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Background: Somm Recordings' revival, on CD, of The Fringes of the Fleet is a significant document in understanding a forgotten era in the history of British music; the programme is the result of a sixyear period of painstaking research by conductor Tom Higgins, who directs the Guildford Philharmonic in the recording.

The 75th anniversary year of Elgar's death is marked by a programme which includes a new arrangement of Elgar's song, Big Steamers; originally a strophic song with piano accompaniment, Tom Higgins's arrangement is scored for four unaccompanied baritones, utilising the same forces as Elgar used in The Fringes of the Fleet.

Elgar's The Fringes of the Fleet - a patriotic song-cycle with words by the writer Rudyard Kipling - was the morale-raising headline act in variety theatres up and down the country, as World War One reached its climax in 1917. Premiered on 11 June 1917 at the London Coliseum, and conducted throughout its run by Elgar himself, the work was seen in a staging by four baritones appearing in fishermen's costumes outside a pub. The four initial songs proved so popular that two weeks after the premiere, Elgar added a fifth, unaccompanied song, 'Inside the Bar', with words by Sir Gilbert Parker. The work immediately went on tour to theatres and music halls up and down the country - always with Elgar, battling illness, at the helm. The overwhelming success of The Fringes of the Fleet wherever it was seen throughout 1917 was only halted when Kipling, emotionally crippled by the death at the Front of his only son, decided he did not want his poetry used to glorify war, as he saw it, and - to Elgar's dismay - forbade further performances. After a further run at London's Palace Theatre in 1918, the work effectively disappeared.

CATALOGUE NR: SOMMCD243
RECORD LABEL: Somm
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 12.77
RELEASE DATE: 06-Nov-2009

COMPOSER: John Ansell  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: The Fringes of the Fleet
TRACKS: Overture: Plymouth Hoe (John Ansell). The Fringes of the Fleet - songs for four baritones and orchestra : The Lowestoft Boat / Fate's Discourtesy / Submarines / The Sweepers / Inside the Bar (Elgar). Big Steamers (Elgar arranged by Tom Higgins for four unaccompanied baritones). Elegy for Strings (Elgar). The Soldier - song for solo baritone (John Ireland orchestrated by Tom Higgins). Blow Out You Bugles - song for solo baritone (John Ireland orchestrated by Tom Higgins). A Manx Overture - The Isle of Mountains and Glens (Haydn Wood). Big Steamers - song for solo baritone (Edward German orchestrated by Tom Higgins). Overture: The Windjammer (John Ansell). Elizabeth of England (Haydn Wood).
ORCHESTRA: Guildford Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Tom Higgins
ARTISTS: Roderick Williams   Nicholas Lester   Laurence Meikle   Duncan Rock

- Xmas-2009 4 star BBC Music Mag.

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