Next to Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar stands out as one of the most prominent British composers. He is considered, rightly so, the founder of a modern English national style – his sophisticated compositional style which is grounded in the late Romantic tradition contains yet more, numerous fascinating facets. This choral piece from 1890, which deals with love and loss, is characterized by a refined harmony that does full justice to the multilayered text of the Scottish poet Andrew Lang (1844–1912).