Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius | Cristian Măcelaru | WDR Sinfonieorchester | WDR Rundfunkchor

Edward Elgar's oratorio “The Dream of Gerontius” op. 38, performed by Jamie Barton, John Findon, Derek Welton, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the WDR Rundfunkchor and the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru. Recorded live on May 24, 2025, at the Kölner Philharmonie. Edward Elgar - The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 PART 1 00:00:00 I. Prelude 00:09:24 II. Jesu, Maria – I am Near to Death 00:15:23 III. Rouse thee, my Fainting Soul 00:18:58 IV. Sanctus Fortis, Sanctus Deus 00:29:16 V. Proficiscere, Anima Christiana PART 2 00:38:33 VI. I Went to Sleep 00:45:03 VII. It is a Member of That Family 00:53:08 VIII. But Hark! Upon my Sense Comes a Fierce Hubbub 00:55:56 IX. I See not Those False Spirits 01:03:37 X. But Hark! A Grand Mysterious Harmony 01:10:43 XI. Thy Judgment Now is Near 01:18:09 XII. I Go Before my Judge 01:25:58 XIII. Softly and Gently, Dearly-Ransomed Soul Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano John Findon, tenor Derek Welton, bass-baritone Berlin Radio Choir WDR Radio Choir Simon Halsey, choir rehearsal WDR Symphony Orchestra Cristian Măcelaru, conductor ► For more information about the symphony orchestra, concerts, and current livestreams, visit https://sinfonieorchester.wdr.de ► The WDR Symphony Orchestra on Facebook   / wdrsinfonieorchester   ► Further concerts and introductions to works from the world of classical music, symphonic crossover, choral singing and concerts for children can also be found in the ARD media library: https://www.ardmediathek.de/klassik Introduction to the work: By the 1890s, Edward Elgar had earned a national reputation in his homeland for his contributions to choral literature – the years around the turn of the century catapulted him to the forefront of contemporary composers. In 1899, Elgar premiered the Enigma Variations, a first-class orchestral work, and Sea Pictures, a highly ambitious cycle of orchestral songs. In 1900, his choral symphonic work The Dream of Gerontius was performed for the first time. In 1898, the Birmingham Music Festival approached Elgar with a commission for a large oratorio. The composer gratefully accepted and followed the festival director's idea of setting the spiritual poem “The Dream of Gerontius” to music. The author, John Henry Newman, had published it in 1865, and Elgar had owned a printed copy since 1885. Newman had converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism and risen to the rank of cardinal. Elgar was himself a Catholic and therefore felt like an outsider in Anglican England. He chose Newman's text with a mixture of pride and defiance. The fact that his composition was to become England's most popular late Romantic oratorio filled him with satisfaction. For his setting, Elgar shortened Newman's text by about half to 435 lines, yet still created a powerful work. This is also due to the fact that the composer did not follow the formal structure of the great oratorios by Handel or Mendelssohn Bartholdy, with their individual numbers such as arias and choruses and many repetitions of text, but rather the through-composed music dramas of Richard Wagner. Both parts of his “Gerontius” are characterized by a continuous flow of music that narrates the dramatic action and shapes it tonally. Newman's text spans the arc from Gerontius' death to his resurrection and redemption. The first part describes the death of what Elgar called “a repentant sinner and yet a thoroughly worldly man.” The second part, almost twice as long, describes the journey that the soul of the deceased takes with its guardian angel through various stages: from the forecourt of the court past demons to the house of the court and on to angelic beings, until it is allowed to see God and, through the intercession of the angel of death, enters purgatory, where it is finally accepted among the righteous. Elgar had promised the Birmingham Music Festival that the premiere would take place in the fall of 1900, but he had overestimated himself, as he first had to finish the “Enigma Variations” and “Sea Pictures.” When he finally began work on the oratorio, it came easily to him, but time was short. Elgar completed the score on August 3. However, the orchestral and choral parts still had to be written, so that the first choir rehearsal could not take place until the end of the month. As a result, the passages sung by the choir at the premiere were a debacle. The first German performance in Düsseldorf the following year was much better. Fellow composer Richard Strauss was also present. The then undisputed master of modernism subsequently praised the work, saying: “I raise my glass to the health and success of the first English progressive, Master Edward Elgar.” (Otto Hagedorn)