There have been several operas composed about this King when he was
Prince of Wales, but only one of them, +Mercadante's+ _Gioventu di
Enrico V._, Milan, 1834, has any connection with Shakespeare's play.
Verdi's _Falstaff_ opera contains some bits from the _Henry IV._ plays
which I am dealing with under _The Merry Wives of Windsor_.
The most important modern work on this subject is "_Falstaff_,
symphonic study in C minor, with two interludes in A minor, composed by
+Sir Edward Elgar+, Op. 68." The work is dedicated to Landon Ronald,
was composed for the Leeds Musical Festival, and was produced there,
the composer conducting, on October 2, 1913. Sir Edward, in a
foreword, says: "We must dismiss from our minds the Falstaff of _The
Merry Wives of Windsor_ and turn to the Falstaff of _Henry IV._, parts
one and two." A literary civil servant, Maurice Morgan, wrote a
defence of Sir John from the general accusation of cowardice, which
has, to some extent, helped the composer's inspiration. This essay was
published in 1777, and contains several most interesting passages. In
one place, quoted by Elgar, he writes: "...a conception, hardly less
complex, hardly less wonderful, than that of Hamlet"; and again: "He is
a character made up by Shakespeare entirely of incongruities, a man at
once young and old, enterprising and fat, a dupe and a wit, harmless
and wicked, meek in principle and resolute by constitution, cowardly in
appearance and brave in reality: a knave, a gentleman and a soldier,
without either dignity, decency, or honour." This is the complicated
character that Sir Edward sets out to portray in music.
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Mr Gilbert Webb, who made the analytical notes for the performance at
the Albert Hall Sunday Concerts on December 14, 1913, divides the work
into four parts:--(1) Falstaff and Prince Henry. (2) Eastcheap,
Gadshill, The Boar's Head. (3) Falstaff's March. The Return through
Gloucestershire. The New King. The hurried Ride to London. (4) King
Henry V.'s Progress. The Repudiation of Falstaff and his Death--and
this seems a very wise division. The work opens with a boisterous
theme given out on the bass instruments, depicting the mature Falstaff
in the height of his fame or infamy, as you will. It would be
impossible in my limited space to follow the ramifications of this
immensely complicated work. It is a Pageant of Falstaff's life and
death. Of the two interludes mentioned in the title, the first is
headed in the score, "Dream Interlude." "Jack Falstaff, now Sir John,
a boy and page to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk." The music here is
very quiet, melodious, and graceful. The second interlude represents
Justice Shallow's orchard, and is again very calm and reposeful. There
is much fine march music for the King's coronation procession, and the
meeting between the King and his old companion is graphically and
tragically described. The work ends sadly, the various characteristic
themes already used being heard again, but in much sadder mode:
Mistress Quickly's beautiful account of Sir John's death (in _Henry
V._) is very touchingly musicked, and the work closes on a _pianissimo_
chord. It would take a long pamphlet to describe this symphonic poem,
and it must be heard and studied often and deeply to be appreciated
properly.
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