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The Wand of Youth: Suite No. 1, Op. 1a (Music to a child's play): Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score

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The Wand of Youth: Suite No. 1, Op. 1a (Music to a child's play) Cover Image
The Wand of Youth: Suite No. 1, Op. 1a (Music to a child's play): Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score

The Wand of Youth: Suite No. 1, Op. 1a (Music to a child's play): Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score

By Edward Elgar

Item: 36-A564401
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The Wand of Youth: Suite No. 1, Op. 1a (Music to a child's play): Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score & Parts

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Description
The Wand of Youth suites are based on materials Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) wrote as a boy for use in a play by the younger members of his family. The composer also used materials he composed while employed as conductor of the attendants' band at the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum (now called Powick Hospital). Elgar gave both suites the opus numbers 1a and 1b respectively, in recognition of the materials being his earliest surviving compositions. The Wand of Youth First Suite was premiered in 1907 at the Queen's Hall in London under the direction of Henry Wood. The Wand of Youth Second Suite premiered at the Worcester Three Choirs Festival in 1908, under the direction of the composer. While the suites in their entirety are not typically programmed, individual movements were required repertoire for small salon orchestras from 1910 into the 1960s and are often paired with other shorter pieces by Elgar. Instrumentation: 2(2dPicc).2.2.2+CtrBsn(opt): 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(2-4): Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).

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Additional Details
Series: Kalmus Orchestra Library
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
ISBN10: 1-63-887690-8
ISBN13: 978-1-63-887690-8
UPC: 735816322267
SKU: 36-A564401
Instrumentation: Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works

More about this title

About the Composer: Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar (1857-1934) stands as one of Britain's most important composers, yet his career began modestly in the English Midlands. Before achieving international fame with works like the Enigma Variations and the Pomp and Circumstance marches, young Elgar composed music for family entertainments and worked as a conductor and freelance musician, drawing on these early experiences throughout his compositional life. His willingness to revisit and refine juvenile sketches for professional performance reveals both his reverence for musical craftsmanship and his belief that good ideas transcend their origins.

Elgar's significance in music education stems not only from his masterworks but from his accessibility across skill levels. Pieces like The Wand of Youth suites give conductors and orchestras at all levels entry points into his harmonic language and orchestral sensibility without requiring the technical demands of his most ambitious scores.

Why we love this

Few composers offer orchestras the chance to explore their early voice while delivering genuine charm and orchestral sophistication. Elgar's decision to publish these childhood sketches under official opus numbers elevates what might have been curiosities into legitimate repertoire that reveals the seeds of his mature style. These movements work beautifully in mixed programs and give orchestras a more intimate alternative to his grander works.

What to expect

Innocent without being simplistic, the suite evokes the wonder of childhood through Elgar's lens: there is genuine delight in the melodies and orchestral colors, yet the harmonic language and structural awareness mark it as the work of a composer who understood his craft even as a boy. The movements flow with the clarity and directness of a story told by someone who remembers joy.

Who it's for

This conductor score serves orchestras and ensembles seeking short, engaging pieces that balance approachability with compositional substance. Whether you lead a community orchestra, a youth ensemble, or a professional group programming lighter concert fare, The Wand of Youth Suite No. 1 offers substantial musical reward in compact form.

How to get the most out of it

  • Balance the woodwind doublings carefully in the softer passages; the doubled piccolo and flute parts can easily overwhelm the strings if not controlled.
  • Shape each movement as a miniature rather than a fragment; Elgar's melodic lines deserve the same long-line attention you would give a full symphony movement.
  • Let the harp shimmer without trying to anchor harmonic support; it functions almost like a woodwind color in this orchestration.
  • Maintain clarity between the first and second violin lines even when they move in parallel motion; Elgar's texture depends on hearing the layering.

How to use it

Program individual movements from this suite alongside other shorter Elgar works or with other British composers from the Edwardian era to create a cohesive concert segment. The suite's modest orchestral requirements and accessible duration make it ideal for opening a concert or creating a bridge between a heavier work and a finale.

Skills your students will build

  • Reading multiple doublings in the woodwind section (flute/piccolo, oboe/cor anglais)
  • Balancing exposed string writing with discreet harp accompaniment
  • Shaping lyrical phrases in movements of restricted length
  • Understanding early 20th-century British orchestral color and texture

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