The Spirit of England the tone of "The Spirit of England" and that of other imperialist Elgar works: "The conception is grandiose, but not as the "Pomp and Circumstance" Marches are. It moves along with no less splendour, but with a more austere deliberation." The Spirit of England The Spirit of England, Op. 80, is a work for chorus, orchestra, and soprano/tenor soloist in three movements composed by Edward Elgar between 1915 and 1917, setting text from Laurence Binyon's 1914 anthology of poems "The Winnowing Fan". The work acts as a requiem for the dead of World War I and is dedicated "to the
Dirck Gerritsz Pomp Japan. After the expedition leader Mahu died during 1598, Pomp was given command of the "Blijde Boodschap" ("Good Tiding" or "Gospel"). Strong and adverse winds dispersed the fleet when it tried to pass through the Straits of Magellan at the foot of South America late in 1599. The "Blijde Boodschap" passed the Straits, but was blown off her course southwardly. According to the account of Jacob le Maire, Pomp observed mountainous land at latitude (64°). If so, these were the South Shetland Islands, and possibly the first European sighting of (isles off) Antarctica. Other accounts, however, do not note this