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What'sOn
29th October 2004
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Elgar’s vision of God and angels
GUILDFORD Philharmonic Choir will be performing
- Sir Edward Elgar’s spiritual masterpiece The Dream of
Gerontius in the cathedral on Saturday, October 30.
Gerontius, along with the Enigma Variations, were
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Elgar’s breakthrough works that, at the relative late
age of 43, finally confirmed his place among the
highest echelons of the English musical elite — and
secured his position on the continent too.
It is a setting of a poem by Cardinal Henry John
Newman that describes Gerontius’ imagined
approach to death, his meeting with God to be
judged and the aftermath.
The oratorio is stacked full of the most beautiful
tunes, arranged by a series of musical themes which
are set out in the introduction and then recur
throughout the work, including fear, agony, awe,
repentance, easing of pain and judgement.
Several passages stand out, culminated in Elgar’s
portrayal of the sight of God, only for the briefest of
moments, an ecstatic musical climax that fuelled frantic correspondence between Elgar and his publisher
August Jaeger over whether it should be attempted.
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The soloists will be Eugene Ginty (Gerontius),
Catherine Denley (angel) and Michael Bundy (Angel
of the Agony/priest) and the vocalists will be accompanied by the Forest Philharmonic under the baton
of Jeremy Backhouse.
See listings for booking information.
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Guildford Philharmonic and the Forest Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Elgar’s spiritual masterpiece The Dream of Gerontius in Guildford Cathedral.