This film is part of Free

Title of error

See Help

Elgar and Shaw 1929-32

Wonderfully candid vignettes of Edward Elgar in this amateur film from George Bernard Shaw's collection

Amateur film 1929 4 mins Silent

Overview

The centrepiece of this amateur film is a close-up of composer Edward Elgar, wistfully smoking a cigarette outside Worcester Cathedral where he was attending the Three Choirs Festival. Other luminaries of early 20th century classical music also make an appearance, including Ralph Vaughan Williams and organist Herbert Sumsion - as does playwright, author and wit George Bernard Shaw.

The footage is fragmentary, which isn't unusual for home-movies, but sadly it's also marred by severe scratches known to archivists as 'tramlines'. Look out for the lovely vignette of Elgar playing with his beloved dogs at Marl Bank, Worcester. The film was shot around the time that Elgar wrote The Severn Suite, Opus 87, a late composition that he dedicated to his friend George Bernard Shaw. The Three Choirs Festival is a choral music festival held annually in July, rotating among the cathedrals of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester. After 300 years it is still a classical music calendar landmark.

Featuring

Edward Elgar , George Bernard Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams

Genres

Amateur film

Country

United Kingdom

Location

SteyningMarl BankRainbow HillWorcester

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

Watch for free

New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine

Short documentary 2025 4 mins

Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.

Watch for free

Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A

Inside Film 2025 30 mins

The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.