Carillon (Elgar)

Carillon is a recitation with orchestral accompaniment written by the English composer Edward Elgar as his Op. 75, in 1914. The words are by the Belgian poet Émile Cammaerts.

It was first performed in the Queen's Hall, London, on 7 December 1914, with the recitation by Cammaerts' wife Tita Brand, and the orchestra conducted by the composer.

The work was performed in January 1915 at the London Coliseum with Henry Ainley, and at Harrogate on 28 August 1915, with the soprano the Hon. Mrs. Julian Clifford and a military band. The band arrangement was by Percy Fletcher.

On 15 August 1918, Carillon and Le drapeau belge were performed with success at a popular concert in Prospect Park, Brooklyn,[1] with the recitations by the Belgian dramatic artist Carlo Liten.[2]

  1. ^ "PAY BELGIUM TRIBUTE IN BROOKLYN CONCERT; Mayor Hylan and Great Throng Hear 'Carillon' in Prospect Park --Ysaye, Conducts Hymn. (Published 1918)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021.
  2. ^ Carlo Liten was born in 1879 in Antwerp, Belgium of a Belgian father and Italian mother. He was a distinguished theatre actor and reciter, at the time well-known in Europe and America. He performed in Elgar's Carillon, Le drapeau belge and Une voix dans le désert. After World War I he acted in three films "The Strongest" (1920), "L'Affaire du train" (1921) and "Les Mystères de Paris" (1922). It was said of him by John Palmer (assistant editor of the London Saturday Review) that Liten "had the most wonderful voice in the memory of any living person ... for resonance, servicableness and charm the most remarkable I have ever heard from any actor. Add to this mastery of gesture and expression dictated by a refined intelligence and we get a rare personality."