Composed for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Sea Pictures was heard for the first time on October 5, 1899 with also Clara Butt accompanied by the Festival Orchestra under the composer's direction. Elgar chose a five poems from five authors, including his wife (who provided the words for the second song). This new vocal score is a digitally enhanced reissue of the one first published in late 1899 by Boosey & Co., London. Unlike so many of the on-demand scores now available, this one comes with all the pages and the images have been thoroughly checked to make sure it is readable. As with all...

Dedicated to "my friends pictured within," Elgar's orchestral showpiece started life as a simple improvisation at the piano after a day of teaching violin in October of 1898. Upon playing the theme, his wife Alice asked that he repeat it. This led him to improvise variations on the melody - each variation a musical portrait of one of their friends. Elgar ultimately expanded this into a full-length compositon, including music portraits of Alice and himself before orchestrating it. The premiere was given on June 19, 1899 in London's St. James's Hall under the baton of Hans Richter. The work was...