Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

Choral Singing / Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, Op.38

 

 

Based on the Victorian poem by Catholic Cardinal John Henry Newman, Sir Edward Elgar's oratorio Dream of Gerontius (1900), has a dramatic framework within which the music expanded orderly, a massive piece for chorus and orchestra. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory.

Dates:
   Thursday 19 October, 8pm
   Saturday 21 October, 2pm

Venue:
   Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
 

 

                                                      Image credit: Eric Hansen

 

Artists: 

Brett Weymark conductor

Jacqueline "Jacqui" Dark mezzo soprano

Andrew Goodwin tenor
Jose Carbo baritone
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
The Sydney Youth Orchestra

 

 

At the end of the music score of Sir Edward's The Dream of Gerontius, the composer wrote: “This is the best of me.” This monumental work embodies Elgar’s spiritual and artistic ideals – it is as stirringly Romantic and grand as you’d expect, but it is also Elgar’s most personal utterance. Elgar poured his “heart’s blood” into Gerontius, responding to the words with evocative, sincere and imaginative music – imposing marches full of pomp and circumstance, choirs of demons and angels, and celestial harmonies – that takes us from earth to heaven. Elgar’s masterful choral writing celebrates the beauty and power of the voice in partnership with the orchestra.

A performance of The Dream of Gerontius is a major event for performers and audiences alike. In this case, the virtuosic young musicians of The Sydney Youth Orchestra join the massed forces of the Festival Chorus and celebrated vocalists Jacqueline Dark, Andrew Goodwin and José Carbo to contemplate a vast fresco of life and life everlasting.

 

                                                               Image: Tel A.

Suggested Listening:

Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius [Barbirolli] Janet Baker, Richard Lewis, Kim Borg. 
Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano (The Angel) Richard Lewis, tenor (Gerontius, Soul of Gerontius) Kim Borg, bass (The Priest, The Angel of Agony) The combined Hallé Choir and Sheffild Philharmonic Chorus (chorus master: Eric Chadwick) Ambrosian Singers (chorus master: John McCarthy) Hallé Orchestra, leader: Martin Milner Conducted by John Barbirolli 1965. (Accessed 11 September 2017)

Sir Andrew Davis Conducts The Dream of Gerontius @ St. Paul's Cathedral. A live concert from St. Paul's Cathedral, London. 1997. Introduced by James Naughtie  Uploaded by Basicallybenign. (Accessed September 11, 2017).

Review:

Review: The Dream of Gerontius (Sydney Philharmonia Choirs).  A heavenly accounting of Elgar's oratorio.  Limelight Magazine. Accessed October 28, 2017.
 

 

Resources:

1. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Program.
2. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs 2017 Season Brochure.



(c) September 2017. Tel.  Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.