The Music Maker

Super 8
PanaScope
Stereophonic sound

Running time 25 minutes

Edward William Elgar, the music maker

The music of Edward Elgar needs no introduction to lovers of classical music, but surprisingly his life is not so well known.

The film I made, called “The Music Maker”, telling of his life follows Elgar from his birth at Broadheath on the 2nd June 1857 until his death of cancer on the 23rd February 1934 .

I used music by Elgar for all the incidental music in the film (if Elgar’s music can be called incidental!). As a great lover of his work it became a true labour of love.
Filmed in Worcester, Malvern and Hereford during the course of a week’s holiday there the rostrum camera shots were done at home over the following month or so.

The title of the film stems from the title of one of Elgar’s lesser-known works, “The Music Makers”, a cantata for contralto, full choir and orchestra, which was first performed in Birmingham on 1st October 1912. A short extract is used in the film; a contralto solo based on one of Elgar’s most famous works, ’Nimrod’ from the ‘Enigma Variations’.

Worcester Cathedral played a big part in Elgar’s life as his father played the organ there, as well as being one of the venues of the ’Three Choirs Festivals’ of Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester.

Another portrait of Elgar

Awards:

The Ten Best 1992 -
3 Stars

Bury Cine Society
Lovell Trophy 1990

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‘The Dream of Gerontius’ is also featured in two sequences of the film.