Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius (Halle/Elder)

[@DazeofWonder]

As an old man (75) who has survived near death experience in the first responder's "triangle of death" shortly after my latelife confirmation to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism, I identify profoundly with this great work of Elgar. It's never too late to come home to Rome and reveal Jesus by your witness and life. Bless to excess.

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

Bless you. Its a great work, praise to the holiest in the heights and in the depths be praise. N

[@agathavandoesburg7297]

Fear the judgement!! Best of Elgar!!❤

[@Esme-gf4jd]

Beautiful! I came home 2 years ago at 64. My son followed me into the Church and if God will will be a Deacon.

[@57monks]

Elgar is my favorite composer. I went to his gravesite and laid a flower on his stone in gratitude for all the joy his music has given me for the last 45 years. Softly and gently is one of the most sublimely consoling pieces I have ever heard. I attended a live performance of Gerontius only 2 weeks after my mom passed and I wasn’t sure I would be able get through it without dissolving. But the Angel’s Farewell was so comforting that there are no words to describe the depth of emotion and compassion in Elgar’s music. And The Kingdom and The Apostles likewise are brilliant works. The thrilling conclusion of The Apostles is nothing less than breathtaking. What I so admire about Elgar’s religious works is the depth of conviction that stems from a deeply felt spirituality; there is nothing saccharine about his music. I will never forget the collective gasp from the capacity audience at the conclusion when I heard The Dream at the New York Philharmonic in 2001. By the way, as a New York Jew I am proof that great religious music transcends everything and brings us closer to God regardless of our religious persuasion. RIP Sir Edward, and thank you.

[@agathavandoesburg7297]

We visited his house last summer!! And this is a wonderful performance, what an amazing composer he was!!! Magnificent piece, and such a joy to listen to. May he be composing in Heaven for when we are allowed to join him... 🙏 ✨️

[@danielmasonmusic2353]

I am not religious but I find great comfort in the great religious masterpieces of music. I've only recently started diving into Elgar's music but I can without a shadow of a doubt consider this one of the most overwhelmingly beautiful and moving things I have ever heard. I wish I could shake his hand and thank him for his wonderful music.

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

Me too. What I admire most about him was he was self taught.

[@LNSCAdmin]

Agreed, I too have no religious feelings, and view such works as an expression simply of humanity. I was first given a recording of this in 1989 but only began to appreciate it 10 years later. The music at the beginning of Part II for me, is so English in its evocation of the English landscape and the words "I hear no more the busy beat of time... nor does one moment differ from the rest" are such an elegant way to describe death. "Go forth Christian Soul..." is uplifting and one cannot help but feel moved by the tenderness of "Softly and gently". There is so much to discover for you with Elgar - listen to The Kingdom and The Apostles for starters.

[@57monks]

@@LNSCAdminI could not agree more! The first time I heard Gerontius live at the NY Philharmonic in 2001 there was a huge gasp from the audience at the conclusion. I heard it live again in 2007 just 2 weeks after my mom passed and I was not sure I would get through it in one piece. But hearing the sublime Softly and Gently was so consolatory. And the overwhelming conclusion of The Apostles is stunning! In 1995 I went to Elgar’s birthplace and in 2012 I went to his grave to place a flower on his stone in gratitude for all the joy his glorious music has brought me since I first discovered him 44 years ago. When my time is up I hope the last thing I will hear is the gorgeous Adagio from the First Symphony. Enjoy his wondrous music!!!

[@christopherpalmer4344]

What a performance! And the soloists are wonderful - they act their roles, as well as singing beautifully. I bet Elgar was looking down, smiling upon this performance. It doesn't get better than this

[@helenfrancomb6090]

Have grown to love this wonderful work over fifty years plus of choral singing.I first heard it performed at the 3 Choirs festival in Worcester Cathedral many years ago ,have heard several performances since ,and this Proms one is one of the best.I have also sung in the chorus in 2 performances over the years. It is being performed in Bristol Cathedral on Sat. 18th May 2024 by Bristol Classical Players ,conductor Tom Gauterin,with Bristol Cabot Choir,Bristol Phoenix Choir,The Fitzhardinge Consort and professional soloists. This recording has been a useful rehearsal aid for preparing to sing in the chorus once more .

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

Tibi gratias ago.

[@barrymorentz5190]

One of the most deeply felt, truly spiritual pieces ever composed. The Angel’s Farewell never fails to get to me…Elgar at his most sublime

[@nikkivenable73]

Elgar himself wrote on the final page of this manuscript, “This is the best of me.”

