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The Elgar Complete Edition is a 43-volume uniform
edition covering the whole of Elgar's musical output, from the symphonies,
concertos and large-scale choral works, through the salon pieces and incidental music for
theatre, to the unfinished works, sketches and fragments. It is intended for both scholarly and
practical use. It aims to provide an authentic text of all the composer's surviving music, based
on printed and manuscript sources and employing critical editorial principles. The 43 volumes
are divided into six series, with each series being presented as far as practicable in broadly
chronological order.
Each volume is edited to the highest academic standard, taking account of all known
sketches, drafts and proofs to produce definitive scores which capture as clearly and
comprehensively as possible Elgar's final thoughts on the works covered by the volume. Each
score is accompanied by a concise description of each of the known sources for the work and
a critical commentary listing those editorial changes made which cannot be clearly
represented in the score. Sketches and drafts of works which Elgar left unfinished, together
with significant rejected passages from completed works, are presented in appendices, usually
being reproduced as closely as possible to the form in which Elgar left them. Each volume
also contains an editorial foreword covering the context, genesis and first performances of
each work, together with a selection of illustrations relevant to the volume. Working under
the guidance of the General Editor, the task of editing each volume is assigned to an editor
appointed for his specific expertise in the music covered by the volume.
Volumes are published in one of two page sizes - 350mm x 250mm or 432mm x 280mm
- the larger size being reserved for orchestral or choral works employing a full orchestra. All
new volumes are published in a hardback binding covered in maroon imitation leather with
gold blocking. Some earlier volumes are available in a softback binding with black blocking.
Details of the availability of volumes in the two bindings can be found elsewhere.
Matching
vocal scores and orchestral parts can also be supplied from the scores of some works
published in the Complete Edition (including a number of works from future volumes) by the
Elgar Society Edition's parent company Elgar
Works.
Looking to the future, with increasing emphasis on electronic delivery and pressures on
library storage space, the Elgar Society Edition is intent on developing a DVD version of the
Edition in which full advantage is taken of the interactivity and mixed formats allowed by the
medium. The aim is to develop an edition which, while retaining all the features and values of
the printed edition, facilitates access and navigation for the research student and amateur
enthusiast alike.
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