Council staff unearth missing Elgar manuscript

Buy photos » The 90-year-old manuscript was discovered in an old file hidden away in council offices. (s)

A 90-YEAR old handwritten manuscript belonging to the celebrated county composer Sir Edward Elgar has been recovered from a 'dusty folder' in a Leicestershire council building.

Staff at Charnwood Borough Council stumbled across the manuscript as they cleared out old files in a secure strong room.

They were stunned to find an old folder which contained the original hand-written score for Carillon Chimes, a piece of music composed by Elgar especially for the opening of the Carillon Tower in Queen’s Park, Loughborough, on July 22, 1923.

On closer inspection they also discovered a number of letters penned by the world famous composer and an old-style film reel, which is believed to feature historic footage of the opening.

A note included with the film reel hints that the footage may possibly even be accompanied by the sound of the bells in the tower ringing out Elgar’s composition at its first-ever public performance.

The items were donated to the council in the 1950s and are now believed to be worth about £10,000.

Councillor Paul Harley, Charnwood Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Leisure and Culture, said: “This is a vitally important piece of Charnwood’s history which has been tucked safely away for too long.

“I’m thrilled that this beautiful piece of work by one of Britain’s finest composers has been re-discovered, particularly in this Olympic year when the eyes of the world focus on all things British.

“We have had the manuscript and letters valued at £10,000 and we hope to have them on public display so their historical significance to Loughborough and Charnwood can be shared by everyone.”

The film reel has been sent away for experts to examine and if it can be conserved and restored, it is hoped it can be digitised for the benefit of Loughborough residents and visitors to enjoy.