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Founded in 1926, Edwin F. Kalmus is the oldest reprint publisher in the United States.  Previously located in Boca Raton, FL, the company was moved to Jacksonville in 2018, and sold to Keiser Productions Inc. in 2020.  In addition to the well-known and improved reprint catalog, new series and editions are also being developed.

The Music Makers, Op. 69 for Contralto Solo, Chorus, and Orchestra

Composers:
  • Elgar, Edward
Detailed Instrumentation: Alto Solo, Mixed Chorus: 2+Picc.2+EH.2+BCl.2+CBsn: 4.3.3.1: Timp.Perc(2-3): Hp(2).Org: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set)
Duration: 40
Description:

Edward Elgar (1857-1934) began work on The Music Makers, Op. 69, a work for solo contralto, mixed chorus, and orchestra, in 1903 and completing it in 1912. It sets the entirety of Ode by Arthur O’Shaughnessy to music, a text that likely appealed to Elgar’s sense of an artist’s life and relationship to society. (The text begins with, “We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams.”) Perhaps given the kinship he felt to the text, Elgar’s music is almost autobiographical in ways, quoting music from some of his own most popular works, including: The Dream of Gerontius, the Violin Concerto, “sea-breakers” from Sea Pictures, “Nimrod” from the Enigma Variations, Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2, the Violin Concerto, Rule, Britannia, and La Marseillaise. Despite the many quotations, most of the music is original. It premiered on October 1st, 1912 at the Birmingham Festival, with Muriel Foster singing the alto solo, and Elgar himself conducting the Festival Chorus and Orchestra. This vocal score includes piano accompaniment for rehearsal or performance.

Products:

  • A912401 / 36-A912401 THE MUSIC MAKERS OP. 69 FS $60.00Buy Now
  • A912402 / 36-A912402 THE MUSIC MAKERS OP. 69 SC/PTS $265.00Buy Now
  • A912491 / 36-A912491 THE MUSIC MAKERS OP. 69 VS $15.95Buy Now

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