Working in an era before Arts Council grants, public sponsorship, recording royalties, and long-term publishing deals, Elgar had to write for the public demand as much as personal satisfaction. The effort required for his large-scale works was rarely reflected in profitable income, so writing songs could be a useful way to earn money. The England of Elgar’s time favoured popular ballads, sung by well-known singers. These were then sold as sheet music, the singer’s name emblazoned on the cover, for performances given in middle-class homes. There was little demand for lengthy song cycles, or song recitals consisting entirely of "serious" repertoire in the German tradition. As a result, Elgar’s songs are often individual works, sometimes adapting instrumental works into songs (such as Land of Hope and Glory) when the commercial opportunities arose. Elgar also chose poetry that was popular and straightforward, rather than drawing on the established classical masterpieces. These songs were then transposed into numerous keys to allow performance by any voice type, designed for mass appeal and profitable sales.
Making her Chandos début, Julia Sitkovetsky is a British-American lyric-dramatic coloratura soprano with a flourishing, exciting international career. Having trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she made her professional operatic début at the age of sixteen, at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and English National Opera. Since then, she has appeared all over Europe. © Chandos