[@zandor5657]

this is the best of me -for the the rest, I ate, drank, slept, loved and hated as another -my life was as the vapour and is not -....... this , if anything of mine, is worth your memory ---[from John Ruskin ?]

[@anthonyhuenneke1524]

@@zandor5657 yes, ruskin, from "sesame and lilies"

[@sergeant399]

I don't know this work at all but am booked to see it at Fairfield Halls, Croydon on May 11th, having heard it's Elgar's masterpiece. Hopefully by then I'll be singing along!

[@jordanrowland6269]

You should be in for a treat! If you can find the Andrew Davies (RIP) recording on Chandos, that was recorded at Fairfield Halls.

[@unclechrisfonkeng6384]

Praise to the Holiest is my favorite hymn of all time. The poetry, melody and harmony are just out of this world.

[@kensalsman7737]

Sang this over 35 years ago and still remember much of the bass lines...those several pivotal moments still impact me...”take me away”, “softly and gently”, and “come back oh Lord” in particular.

[@patrickvalentino600]

On his deathbed, Strauss supposedly said, with not a little bit of self-promotion, "death is exactly as I scored it (in Tod und Verklärung)"...I pray, and suspect, it would be more like The Dream of Gerontius. This work reaches the artistic beauty and undeniable reality of Bach. Undoubtedly Elgar 's masterpiece and a treasure of both concert and sacred art.

[@morvenbryce3]

Thank you for this moving outpouring..feel and hope the same. Would be lovely if Heaven comes to Earth one day ❤

[@huwedwards839]

I always feel the Angel's Farewell must have inspired Strauss' Four Last Songs

[@francoiscaron9799]

Une œuvre grandiose de ce compositeur trop peu mis en avant. Et une interprétation magistrale! Du soliste, chœur à l'orchestre, tout est d'une musicalité profonde qui emporte l'âme ❤

[@NZC_Meow]

I've never heard an English piece before. Wow ❤❤❤

[@samuelcarver1343]

I am quite staggered but I am glad you enjoyed it

[@kookamunga2458]

It's beautiful and I been listening to this at night just before sleep. Edgar's masterpiece works its way into my dreaming. It's beyond words .

[@josepholeary3286]

and yet its power resides so much in the always perfect diction of St John Henry Newman, comparable only to that of Austen and Shelley among 19th century writers.

[@LNSCAdmin]

Yes an outstanding and moving performance. I particularly enjoyed Alice Coote. Thank you for posting - it was good to have all the applause included. It is so encouraging to see so many people attending these concerts. The BBC Proms are an international treasure.

[@keithbryan4968]

Ab outstanding performance of a sadly neglected masterpiece.

[@TheVaughan5]

Not neglected in Elgar’s country, performed frequently but I guess not so much outside the U.K.

[@ransomcoates546]

@@TheVaughan5 Much more than used to be. I saw it in Chicago with the CSO and the Grant Park Symphony, and sang in the chorus under Raymond Leppard in it. It was repeated by the next conductor in Indianapolis about ten years later.

[@carolinefewkes7050]

Happily, my choir is performing this in Exeter in July 2023.

[@palapapro4190]

Heard this when I died before I woke up again. This was the sound that takes you to the gate as u swirl to the judgement before I was returned to warn people to be good to each other /love one another/no racism/avaricious and capricious.

[@sedgieroobets]

Matthew Best, perhaps the most underrated singer in history. Magnificent sound, beautiful management of the voice. Always so musical. Magnificent. The UK's George London.

[@bethanywillis5417]

That’s my uncle! Sadly too young to ever see him in concert, so lovely to finally come across this on KZbin!! Very proud niece ❤

[@morvenbryce3]

SO SO TRUE!!!❤

[@morvenbryce3]

@@bethanywillis5417 Gorgeous!!!!! Xxxx

[@bobareebop]

What a performance by Paul Groves, an American tenor with a muscular voice. Just perfect.

[@warwicktregurtha4198]

I'm afraid that I must disagree. He has an excellent voice but it's really too "hard" for this work. He'd do a damn good Verdi's Requiem though. Another plus point is his clear diction. Oh, and Alice is worth a dozen whooping Janet Bakers.

[@davidnjohn]

I’m in two minds. I know what you mean but I found the tight projection of his voice rather grew on me.

[@suzanba7]

@@warwicktregurtha4198 However beautiful, and it is, it would always mean more if I was hearing Janet Baker.

[@ransomcoates546]

@@warwicktregurtha4198 Have you not heard Jon Vicker’s spectacular Gerontius from the late 50’s? This piece wants an ample-voiced tenor in full cry, not a pallid whiner. But if you don’t hear the sublimity of Janet Baker’s Angel you have a very strange set of ears.

