PROMS favourite Land of Hope and Glory is as much as many of us know about the works of Sir Edward Elgar, but a group of Rickmansworth enthusiasts have been busy reviving the lesser known works of the British composer in a series of concerts to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth. The first of these took place in Stevenage in May with the next two being held at St Mary's Church, Rickmansworth on Wednesday, June 6 and Wednesday, September 19.

John Norris, who has undertaken the mammoth task of publishing all of the composer's works in a 43-volume deluxe leather bound edition, came across the sketches and encouraged the Three Rivers Music Society to stage three concerts in Rickmansworth.

"Because of the anniversary there's already been a lot of public interest and with this next concert being so close to Elgar's actual birth date, which falls on Saturday, June 2," says John. "We hope to attract a much wider audience.

"Although the Three Rivers Music Society (TRMS) is not wildly Elgarian in itself," says John. "We do have David Oliver chairman of TRMS and Stephen Halls, the chief executive of Three Rivers District Council playing in the trio with Jayne Walker from the English National Opera for the next concert. Stephen also helped us to come up with the programme."

John says the series of concerts will showcase five world premieres based on Elgar's unfinished pieces, which have been completed by composer Paul Rooke.

The programme for Wednesday's concert includes Piano Trio, 1882, Piano Trio, 1920, March for the Grafton Family, Salut d'Amour, Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit.

John came across the unfinished material while doing research for the complete edition.

"It's come about largely due to a chance meeting between myself and leading Elgar authority Lewis Foreman. It turns out we only live a few streets apart and are both members of the Elgar Society. Together we came up with the idea to form a publishing imprint for the Society and use the proceeds from sales of the works to finance charitable activities such as these concerts."

So why has so much of this music remained unheard?

"Elgar did go through a dip in popularity close to his death in 1934," says John. "It wasn't until the 1960s when Ken Russell did a documentary of his work that people began to re-examine Elgar.

"I think because of this image of him as tub-thumping nationalist he's suffered from misrepresentation. He came to hate the words of Land of Hope and Glory. People now realise how exceptionally gifted he was as a composer and how it was unfair to base his reputation on one particular work.

"Hopefully this concert will show him in a new light. It's a great thing for me to be able to hear these three pieces for the first time, it's as much a treat for us as for anyone else. He was quite a wistful composer and a gentle soul, not at all the military type he was thought to be."

The performance is at 1.05pm on Wednesday, June 6 at St Mary's Church, Church Street, Rickmansworth. Further concerts follow in September and November.

Tickets: 01923 775882, works@elgar.org