Sir Edward Elgar : Sospiri. William Kay Blacklock : Paintings.

Written shortly before the First World War, Elgar’s “Sospiri“, (Sighs), seems somehow a premonition of the sorrow and loss of the years to come. It is performed here by the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Paul Goodwin. The paintings are by the English artist William Kay Blacklock. The painting at is called “The Letter“ and some of its secrets have been interestingly uncovered by Andrew McEwan :- “The setting of the picture is a room in a rural cottage. We can so conclude because the room has a roughly-flagged floor, a simple plank-boarded ceiling and is a small room: the window reflected in the mirror indicates that the room occupies the whole depth of the house. The bushes or trees seen through both windows reinforce the idea of a rural setting. There is no rug or carpet and furniture seen is sparse, comprising a simple rush-seat chair and a chest of drawers. This is not to say that the room is mean, as there are prints or pictures on the wall, as well as what