[@sallyandgeoffwalker8290]

It will be performd in Wells Cathedral 23/3/2024. Tickets available online. Make.a weekend of it and visit this charming city!

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

Sadly too late. 😢

[@joesoy9185]

Aged 18, I sang the bass line in the Royal Choral Society in the Royal Albert Hall under Sir Malcolm Sargent. Eight years later, having studied at the Royal Academy of Music for four years, I sang the bass solos professionally.

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

I love Kim borg bass in the Barbirolli recording.

[@lucyj8204]

1:24:30 onwards is some of the most moving music I've ever heard. It's absolutely electric to be part of and soothes the soul. I sang Gerontius with Schola Cantorum of Oxford with Oxford Philomusica at the Sheldonian in 2003, under James Burton who was also Mark Elder's deputy at the Halle at the time - I then followed him there but was not part of this concert. "Come back, O Lord, how long!"

[@musicplaylists64]

The last time I felt that moved from listening to a piece was Haydn's Creation. Super unique but gives me the feeling of being heavily inspired by many greats, including Bach! As someone else said, a truly spiritual piece.

[@TheSorub]

i would say this is the most emotional and stunning live staging of this work thank you for posting what i think makes this great is the orchestra and chorus are given equal importance in the performance . I don't know if it just the recording but i can hear a depth of detail in the score that is lacking in other performances . It totally changes how this peace sounds to the ear. Great!!

[@Fioniajazzband]

Some years ago I visited the Edward Elgar house - and Museum...an older man stood at the desk where CD´es were sold. I decided to put him this question, that I wanted to buy a recording of Dream of Gerontius...with Kathleen Ferrier singing the Angel...! He looked up from his papers and looked at me, with a little smile! "So would I he said, so would I" and we had a fine little conversation on the fact that such a recording does not exist! But this glorious performance is such a joy to listen to...so thank´s for these 1:35 minutes close to Heaven.

[@sumoody1325]

What perfectly perfect soloists the singers are ! Perfect for their parts.

[@Feydrizzle89]

I am going to perform this piece in 1 week and I am soooo excited! It is going to be a brilliant experience I am going to love it! I am not religious though but it is possibly the highest anticipated score I ever do ❤

[@boi3662]

As am I! Gabrieli 2023!

[@enochcore]

@@boi3662did you enjoy it?

[@jam3sst3wart40]

@@boi3662sameeeeeeeee

[@LornaKellyZim]

Magnificent! In every aspect. I fell in love with Matthew Best. Such substance to his voice and so handsome to behold!

[@jgesselberty]

26:55 is mystical and magical to the extreme.

[@sumoody1325]

Heavenly ! Thank you. I was thinking this was on this year. Divine.

[@bobareebop]

"Praise to the Holiest in the height! And in the depth be praise!. In all His words most wonderful, most sure in all His ways".

[@gsaproposal]

I saw this in Cincinnati in 2017. Magnificent beyond words.

[@sergeant399]

I saw this at Fairfield Halls, Croydon on Saturday, performed by The Kensington Symphony Orchestra and Epiphoni Consort. Conducted by Russell Keable. Soloists: Beth Taylor, Oliver Johnston and Alaric Green. An absolutely magnificent work and even better live. How fortunate we are that there are talented people committed to mounting these productions. For me, listening to this recording a few times prior to the concert was worthwhile. Is that normal? Do other concert goers prefer a basic familiarity or can a grand work like this be fully appreciated from scratch? The last few minutes in particular moved me to ecstasy, that's not a phrase I've ever used before.

[@Aperegrine90]

Thank you Auntie. A wonderful performance.

[@steveegallo3384]

Totally Mind-Blowing.....Wow....from Oaxaca !

[@BenSwithen]

I entered 2023 listening to this. I'd never heard it before and it is good!

[@skywalktriceiam]

I have viewed most versions of this on KZbin, and this one is likely the best, and my favorite. Thank you so much for uploading. 💜

[@fallenmorningstar99]

Any other performances you recommend?

[@skywalktriceiam]

@@fallenmorningstar99 They are all good, I looked for the particular one I would recommend, and could not find it; but I see there are some "new" ones uploaded!🙂🎧 I only saw your comment now, so I apologise for the delay in my response 💜

[@thomasnidecker7940]

@@fallenmorningstar99 jaap va, i like a lotn zweden

[@thomasnidecker7940]

jaap van zweden

[@skywalktriceiam]

@@thomasnidecker7940 That's the 1! I could not remember the name, Cheers👌🏼🎶💯🕊💜

[@jaybee7078]

Frightening in its magnificence: magnificent in its frightening.....

