W.H.Reed’s Elgar As I Knew Him — Part 1

It’s a sad fact that the anniversary of Elgar’s 150th birthday on Saturday 2nd June, has - in comparison to the 40th anniversary of the recording of Sgt Pepper - received very little attention by the media (with exception of Syntagma) with the BBC’s Midlands Today programme the only one that has given England’s pre-eminent composer more than a passing mention, but only then to ask mainly uncomprehending folk in the streets of Worcester to name their favourite piece of Elgar’s music, with the inevitable result being ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and ‘Nimrod‘, with, worse still, many of them never having heard of the man; but then most of them probably couldn’t tell you who the president of Uzbekistan is either.

Back in the 1930s, even soon after the composer’s death, a good many people in those dark threatening days had already forgotten who Elgar was, with his music already considered by many in the arts establishment as old fashioned, and the anthem of an earlier age of empire. Nothing could have been further from the truth of course, and W.H. (Billy) Reed’s lovely memoir, Elgar: As I Knew Him, published in 1936, still one of the best books about Elgar ever written, and by a man who knew him intimately.

Let me quote you from the preface to give you some idea of how the book came about.

“ At the instance of Mr. Bernard Shaw, and many others of the friends and admirers of Sir Edward Elgar, I have been persuaded - I might almost say cajoled - into setting down these intimate and personal things concerning him, gathered during a close friendship extending over a period of nearly thirty years.

“ I was very diffident about undertaking this task, knowing full well that there are many others possessed of literary ability and experience in writing who are far better qualified in that respect. It is one thing to tell these intimate anecdotes and happenings at the dinner-table or in ordinary conversation, and quite another to set them down in readable form to be perused in cold blood by the multitude.

“ It was pointed out to me, however, that I was probably the only person who had the close knowledge of those daily happenings, and the only person, therefore, who could set them down at first hand. I was flattered by being told that my memory was so good that I could repeat Elgar’s exact words in recounting any anecdotes, just as if he had made the remarks recorded in this book yesterday; but I knew very well that, if I did not make this effort soon, I should forget a good deal of it; in which case, most, if not all, of these otherwise unobtainable details of his life would be lost.

“ While still hesitating and turning the matter over in my mind, recalling the past, and testing my memory concerning these things, I received a letter from Mr. Bernard Shaw calculated to fire me with the necessary courage to make a start:

‘ SCHEME FOR THE ELGAR BOOK
SECTION ONE
PERSONAL

‘Jump straight into the story at once - thus, “Elgar and I met first in 19??,” ’ etc.

“This was followed by another letter:

“ ‘Perhaps I should get the enclosed typed for you; but, as all orchestral players are inured to impossible manuscripts, I send it, to save time, just as I scrawled it. It may just serve to start you. Once started, you will no difficulty in going ahead in your own way.’

“ Thus stimulated, I hastened to begin.

“ After writing some ten or twelve pages I sent the sheets over to Malvern, where Bernard Shaw was residing. His reply was:

“ ‘ This is alright. Carry on like that and the book will be a success. I read it to T.E. Shaw ( Col. Lawrence of Arabia), who has a very keen literary flair, and to Mrs. Shaw. They agreed with me without a moment’s hesitation.’

“ After reading this, and being further assured verbally that, though playing the fiddle requires a high degree of trained professional skill, literature is successfully practised every day by cheerful amateurs, I threw modesty to the winds and went ahead recklessly…”

Reckless or not, Billy Reed - who was the leader of the LSO ( an orchestra Elgar considered his own) for many years - proved himself to be no amateur writer, but a thorough professional who manages to capture Elgar the man to perfection, and in a way that is both human, extremely funny, and almost unbearably moving at times.

To Be Continued…

Aficionados of Classy Classical will surely know by now that 2007 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Sir Edward Elgar.

We have already published here Steve Newman’s play on the great man, A Summer Garden.

Now BBC Radio 3 is to broadcast David Pownall’s Elgar drama tomorrow, Sunday June 3, at 9pm BST (8pm GMT). You can hear this play wherever you are, as the BBC now puts its radio programmes on the internet.

Go here to listen : http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/

You may need to download a free Radio Player to hear it, but once you have, you’ll be able to listen to all the other Elgar features planned during the summer, and much more besides.

If you miss the actual broadcast, there’s a button to “Listen Again”.