Elgar: Harmony Music No.2 "Nelly Shed" - wind quintet
Elgar’s seven works titled Harmony Music (from the German Harmoniemusik, music for wind ensemble) were among the pieces he wrote between the years 1878 and 1881 for the wind quintet he played in with his friends.
The players for whom Elgar wrote the quintets were his young friends, who met regularly for music on Sunday afternoons. He wrote for the instruments available and to suit the capabilities of their players.
Elgar's younger brother Frank was a competent oboist while, to judge from the scores, his friends Hubert Leicester (later to become Mayor of Worcester) and Frank Exton were flautists of near professional standard. Hubert's brother William was co-opted to play the clarinet, while Elgar taught himself to play the bassoon to complete the quintet.
The five met on Sunday afternoons to play together in a garden shed and Elgar attempted to provide a new composition or arrangement for them to rehearse each week - a daunting task.
These compositions are now known as "The Shed Music" or music written for the "Shed Quintet."
This work is a single Allegro movement, longer and more ambitious than his first Harmony Music. Elgar gave it the nickname “Nelly Shed” after Helen Weaver, to whom he was to become engaged a few years later.
The original is arranged for 2 flutes, oboe, clarinet and bassoon.
This is my arrangement for standard wind quintet
The “preview” accesses an mp3. With repeat, the score is 12 mins 15 secs long.
