Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius
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CD Details

Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2006-09-12
Music Label: Lso Live UK
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Prelude
  2. Jesu, Maria - I am near to death (Gerontius)
  3. Kyre elesion . . . Holy Mary, pray for him (semi-chorus, chorus)
  4. Rouse thee, my fainting soul (Gerontius)
  5. Be merciful, be gracious (chorus)
  6. Santus fortis, Santus Deus (Gerontius)
  7. I can no more (Gerontius)
  8. Rescue him, O Lord (Gerontius, chorus, semi-chorus)
  9. Novissima hora est (Gerontius)
  10. Profisciscere, anima Christiana (Priest)
  11. Go, in the name of Angels and Arcangels (chorus, Priest, semi-chorus)
Music CD 2
  1. Prelude
  2. I went to sleep (Soul of Gerontius)
  3. My work is done (Angel, Soul)
  4. Low-born clods of brute earth (chorus, Angel)
  5. The mind bold and independent (chorus)
  6. I see not those false spirits (Soul, Angel)
  7. Praise to the Holiest (semi-chorus, Angel, chorus)
  8. Glory to Him (chorus, Angel, Soul)
  9. But Hark! a grand mysterous harmony (Soul)
  10. And now the threshold as we traverse it (Angel)
  11. Praise to the Holiest in the height (chorus)
  12. Thy judgment is now near (Angel, Soul)
  13. Jesu! by that shuddering dread (Angel of Agony, Soul, semi-chorus)
  14. Praise to His name (Angel)
  15. Take me away (Soul)
  16. Lord, thou hast been our refuge (Chorus)
  17. Softly and gently, dearly-ransomed soul (Angel, chorus, semi-chorus)

Music reviews of Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

Music Review: Ever-so-slightly disappointing
Rating: 4 Stars

I have waited for this recording for over 20 years. Having heard Davis perform Gerontius with Jessye Norman and Stuart Burrows in Boston in the early 80s, I could never understand why a conductor of such talent and sensitivity was never recorded in this work. In this LSO Live recording, Davis does not disappoint, bringing a performance of extraordinary perception and beauty. His conducting matches the drama and spirituality of Boult's 1970s reading, in my view--the best-conducted of stereo versions. That version is highly recommended, as well as Hickox's Chandos version, which has superb sound. The fifth star is missing from this because the sound provided by LSO Live lacks the last ounce of depth and atmosphere. Compare The LSO Live Elgar 1st Symphony and that released by Profil from Dresden--both conducted by Davis--and you'll hear that the Barbican, ultimately, is not the most hospitable recording venue. That said, the engineers have done the best they can. The chorus sounds rich and full under the circumstances, and, as with Davis's Peter Grimes, they are deeply involved in the proceedings, further justifying the purchase of this version. David Rendall, an excellent and fluid Mozart singer of the 1980s, has since taken on heavier roles and substituted for Ben Heppner at the last moment in this run of performances. He gives a highly-nuanced and credible reading, preferable in some ways to Nicolai Gedda (certainly preferable, to my ears, to Peter Pears), but not quite as vocally pure as Arthur Davies' performance on Chandos. A bigger disappointment is in Von Otter's reading, as her voice lacks the contralto depth and richness this role requires. Her intelligence, however, and sensitivity cannot be questioned. I have not heard the SACD version; my complaint about the sound is slight, and concerns the depth and richness--not the stereo separation. My reservations, however, should not send a potential buyer elsewhere necessarily: make no mistake, this is a beautiful reading and an important document of Davis's career and his work with Elgar and the LSO.
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Description of Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

Elgar's Dream of Gerontius was thought by many to be outlandishly modern at the time of its completion in 1900. Telling the story of the journey of a dying man's soul into the afterlife, the subject originally caused uproar within the English church yet is now acclaimed as one of the great choral masterpieces and one of Elgar's most popular works.
Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius is one of those works in which the composer's sincerity and skill overcome a text laden with a surfeit of Victorian sentimentality. Although Elgar occasionally sinks into its purple patches, Gerontius contains some of his loveliest music. It can withstand different interpretive slants too, from Barbirolli's operatic approach to the more traditional English oratorio approach of Boult. Sir Colin Davis's exciting conducting is of their caliber, bringing direction and power to the dramatic sections and sensitive delicacy to the rest. He has a close rapport with the LSO and they play like angels here, while the orchestra's Chorus is superb, singing with conviction. Although the main singers (Rendall and van Otter) are no match for the likes of Nicolai Gedda (with Boult) and Richard Lewis (for Barbirolli) in the title role or Janet Baker (with Barbirolli), Alastair Miles scores in the bass role. This is a live concert recording and the presence and balances are as good as those usually obtained in ideal studio conditions. --Dan Davis

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