[@enriquesanchez2001]

So moving....... 🙏🙏🙏

[@joethelion6016]

This was fun to sing, I enjoyed doing the 'Demons' part. Tricky timing but most enjoyable

[@ransomcoates546]

‘Tricky’?! I found it terrifying. Raymond Leppard’s beat was not exactly what you’d call obvious.

[@joethelion6016]

@@ransomcoates546 I was talking about when I was performing in this choral piece. It's not an easy section.

[@viviencosh5620]

Magnificent, mark elder is the best tenor I’ve ever heard, clarity, passion, musicality

[@nigelmorley5414]

Mark Elder is the conductor !

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

Conductor?

[@abkquan]

Thank you for posting this. What a magnificant performance. The Britten recording will always be special for me but I would now place this alongside the Boult and Andrew Davis as representing the best.

[@numbersix1908]

All above you have mentioned are stellar recordings, including this one! I encourage you to check out the latest proms recording conducted by Rattle (no video) uploaded by tromboneflyguy. Entirely different, but full of drama and well worth a listen.

[@huwedwards839]

Wonderful performance

[@joethelion6016]

I sang this as a second Alto in the choir, not this choir :) It's a beautiful work to sing, haunting, magical and unique.

[@JMPConsultants1]

I sang second alto in this performance 😊 - amazing to be able to watch it again, 17 years later!

[@dianefleming9765]

I'm in rehearsals toperform in 2 weeks. It's wonderful

[@ransomcoates546]

@@JMPConsultants1 Was there general agreement about how wonderful Paul Groves was? I have never heard such complete dedication to the text in this part, and a voice shiningly capable of communicating his feeling.

[@jwilson2042]

Stunning! Pure joy! 👏👏👏

[@user-er3lf7uc2z]

It's worth listening to this, and then listening to all the other Dream of Gerontius recordings on KZbin or elsewhere before making a judgment. This is a live recording (and the coughs don't detract from the quality of musicianship or singing) and there is an emotional element at least equal to any other - including Barbirolli's and Janet Baker's. Perhaps it's helped by the fact that we are seeing the chorus, singers, conductor and orchestra 'in the flesh' .

[@RobertPaterson]

Thank you - have waited an age for this

[@damianoskailoglou6869]

Magnificent!!

[@nickwright6034]

Magnificent.

[@Rich10450]

What a genius this man was. He had his issues but.......

[@davidnjohn]

Know anyone who doesn’t have issues? To be able to compose this despite ‘issues’ is a monumental achievement of the human spirit.

[@paulybarr]

And what were his issues? Apart from being catholic, that is?

[@davidnjohn]

Actually, yes, i agree, what were his issues….?

[@EE12CSVT]

As far as I was aware he didn't beyond what the average man at the time had

[@Gralsritter]

Wonderful thanks

[@RomanusVII]

St. John Henry Newman, intercede on our behalf to God Almighty.

[@libelle176]

Magnificent!!!!!

[@Ling_Ling40]

The coughs😭😭

[@malcolmhutchinson7876]

Concert must have been held at the same time as the national convention of bronchitis night out...

[@EE12CSVT]

That applause at the end of Praise to the Holiest!

[@wolfgangvondreckendorf4897]

May those who cough during concerts be forever stuck in purgatory😈

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

Amazing.

[@bobparsons77]

Thank you for this.

[@bobparsons77]

I have a Boult recording, wonder what he would think of this performane.

[@darrenniman874]

Thank you SO MUCH for doing this. Still laughing about the applause at the end of Praise to the Holiest... can't get rid of that, can we? Ha! Ha! --- Ha! Ha! I feel the demons coming on.

[@andrewhowell2543]

If this performance was taking place in Manchester= the home of the Halle = there would have been no clapping at this point. We have too much respect for the music and our wonderful orchestra and its world class conductor.

[@andrewhowell2543]

If this performance was taking place in Manchester, the audience would have not have clapped until the conductor dropped his hands at the end. The applause started too soon but that is not unusual for the worst and unruly audience in British music.

[@karldelavigne8134]

Proms audiences have become noticeably less educated in the past 20 years or so, perhaps with people who think every piece of music is a song and that a loud climax signifies a hiatus for applause.

[@angusmcrandy]

@@karldelavigne8134 I don't think it's just Proms audiences.

[@andrewtaylor5695]

Oh honestly. Get over yourselves and stop perpetuating the myth that you have to somehow 'educate' yourself before you can enjoy orchestral music. Nothing wrong with applauding the stirring climax of a movement, even if it's not the end of the complete work. It probably means many in the audience were hearing the work for the first time. This is A Good Thing!

