The Dream of Gerontius

A great Catholic clergyman’s contemplation of death and the afterlife inspired Elgar to compose one of the finest and certainly most moving choral works of the late 19th century. The Dream of Gerontius (1899-1900) for tenor, mezzo-soprano, baritone soloists, large chorus and orchestra sets parts of a long poem written in 1865 by future cardinal and saint John Henry Newman; it depicts a dying man, the devout Gerontius, praying for salvation before he is answered by conflicting messages voiced by insidious demons and hosts of angels. Elgar’s work, with its recurring orchestral themes and dramatic dialogue between the deceased’s wandering soul, his guardian angel and the imploring Angel of the Agony, comes closer in spirit to Wagner’s opera Parsifal than to the often sentimental oratorios and dramatic cantatas of late-Victorian England. The composition’s first half portrays the final hours of Gerontius as he expresses unshakeable faith in God; in its second half, the dead man’s soul is mocked by the Demons Chorus as they scheme to “gather souls for hell”. He is prepared for the ordeal of judgement by the massed choir of “angelicals”, who deliver an overwhelming declaration of Newman’s hymn “Praise to the Holiest in the Height”. The Angel of the Agony begs Jesus to spare the souls assembled before God’s throne, raising the stakes to the point where Gerontius pleads to be admitted to Purgatory: “Take me away,” his soul cries, “… that sooner I may rise and go above”. The guardian angel counsels that his trials will swiftly pass, leaving the angelicals to sing God’s praises and sound an exquisite final amen.