Written for the striking contralto Clara Butt, who gave the work’s première in a dress said to resemble a mermaid, Sea Pictures is Elgar’s only song cycle with orchestra. These exquisite miniatures depict the sea in all its guises, peaceful and storm-tossed by turns. The heartfelt Where Corals Lie is perhaps the most remarkable three minutes in all of Elgar. Inspired by the notion that artists are the real creators and the true makers of history and society (‘We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams’), The Music Makers is a largely intimate and nostalgic work, which quotes several times from Elgar’s other compositions.