Falstaff (Elgar)

Falstaff – Symphonic Study in C minor, Op. 68, is an orchestral work by the English composer Edward Elgar. Though not so designated by the composer, it is a symphonic poem in the tradition of Franz Liszt and Richard Strauss. It portrays Sir John Falstaff, the "fat knight" of William Shakespeare's Henry IV Parts 1 and 2.

The work was well received at its première in 1913, but did not inspire the great enthusiasm aroused by some of Elgar's earlier works. The composer thought it his finest orchestral piece, and many Elgar admirers agree, but it has not become a popular favourite. Compared to other Elgar works, it is infrequently played in the concert hall, although it is well represented in the CD catalogues.

Falstaff is scored for an orchestra of two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and cor anglais, two clarinets and bass clarinet, two bassoons and contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (side drum, triangle, tabor, tambourine, bass drum, cymbals), two harps (second harp ad lib), and strings.

Elgar set out the divisions of the score in an "analytical essay" in The Musical Times in 1913:

In the first section, Elgar establishes the two main themes of the piece, that for Prince Hal (marked grandioso) being courtly and grand, and that for Falstaff himself showing "a goodly, portly man, of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye and a most noble carriage."Arrigo Boito adapted these words of Falstaff for his libretto for the Verdi opera of the same name, but the Falstaff of the opera is essentially the buffo character from The Merry Wives of Windsor, whereas Elgar's is the Falstaff of Henry IV.

The subsequent development of the score follows closely the key events of the two parts of Henry IV, in which Falstaff features. The Gadshill section (from Henry IV, Part 1) shows him attempting a gold bullion robbery but being himself attacked and robbed by the disguised Hal and his companions. Falstaff returns to his base at the inn and drowns his sorrows in drink. In his drunken sleep, he dreams of his youth, when he was a slim page to the Duke of Norfolk. Here too Boito/Verdi and Elgar treat the same material quite differently: in the opera, Falstaff's nostalgic reminiscence is a lively little aria ("Quand' ero paggio"), but Elgar's treatment is slow and wistful.

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Wikipedia