minutes.

References#

• • • • Score, Elgar: Imperial March, Novello & Co., London, 1902

External links#

• • *Imperial March on the website of the Elgar Society