Elgar's lighter music inhabits a different world from the symphonies, concertos, and later chamber works, though he was not averse to meeting the popular demand for short, fairly uncomplicated pieces such as Salut d'amour (Love's greeting). Written ten years before the "Enigma" Variations that brought him international fame, Elgar was still a struggling composer and little known, even in Britain; yet his music shows all the compositional skill and imagination found in his larger-scale compositions.

As with Chanson de Matin and Chanson de Nuit for small orchestra (1897), this short piece reflects the Victorian taste for tuneful salon music—preferably with a Frenchified title—suited to amateurs and home music-making. Originally for violin and piano, it has been transcribed many times for other instruments, though (having no lyric) not for voice. Despite its title, it is not overtly sentimental, and the flowing, song-like line is best served by bowed instruments.

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