Wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa) are a common feature
of mature woodlands in spring and there can be carpets of these pretty plants,
with their white flowers and palmate leaves (see above). They grow vegetatively
by means of rhizomes and cannot photosynthesise efficiently in shade [1], so the
production of leaves and flowers is therefore early in the temperate growing
season, before woodland trees come into leaf. The flowers do not produce nectar
but are pollinated mainly by insects [1] and that may be aided by the
generation of chemical attractants by the plants. As Shirreffs [1] states, the
flower “is held erect during [the] day, but closes and droops at night and in
bad weather”. This habit has given rise to folklore that the flowers provide
resting places for fairies at night [2,3] and their seeming intolerance of windy
conditions has resulted in their common name of windflowers, as though they
have a human-like sensitivity. It’s a behaviour that appeals to the
imagination, especially for those who enjoy walking in woods.
Edward Elgar used Nature as a source of inspiration for his music and he knew many woods in his native Worcestershire, and elsewhere, where wood anemones grew in large numbers. One of the most important people in his life, Alice Stuart-Wortley (later Lady Stuart of Wortley), was named “Windflower” by Elgar and this may have been a reflection of her beauty and sensitivity. A daughter of the painter John Everett Millais, Alice (known as Carrie within the family) married Charles Stuart-Wortley after the death of his first wife, becoming the stepmother to Charles’ daughter, Bice, and the mother of another daughter, Clare. An important bond between Charles and Alice was their love of music and both were competent pianists and would play concertos together in addition to their separate playing. Elgar first met Alice Stuart-Wortley “two years before the Enigma Variations made him famous” [4].
Elgar was fortunate in having the unfailing support of his wife Alice, but he also enjoyed the company of other women, especially when they appreciated his music. In describing the friendship with Alice Stuart-Wortley, Michael De-la-Noy wrote this [4]:
..she was five years younger than
Elgar, very beautiful, and she is now generally assumed to be “the Soul”
enshrined in the Violin Concerto. Safely married, she was typical of the
assured, aristocratic and handsome type of woman Elgar was content to place on
a pedestal and worship from afar.
The reference to “the Soul” comes from an inscription in Spanish at the head of the concerto, translated as “Here is enshrined the soul of…”. As Michael Kennedy has written of a letter to Alice Stuart-Wortley [5]:
While composing the Violin
Concerto early in 1910 he [Elgar] wrote to her on 27 April: “I have been
working hard at the windflower themes – but all stands still until you come and
approve!”
In addition to providing inspiration, Alice Stuart-Wortley supported him when he was at his most self-pitying and despondent, and was generous in sending him, and members of his family, gifts. Not only a musical inspiration then, but a true friend.
When reading the letters to Windflower [6], I had a sense that I was intruding on a very private relationship and that made me uncomfortable. Elgar was a great letter writer and we have many of them [7,8 and see above]. Perhaps the most significant recipients were A.J.Jaeger (“Nimrod” of the Enigma Variations), who was his contact at Novello, Frank Schuster (who owned “The Hut”, a sanctuary where Elgar often retreated), and Troyte Griffiths who was a loyal friend from his youth [9] and who, like Windflower, was with him to the end. In some of these letters we see another side of Elgar, with puns and jokey light-heartedness, both characteristics of his child-like humour.
It can be said that Edward Elgar was always child-like in his need to be looked after and supported through his gloomy phases by Alice Elgar, his sister “Pollie” Grafton, and a number of others. It is clear from his comments about his daughter Carice, Windflower’s daughter Clare, and several nieces, that he was himself fond of children and the Windflower letters also show how much he cherished the company of dogs and their obvious devotion to him. Elgar was a very emotional man and that, together with his skill in orchestration, comes through in some of his music. If I’m in a melancholic mood, some pieces by Elgar reduce me to tears and that is especially so of the Violin Concerto with its “Windflower themes”. In that way, Alice Stuart-Wortley was not only an inspiration for Elgar, but the agent of profound feelings in listeners over a hundred years later. I can’t look at wood anemones without thinking of her.
[1] Deirdre A. Shirreffs (1985) Biological Flora of the British Isles: Anemone nemorosa L. Journal of Ecology 73: 1005-1020.
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMZYTynh6Yg&ab_channel=Mr.COutdoors
[4] Michael De-la-Noy (1983) Elgar: The Man. London, Allen Lane.
[5] Michael Kennedy (1968) Portrait of Elgar. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
[6] Jerrold Northrop Moore (editor) (1989) Edward Elgar: the Windflower Letters. Oxford, Clarendon Press.
[7] Percy M. Young (editor) (1956) Letters of Edward Elgar and Other Writings. London, Geoffrey Bles.
[8] Percy M. Young (editor) (1965) Letters to Nimrod from Edward Elgar. London, Dennis Dobson.
[9] https://rwotton.blogspot.com/2019/05/remembering-troyte-edward-elgars.html
