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ELGAR – Song No.3 – Fly, Singing Bird – version for 3 Vocal soloists or full female choir, two obligato cello soloists, and piano

Other Identification:
“Fly, Singing Bird” (Op.26/2) is a part-song of Edward Elgar with accompaniments for two violins and pianoforte. The words are written by Caroline Alice Elgar, and it is a companion piece to “The Snow”. The songs are set for three female voices (or choir); the writing for two violin obligatory soloists – here prepared by David Johnstone for two cellos – is by Elgar himself, and was first published in 1895 by Novello. The duration is around three minutes and a half.

Movements or sections: English text:
Fly, singing bird, fly,
From the wood where lies shelter’d thy nest,
From the tree whence thou pourest thy song,
Fly away, far away to the west,
Tell my love that I wait,
Ah! too long and lonely, I wait and sigh.

Fly, singing bird, fly,
O’er the blossoming meadows, where grow
Yellow cowslips and daffodils pale.
Say I wait where anemones blow,
Weary wait, till with waiting,
I fail, and failing, I sigh.

Fly, singing bird, fly,
Leave thy nest ‘midst the wood, lone, unsought,
Leave the cradling boughs, spread thy wing,
And swift as my following thought,
Onward speed, and swift flying, still sing,
Come, or I die!

Instrumentation:
version for 2 Vocal soloists or full female choir, two obligato violoncello soloists, and piano, prepared by David Johnstone

This music is in 3 PDFs:
[1 – General Piano/Vocal Score
[2 – Part for Cello 1
[3 – Part for Cello 2

Approximate difficulty: DIFFICULT
An ideal work for two cello performers of professional ability, especially collaborating with female choirs, with the possibility to convey an expressiveness not so far displaced from the composer’s famous E minor Cello Concerto!

Dedicatee of this presentation (if applicable):
These special versions with two cello soloists are dedicated to cellists Lluis Claret & Anna Mora

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Personal

David Johnstone lives near Pamplona (Navarre, Spain) with his wife Rosa and their two “Spanglish” children, close to the Atlantic Pyrenees. The nearest international airport is Bilbao.

He is interested in world affairs, politics, animal rights, and most sports (including being a lifelong suffering Reading FC fan!). Also passionate about Celtic culture and genealogy, he has traced his ‘English’ family back to 1280, although Scotland and Ireland have also shaped his background. And yes — he is half-ashamed to admit it, he loves silly jokes!

Social Work

David Johnstone supports animal rights, he is against any form of abuse towards them, and says a loud “NO” to bullfighting, foxhunting and any other animal cruelty.

TORTURE IS NOT CULTURE !