Elgar: The Starlight Express

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While the lyrics tend to the arch or winsome, most of the music is vintage light Elgar, and beautifully performed...This is a very valuable addition to the Elgar discography. — BBC Music Magazine, January 2013, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 29th Oct 2012
Catalogue No: CHSA5111(2)
Label: Chandos
Length: 2 hours 17 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

5th November 2012

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Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Song. To the Children (Organ-Grinder)

Work length5:55

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: In the village of Bourcelles…

Work length1:37

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Just then a lamplighter…

Work length0:30

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: At that time, Henry had told him about the old railway

Work length0:42

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: … the mother of them all

Work length0:32

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Oh! But I'm forgetting the most important one of all

Work length0:33

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: They were always eager to hear his poetry

Work length1:22

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: And suddenly a new, enormous thing stirred in their father's heart

Work length1:48

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: As though on cue

Work length0:15

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: To the Children. That's odd, said Mother

Work length0:37

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: … gold and had put it on for warmth against the cool evening air

Work length0:42

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Before them stood an extremely dishevelled figure holding a suitcase

Work length1:13

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: As Daddy took charge of the luggage

Work length0:53

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: We want to tell you something

Work length0:38

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: All the rules I swear to keep

Work length1:32

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Are you sure you have everything you need?

Work length1:33

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: Song. The Blue-eyed Fairy (Organ-Grinder)

Work length3:22

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act I: They found a clearing with the open sky above them

Work length1:06

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Henry explained that the Pleiades had been attendants upon Artemis …

Work length1:18

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Song. The Sun has Gone (Organ-Grinder)

Work length4:38

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: The Sun has Gone. Now, cats are curious creatures, and Riquette was no exception

Work length2:01

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Turning towards the open window…

Work length1:15

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: At length Jinny came out of the cave and came over to them

Work length0:21

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Then there's Madame Jequier and dear Miss Waghorn

Work length1:01

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Could it be?

Work length0:33

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: And with that the first passenger hurried by them

Work length0:19

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: The Sweep

Work length0:12

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Then a fantastic, light, twirling creature…

Work length0:15

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Song. I'm ev'rywhere (Laugher)

Work length0:48

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elin Manahan Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: And the shabby Tramp, playing his barrel organ

Work length0:13

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Well, let's see now

Work length0:27

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Song. Wake up, you little Night Winds! (Organ-Grinder)

Work length1:29

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Dance of the Winds

Work length2:20

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: But where's Cousin Henry?

Work length0:43

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: I'm ev'rywhere. Ah! Anyone gazing skywards at that moment…

Work length1:06

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 1: Sun Dance

Work length2:45

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: Madame Jequier's constant anxiety…

Work length1:06

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: Song. Dandelions, Daffodils (Gardener)

Work length0:52

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: In her attic chamber above

Work length1:14

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 2: Henry turned to the children

Work length1:04

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: At the Citadelle

Work length1:18

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, David Watkin

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: Song. O, Stars Shine Brightly (Laugher)

Work length3:16

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elin Manahan Thomas, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: The Sprites had almost finished their task

Work length0:48

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, Peter Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: The Sprites flitted out, back to the Starlight Express

Work length0:18

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act II Scene 3: Song. Dawn Song (Laugher)

Work length1:09

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elin Manahan Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Song, My old tunes (Organ-Grinder)

Work length4:14

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Song. Dandelions, Daffodils (Jane-Anne)

Work length1:15

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elin Manahan Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Miss Waghorn, whose confusion of mind …

Work length1:11

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: My main idea is this…

Work length1:09

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: Then Mother spoke…

Work length0:34

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 1: A few days later Henry left to return to London

Work length3:34

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: It was late evening on the day of his arrival

Work length7:45

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow, David Watkin

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: And suddenly he remembered an extraordinary conversation…

Work length2:37

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: All three children, perhaps sent back from their nocturnal enterprises…

Work length2:08

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: Duet. Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed (Laugher, Organ-Grinder)

Work length2:44

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elin Manahan Thomas

Elgar: The Starlight Express, Op. 78, Act III Scene 2: Jinny said, with her characteristic gravity…

Work length1:41

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Simon Callow

Joel Carey: Three Songs from The Starlight Express

Work length6:08

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams

I. The Organ-grinder's Song

Track length3:07

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II. The Dustman's Song

Track length1:39

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III. The Gardener's Song

Track length1:22

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Elgar: Suite from 'The Starlight Express'

Work length44:48

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Sir Andrew Davis, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Roderick Williams, Simon Callow, Elin Manahan Thomas, Peter Thomas

I. Song. To the Children (Organ-Grinder)

Track length6:16

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II. Are you sure you have everything you need?

