This addition to the Routledge series of music bibliographies leads scholars researching the history and music of Edward Elgar to works by the composer and printed materials about him. Performers can also use it to find information that will inform their interpretations of his music. It is divided into three sections, the first of which is the thematic catalogue. This includes first-time publications of works composed between 1866 and 1933 and is organized chronologically by the date of composition. Compositions in this catalogue are not assigned catalogue numbers, but entries include title, incipit, manuscript location, date of composition, edition information, and literature about the composition.
The second section, a bibliography, includes author Christopher Kent’s selection of letters, monographs, articles and collections of articles, discographies, scrapbooks, and a wide variety of other sources written by or about Elgar. It is divided into twelve sub-sections by source type or topic. Entries within sub-sections are then organized alphabetically by author last name with standard bibliographic information plus ISBN where available. Unlike most other books in the series, the bibliography is not annotated (a decision which was made to save space in the book for the thematic catalogue).
Section three lists the contents of various public and private collections and archives devoted to Edward Elgar. Three indexes list Elgar’s compositions, writers of sources in the bibliography, and proper names mentioned in the volume.
Abraham Myler, research assistant