[@josephrees4414]

St John Henry Newman, ora pro nobis

[@paulybarr]

All that quasi- Parsifal stuff in the first ten minutes is fun.

[@parkour2461]

this go hard af

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

I love Elgar. Amazing,in self thought. In my opinion, this is the most amazing work of the early 20th century. Well one of them. He was self tought. Just enjoy. This is not an oratorio. It's operatic. My best copy is dame James Baker and Halle Orchestra and the divene Sir John ,Barbirolli.

[@yaelpalombo4093]

❤❤❤🌷

[@viviencosh5620]

I meant Paul Best!!

[@federicozimerman8167]

Does anyone know the total number of performers for this version?

[@1968KWT]

John Henry Newman was #botd in 1801 💐💐💐

[@aclark903]

Born?

[@paulgrobey9838]

lol at 01:09 ME is like duuuuuuudes please don't clap

[@USMC98]

11:03 beginning words.

[@1968KWT]

John Henry Newman died #otd in 1890 ⚰️

[@gwalaus]

Don't forget, everyone, that the "librettist" is now a bona fide canonized saint. It's not the greatest of great poetry, nor does Elgar's music really transcend its little historical niche, but whoah, what a capital C Catholic blast! Purgatory? Bring it on! I always have a feeling of Gerontius as conversion music, and best performed by people of faith, as, I think Barbirolli may have suggested at one stage. Lucky was I to be a humble chorus bass in the Melbourne centenary performance under David Willcocks, with MSO and Tudor Choristers. As for the current performance, impressive so far.

[@peterfeltham5612]

"Nor does Elgar's music really transcend it's little historical niche".......Sorry but you will have to explain that one to me.

[@arts1721]

i am mud and flame

[@boi3662]

Ftnmf - 17:40

[@martingadd]

What's with the crappy sound quality?

[@martingadd]

And the sync is out.

[@mickbachner]

the sound on this has been totally f****d up! The loudest passages are just as loud as the quietest????? OK equalise a bit but listening to this you are not getting the concert hall experience. Music is all about creating drama and that includes the volume. Why do you think composes use all those crescendo and diminuendo symbols and double ffs and double pp's FFS!

[@henrygingercat]

The Kingdom is a much better piece (Adrian Boult et al) and I wish it were done more often.

[@corneliusmahoney1110]

No it isn't but bless you

[@idolinocreon4418]

[@daveherbs]

For Ukraine

[@kristine8338]

How selfish we are… 💔

[@ransomcoates546]

Splendid Gerontius from Paul Groves, bright and forward and not nasal and hooty à l’anglais. But not quite impeccable, as the announcer says. He misses the entrance ‘Joseph, pray for me’ at Novello p. 35, 8 after rehearsal 63.

[@rogermccann5477]

No he doesn’t

[@lyndon1904]

'...nasal and hooty à l’anglais'... What on earth is that supposed to mean? I can only assume that your experience of English tenors is very limited.

[@thecrimescenecleaners3431]

Amazing theme ... gotta admit .. it was disgusting how Europeans treated native americans ...

[@stefanwienes1093]

This could have been a fantastic video. Marvelous musicians in a glorious Hall at the world’s greatest classical music festival. But oh - why are the complete dynamics compressed to one constant level? This is not how the work sounds and completely against Elgar‘s and the musicians‘ intention. Literally spoken: if the Angel‘s farewell is as loud as the demons‘ chorus… then there‘s something completely wrong. What a pity.

[@jordanrowland6269]

Yes, and I’ve tried to re-do it several times, but the audio keeps coming out compressed, the range on the original broadcast and the DVD I recorded it to are absolutely fine. Sorry.

[@toninho7307]

​@@jordanrowland6269 about YT soundlevels ,there's a nice (YT) video kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIHIf42EdreekKc

[@terryhammond1253]

Inspired by Parsifal no doubt... but not anywhere close to Wagner's miraculous achievement ... Sorry.

[@karldelavigne8134]

This is an oratorio setting of a religious poem, not a 4-hour long Sacred Festival Stage Work. There is nothing that compares to Parsifal, which is sui generis, and Elgar wasn't trying to write his own version of it. You can certainly hear the influence of Wagner, which was widespread at that time, but Gerontius shows many other influences.

[@frogmouth]

Chalk and cheese

[@peterfeltham5612]

Odd comment to make, instead perhaps you should be watching a beauty contest.

[@joethelion6016]

Newsflash : music is subjective

[@davidnjohn]

Hell be comparing the b minor mass to Mozart’s Requiem next…!

[@claricemay841]

There’s problem with the sound but thanks for this video anyway.