Poet Rudyard Kipling wrote his booklet of essays and poems about World I nautical themes, titled THE FRINGES OF THE FLEET, in 1915. Composer Edward Elgar (1857-1934) wasted little time in setting four of those songs to music at the suggestion of Lord Charles Beresford, to whom Elgar dedicated the song cycle. Written for four baritone soloists and orchestra, the work premiered at a wartime variety show held at the London Coliseum on June 11, 1917, and they proved very popular. Songs: 1. The Lowestoft Boat; 2. Fate's Discourtesy (poem "A Song in Storm"); 3. Submarines (poem "Tin Fish"); 4. The Sweepers (poem "Mine Sweepers").