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
Pomp and Circumstance Marches timpani (3), percussion (side drum, bass drum & cymbals), and strings. Without introduction, its opening episode is extended with enormous confidence and proceeds directly into the "Trio" section. The "Trio" starts quietly in a similar way to the introduction of his First Symphony: just a moving bass line and a tune, also in the same key (A). The tune is re-stated strongly, as we expect, then developed. The re-statement of the opening employs the same instruments of the orchestra, but is this time started as soft as possible for just four bars before a quick "crescendo" restores its spirit to