Dream of Gerontius

Chandos Records is delighted to present this new recording of Elgar’s choral masterpiece The Dream of Gerontius and the enduringly popular song cycle Sea Pictures. The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, a peerless Elgarian who this year was awarded the prestigious Elgar Society Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the composer’s music. In Gerontius the soloists are Stuart Skelton, David Soar and Sarah Connolly, who also sings in Sea Pictures. This recording was made in the days leading up to their triumphant live performance of Gerontius in April of this year in which Skelton was praised as ‘the ideal tenor for the role of Gerontius’, Soar described as ‘an implacable, dark sounding Priest’ and Connolly, ‘a consummately polished Angel’ (The Guardian).

The peerless Elgarian Sir Andrew Davis conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in this new recording of Elgars choral masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius, recognized today by many as the greatest choral work by any English composer. Joining conductor and orchestra are star soloists Stuart Skelton, David Soar and Sarah Connolly, who also sings here in the Elgar song cycle Sea Pictures.

Daniel Barenboim’s ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ is a significant addition to his critically-acclaimed Elgar series with Staatskapelle Berlin. This is Barenboim’s first recording of Elgar’s greatest choral masterpiece. Featuring the finest array of English-speaking soloists: Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Andrew Staples and Thomas Hampson.

Daniel Barenboim’s ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ is a significant addition to his critically-acclaimed Elgar series with Staatskapelle Berlin. This is Barenboim’s first recording of Elgar’s greatest choral masterpiece. Featuring the finest array of English-speaking soloists: Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Andrew Staples and Thomas Hampson.

'The Dream of Gerontius' is probably Edward Elgar's masterpiece and certainly one of the glories of the English oratorio tradition. A setting of Cardinal Newman's poem about a man's death and the journey of his soul toward heaven, it is one of the most heartwarming affirmations of faith and salvation in all of music and also a work of great intensity and passion, influenced by both Mahler and Italian opera. Several great British conductors have left their mark on 'Gerontius,' but none was more strongly associated with it than Sir John Barbirolli, who directed it many times before making this famous recording, which he regarded as a testament of his own faith, in 1964. While Barbirolli's Halle Orchestra and the combined choirs distinguish themselves mightily, the crowning asset of this vividly dramatic reading is Janet Baker's glowing performance as the Angel, a breath of life which makes an already powerful experience unforgettable.

Born in London of Italian-French parents, Sir John Barbirolli (1899–1970) trained as a cellist and played in theatre and café orchestras before joining the Queen’s Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood in 1916.

Daniel Barenboim’s ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ is a significant addition to his critically-acclaimed Elgar series with Staatskapelle Berlin. This is Barenboim’s first recording of Elgar’s greatest choral masterpiece. Featuring the finest array of English-speaking soloists: Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Andrew Staples and Thomas Hampson. The album is released to coincide with Barenboim’s performances of Elgar’s Symphonies 1 & 2 with the Staatskapelle Berlin at the BBC Proms on 15 & 16 July

The Dream of Gerontius by Edward Elgar is a two-part work for voices and orchestra composed in 1900 to text by John Henry Newman. Widely regarded as Elgar’s finest choral work, and by some his masterpiece, Gabrieli’s first-class performance, and McCreesh’s superb interpretation demonstrate why their recordings are seen as some of the best in classical music today.