The King's Way

”The King’s Way” is a poem set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar in 1909. The words were written by his wife, "(Caroline) Alice Elgar".

Elgar employs the melody of the Trio (central section) from the Pomp and Circumstance March No. 4, which he had composed two years earlier. This first occurs at the words "The newest street in London town,/ Who’ll pace it up and pace it down?"

The song was written (December 25th - 27th 1909) to celebrate the opening of London's "Kingsway". This is a wide street in central London which connects the road "High Holborn" with a crescent roughly south of it called "Aldwych", which connects to "The Strand" at both ends. Kingsway was newly opened in 1905, so it was at the time the “newest street in London town”, and it was certainly one of the broadest. It was unique in containing below it a tunnel (now the Strand underpass) for a tramway, which entered about halfway down Kingsway and continued to the Thames Embankment: this Kingsway tramway subway was built as part of a major plan to clear slum districts in the Holborn area - so the “sick and poor” of the area were a reality.

It was first performed at an Alexandra Palace concert on January 15th, 1910. The title page of the song advertises that it was sung by Madame Clara Butt. It was published by Boosey in the same year.

Recordings

[http://www.amazon.com/Elgar-Edward/dp/B00002610Y "The Unknown Elgar"] includes "The King's Way" performed by Teresa Cahill (soprano), with Barry Collett (piano).

References

*Kennedy, Michael, "Portrait of Elgar" (Oxford University Press, 1968) ISBN 0193154145
*Moore, Jerrold N. “Edward Elgar: a creative life” (Oxford University Press, 1984) ISBN 0193154471