Track length1:33

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III. Song. The Blue-eyed Fairy (Organ-Grinder)

Track length3:16

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IV. Song. The Sun has Gone (Organ-Grinder)

Track length4:51

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V. The Sun has Gone. Now, cats are curious creatures, and Riquette was no exception

Track length2:04

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VI. At length Jinny came out of the cave and came over to them

Track length0:29

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VII. Then there's Madame Jequier and dear Miss Waghorn

Track length0:23

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VIII. Song. I'm ev'rywhere (Laugher)

Track length0:45

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IX. Song. Wake up, you little Night Winds! (Organ-Grinder)

Track length1:20

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X. Well, let's see now

Track length2:23

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XI. I'm ev'rywhere. Ah! Anyone gazing skywards at that moment…

Track length0:50

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XII. Sun Dance

Track length2:34

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XIII. In her attic chamber above

Track length1:14

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XIV. Henry turned to the children

Track length1:05

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XV. Song. O, Stars Shine Brightly (Laugher)

Track length3:20

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XVI. Song. Dawn Song (Laugher)

Track length1:04

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XVII. Song, My old tunes (Organ-Grinder)

Track length4:02

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XVIII. Song. Dandelions, Daffodils (Jane-Anne)

Track length0:55

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XIX. All three children, perhaps sent back from their nocturnal enterprises…

Track length2:04

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XX. Duet. Hearts must be soft-shiny dressed (Laugher, Organ-Grinder)

Track length2:46

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XXI. Jinny said, with her characteristic gravity…

Track length1:34

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Favourites, Edward Elgar

James offers his thoughts on some of the very best recordings of the music of Sir Edward Elgar.

Recording of the Week, Elgar and the First World War

5th November 2012

Sir Andrew Davis presides over a touching account of the incidental music for The Starlight Express, whilst John Wilson champions wartime rarities including Polonia, Carillon, and Le drapeau belge*; Simon Callow narrates with gusto on both recordings.

The Starlight Express was adapted from a book by Algernon Blackwood, A Prisoner in Fairyland, for a theatre production in the West End during the First World War, with music by Sir Edward Elgar. Combining the usually contrasting elements of fairytale and melodrama, The Starlight Express depicts the fantasy world inhabited by a group of children, who possess a magical ‘starlight’ quality that has been lost by the adults around them. This is the most comprehensive recorded version of The Starlight Express to date, based on a new score prepared by the Elgar Edition, which has been adapted by the conductor Sir Andrew Davis.

Our recording includes, in place of the play, a detailed account of the story, penned by the conductor Sir Andrew Davis better to reflect the original book and our pattern of speech today. ‘All the music, excepting the songs and interludes, was designed as melodrama, and in some cases it is meaningless on its own’, explains Sir Andrew, continuing: ‘I have therefore taken the bold step of writing a narrative which is based partly on the play and partly on ‘A Prisoner in Fairyland’.

Our narrator is the actor Simon Callow, known to an international audience for his roles in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral and Shakespeare in Love. Callow was delighted to be approached, as he already knows and loves this music, having delivered the narrative in a specially recorded concert performance of the incidental music, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2007. The incidental music, complete with melodramatic passages which work in conjunction with the narrative, occupies all of Disc 1 and continues onto Disc 2. Then we have an extended suite of freestanding orchestral movements and songs.

As a bonus, we have included three songs which link directly to this work. When a staged version of Blackwood’s book was first proposed, in 1914, another young composer, Clive Carey, was commissioned to compose the incidental music; but the outbreak of war forced the cancellation of the original production. When the plans were next revived, Elgar was approached, and he enthusiastically completed the score. However, Clive Carey had already composed three songs, but they were never included in the final production. They have been orchestrated by Sir Andrew Davis for this recording, and are heard here for the very first time.

Our recording of The Starlight Express is performed by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis with two internationally acclaimed soloists: the soprano Elin Manahan Thomas and baritone Roderick Williams.

Reviews

January 2013

While the lyrics tend to the arch or winsome, most of the music is vintage light Elgar, and beautifully performed...This is a very valuable addition to the Elgar discography.

November 2012

Davis secures absolutely first-rate results from the Scottish CO. Elin Manahan Thomas's light and slivery soprano could hardly be more suited to the parts of the Laugher and Jane-Anne, while Roderick Williams is in glorious voice throughout.

December 2012

Those who love this score as much as Elgar did - and I do - will welcome this new recording. It really has more light and shade than Handley’s pioneering set welcome though that was at the time...all Elgarians must hear this superb set.

5th November 2012

[Callow] throws himself into the part with such gusto that it’s hard not to be swept along by his wonderful characterisations...The real star of the recording, however, is very definitely Andrew Davis. Aside from writing the narration, he has also devised and recorded a suite of just the songs and orchestral interludes, which is ideal if you don’t quite fancy the idea of listening to the whole lot in one go.

11th November 2012

Elgar’s score is enchanting — and Davis and the SCO deliver it with evident affection.

25th October 2012

there are moments of top-drawer, heart-stopping Elgar here...the music can either be heard as a suite that Davis has arranged, or in the context of the winsome original story – the play replaced with an avuncular narration by Simon Callow. The songs are delivered with just the right lightness of touch

21st December 2012

Fragrant stuff, beautifully performed.

The Independent on Sunday 23rd December 2012

Elgar's score has an ageless freshness, and concludes with a handsome "The First Nowell".

Elgar: The Starlight Express

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Contents

Favourites, Edward Elgar

Recording of the Week, Elgar and the First World War

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