 The work is dedicated to Samuel Sanford, who had been instrumental in having Elgar awarded an honorary doctorate of music at Yale University on 28 June 1905, where the Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 was played for the first time at such a conferral ceremony.The piece opens with a tutti descending fanfare, which segues into a major-key moderato section, interspersed by an "Allegretto e poco stringendo" section consisting of two measures in length.