Sospiri - Op. 70

Originally scored for string orchestra, harp and organ, this Adagio was composed by Sir Edward Elgar shortly before the outbreak of the First World War and you can perhaps hear the gathering storm clouds of war in the music which became a bleak adagio that would not be out of place as the slow movement of an Elgar symphony. The work was dedicated to the leader of the London Symphony orchestra W.H. (Billy) Reed.

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