Elgar, Edward - The Tame Bear

“The Tame Bear” is the fifth of six pieces from the second suite of Elgar’s The Wand of Youth. As a boy Elgar composed some tunes for use in a play staged by the young members of the Elgar family. He noted the tunes down in a sketchbook and in 1907, four decades later, he arranged the music as the two Wand of Youth suites. It was first performed at the Queen's Hall, London on 14 December 1907, conducted by Henry Wood. This arrangement of the piece for four trombones should be played with feeling and not too marcato. The parts are moved around to give interest to each line. The 4th trombone needs to be a bass trombone but sometimes plays a higher phrase to add colour. PSTJ Smith