The organist of Hereford Cathedral, who was a friend of Elgar, had a Bulldog named Dan. The dog attended chorus rehearsals in the cathedral and growled when people sang out of tune. Elgar was particularly fond of Dan and in a note on No XI of the Enigma Variations, he explained that the first few bars were suggested by the dog. Bar one of the music represented Dan falling down a bank of the River Wye, while bars two and three had him paddling upstream to find a landing place and the second half of bar five was his happy bark upon landing.
Any comments, Mr Eurodog?
2 comments:
That's one way of attaining immortality
Dan was clearly a happy dog, loved a good chase and had a fierce bark. All this is conveyed by the music. I listen frequently to Elgar here in Georgia.
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