The Dream of Gerontius, continued.
The piece was inspired by the poem by John Henry Newman and follows Gerontius, an ordinary man, as he looks death in the face, meets his guardian Angel and comes face to face with God, before being sent to Purgatory with the promise of everlasting glory. In terms of the music, in Elgar’s own words, “I imagined Gerontius to be a man like us, not a Priest or a Saint, but a sinner... therefore I’ve not filled it with Church tunes and rubbish but a good, healthy full-blooded romantic, remembered worldliness, so to speak”.
It was a complex work to prepare as Martin Bussey, Musical Director of both Cantiones and Chester Bach Singers, had to rehearse the choirs and the orchestra separately. The choirs only sang together the week before the performance and were joined by the Orchestra and organ during the rehearsal in the afternoon of the concert. It was a wonderful collaborative experience and a hugely successful performance.
It was particularly pleasing to look out from the choir to see all the seats taken!
