Despite his name, Edward German was English through-and-through. Most of his compositions reflect what the late Victorian English were into: comic operas (akin to Gilbert & Sullivan), symphonies with twee English titles, incidental music to Shakespeare plays, and Anglican church music. Compared to continental Europe, England’s 19th century music was relatively light and perhaps even shallow – but still good stuff!

Just one more anvil post; I’m not sure which is my favorite, yesterday‘s or today’s. Yesterday’s is a complete piece, start to finish; today’s is an snippet from an opera …. but it’s Wagner.

This short video is an excerpt from his massive, 15 hour opera cycle known as “The Ring Cycle” – four long operas based on German mythology and part of the inspiration behind Tolkein‘s “The Lord of the Rings.” It’s music that accompanies a scene change; its crescendo and sinister sound make it memorable and loved by Wagner fans. The scene change takes us from the land of the gods to the depths of Nibelheim, an underground city of dwarfs. The dwarfs here tirelessly mine for gems and work at the anvil, hence the unmistakable sounds you’ll hear starting around 1:53.

gotta love this video for the extreme close-up of Wagner’s mutton chops and neard.

Yesterday‘s anvil-themed post prompted a person’s comment which introduced me to a piece I’ve never heard before which also features the anvil. And since this week is a brutal one for me (running a 60-kid Choir Camp), I’m going to run with the hard work / anvil theme here!

Despite his very German name, Gustav Holst was very English (in his compositional style). And while his most famous piece is without a doubt The Planets, wind players know and love his suites for band. These, like many of his pieces, use or imitate English folk songs (which was all the rage while he was alive, thanks to Ralph Vaughan Williams).

This video is particularly magnificent because 1) the anvil-player’s (anvilist?) attire 2) the cinematographic zoom-in on the anvilist at the end 3) the awesome, blacksmith-inspired gaze of the anvilist.