Â鶹Éç

Edward Elgar’s rich orchestration of Parry’s 1916 choral work, Jerusalem, was first performed in 1922. It was a musical moment that seemed to capture the spirit of a nation – and yet there is very little that is patriotic about Jerusalem. In fact, it’s an enduring enigma.

It’s sung in churches at weddings - only it isn’t a hymn. It’s performed at the start of sporting events like a national anthem – but it isn’t one. Its text is a set of lyrical and skeptical questions posed by the poet William Blake in 1804, based on a highly improbable myth that says the young Jesus came to England to bring the Holy Grail to Glastonbury. The music is also changeable – one moment, a lyrical waltz, the next a driving march.

Parry believed that music was for everyone, regardless of wealth or class. Perhaps that’s the connection with Jerusalem that the Leeds Festival audience felt in 1922, and that we still feel today. It’s a conversation in a language that we can all join in with.

This is one of 100 significant musical moments explored by Â鶹Éç Radio 3’s Essential Classics as part of Our Classical Century, a Â鶹Éç season celebrating a momentous 100 years in music from 1918 to 2018. Visit bbc.co.uk/ourclassicalcentury to watch and listen to all programmes in the season.

This Â鶹Éç archive recording is by the Â鶹Éç Symphony Orchestra with conductor Sakari Oramo.

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