"Cockaigne" is dedicated to "My many friends, the members of British orchestras".

Regardless of whether "Cockaigne", an old English name for an imaginary land of splendour and plenty, was also the source of the term "Cockney", as Elgar claimed, or not, the idea would doubtless have been well received in 1901, the heyday of imperial Britain. London was, after all, the greatest city in the world. In trade and commerce, in monumental architecture, in opulent ceremonial, in its vast kaleidoscope of human life, the city and its people exuded self assurance.

"Stout and steaky" was how Elgar described "Cockaigne" to his publisher Jaeger "Honest, healthy, humorous, and strong but not vulgar", but this hardly does justice to the myriad emotions and wide ranging palette that make it such an endearing work, every bit as fresh today as it was a century ago. It begins quietly, almost jokingly, with a perky little tune and finishes ebulliently, with a typically English mixture of high spirits and ceremonial grandeur. Most notable among the string of colourfully orchestrated ideas that follow the opening are a broad nobilmente melody and a lyrical and more reflective subject - perhaps a reflection of Elgar's need to withdraw from time to time to the capital's parks and open spaces. From these few themes and other closely related material Elgar constructed a closely-knit sonata-style movement that epitomises London life, full of colour and incident, but without a note wasted.

Though the overture stands alone as music per se, in places defying programmatic analysis, a number of episodes stand out unmistakably for their descriptive brilliance. The juxtaposition of a glittering military band passing in great pomp, alongside a rather more ramshackle ensemble with clarinets and tambourine a couple of streets away, is one typically humerous observation. Right at the heart of the Overture, a reflective, intimate moment is captured with that wistful tenderness which is such an integral part of the composer's style. Inevitably such moments are short-lived, and are soon replaced by the bustle of the city, captured in the vigorous development section of the overture and leading inexorably to the return of its main themes. The return of the military band in full panoply heralds a grandiose coda featuring the nobilmente theme for the final time, and bringing this grand celebration to an exuberant close. © J. S. Whitehead, October 2002