Summary
Edward Elgar's incomparable Nimrod, and the part it plays in people's lives, is explored this week:
Composed as part of the Enigma Variations in the latter part of the 19th century, Nimrod was inspired by Elgar's friend and music editor, Augustus Jaeger.
In an interview for this programme, Jaeger's granddaughter, Gillian Scully, talks about her grandfather and describes hearing her own granddaughter playing Nimrod at a school concert.
The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch - National Chaplain to the Royal British Legion - talks about hearing it played at the Festival of Remembrance in the Royal Albert Hall stirring memories of his own father who died in WW2, and serving as a reminder of all those lost or injured in war.
Margaret Evison's son, Lieutenant Mark Evison of the Welsh Guards, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Nimrod played an important part in his funeral which was held at The Guard's Chapel in London.
For Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive of the charity Turning Point, Nimrod is a piece that reminds him of his father and the struggles he had as a Nigerian immigrant to the UK.
Composer and conductor, Paul Spicer, plays through Nimrod at the piano exploring why it is a piece that stirs such deep emotions.
Producer: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2015.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thank you for downloading soul music, which this week explores one of the best known pieces of English classical music, Nimrod. |
| 0:07.4 | We begin with Chris Bennett of the Elgar Birthplace Museum and someone with a close personal connection to the piece, Gillian Scully. |
| 0:16.3 | My husband and I visited a National Trust property and at the end of looking around, John said, I want to go to the pub for a bite to eat. |
| 0:25.1 | And I said, well, look, up on the hill there, there is a house. |
| 0:28.0 | People seem to be pouring in. |
| 0:29.9 | I'm sure that has to be a little restaurant. |
| 0:32.3 | Do let's go there. |
| 0:33.9 | We went up and joined the end of the queue and were handed delicious plates of food |
| 0:39.5 | nobody asked for payment |
| 0:41.3 | and it suddenly occurred to me |
| 0:43.3 | these people seemed to know each other |
| 0:45.2 | and they said we're the Elgar Society |
| 0:48.3 | I said oh yes I said my grandfather was Nimrod |
| 0:52.2 | was he they said at which point we were told I said my grandfather was Nimrod. Was he? They said. |
| 0:55.6 | At which point we were told we didn't have to pay a penny for our food, |
| 1:01.0 | taken out aside and photographed. |
| 1:03.4 | And it was just such a happy occasion |
| 1:05.5 | only because my grandfather was Nimrod. |
| 1:21.0 | Music my grandfather was Nimrod. Elgar composed the Enigma Variations |
| 1:23.3 | in the autumn of 1898 into the spring of 1890. |
| 1:33.1 | He'd been at Leeds in October 1898 |
| 1:36.5 | for the premiere of his cantata caractics, |
... |
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