Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38

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Paul Groves's sophisticated, elegant tenor is not ideally the sort that should be essaying this role. With Bryn Terfel… sounding a little frayed, Alice Coote makes the biggest impact. It's... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2009, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 20th Oct 2008
Catalogue No: CDHLD7520
Label: Hallé
Series: Elder Elgar Series
Length: 94 minutes

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Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38

Work length1:34:09

$22.00

$30.80

Hallé Orchestra, Alice Coote (soloist), Paul Groves (soloist), Bryn Terfel (soloist)
Hallé Youth Choir, Hallé Choir
Mark Elder

Prelude

Track length10:36

$1.50

$2.10

Jesu Maria

Track length3:09

$1.00

$1.40

Kyrie eleison

Track length2:12

$1.00

$1.40

Rouse thee my fainting soul

Track length4:14

$1.00

$1.40

Santus fortis

Track length4:55

$1.00

$1.40

I can do no more

Track length5:36

$1.00

$1.40

Profiscere, anima Christiana

Track length6:33

$1.00

$1.40

Prelude

Track length1:41

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$1.40

I went to sleep

Track length4:14

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$1.40

My work is done

Track length2:08

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$1.40

It is a member of that family

Track length5:55

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But hark! ... Low-born clods of brute earth

Track length1:39

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$1.40

Disposses, aside thrust

Track length4:18

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I see not these false spirits

Track length1:44

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There was a mortal ... Praise to the Holiest

Track length5:15

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But hark! a grand mysterious harmony

Track length1:20

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Praise to the Holiest

Track length7:49

$1.50

$2.10

Thy judgement now is near

Track length2:05

$1.00

$1.40

Jesu! by that shuddering dread

Track length6:09

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... Praise to his name"... Take me away

Track length5:47

$1.00

$1.40

Softly and gently

Track length6:50

$1.00

$1.40

About
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Elgar’s late masterpiece is an extraordinary work full of drama and passion alongside exquisite music of sublime delicacy. It is a moving expression of the composer’s personally unorthodox religious faith and a poignant reflection on the journey of a man through death, depicted in striking writing for choir, orchestra and soloist.

“Mark Elder’s interpretation with the Hallé orchestra and choir evaded characterisation, though he stamps his dramatic instincts all over the piece. It is either a religious tone poem or a spiritual opera, either way the effect is frequently cataclysmic” The Guardian

Reviews

February 2009

Paul Groves's sophisticated, elegant tenor is not ideally the sort that should be essaying this role. With Bryn Terfel… sounding a little frayed, Alice Coote makes the biggest impact. It's a lovely sound, but none of her 'Alleluias', from the most hushed to the truly exultant, can compare with those of Janet Baker for Barbirolli or Rattle. Good, then, but not great enough for this extraordinary work.

2010

For all sorts of reasons Barbirolli's famous Hallé account has lived in everyone's hearts for decades. It still will, because there is something about the immediacy and wholeheartedness of its vision that speaks as directly as ever. Mark Elder's approach is more elusive. He draws us patiently, unerringly, into the profound mystery of the piece, judiciously weighing its theatricality against its inwardness. It is reverent in the best sense, with breathless pianissimi and a potency of atmosphere that takes hold from the moment we enter the dying man's room. Just listen to the Hallé strings in the Prelude, or the introduction to Part 2. The stylistic finesse of the playing, the very particular articulation, the inbred portamento – all these qualities are testament to the fantastic work Elder has done with the orchestra.
It is, by a mile, the best-sounding Gerontius we have had, handsome in its depth and breadth with great spatial perspectives and a wonderful sense of how the score is layered. Onto this impressive sound stage comes Paul Groves's Gerontius with a near-perfect blend of poetic restraint and high emotionalism – though some may feel that the 'operatic' hot-spots, 'Take me away!' being, of course, the hottest of them – are wanting in that last degree of heft. Elder and his sound team might have given us something more startling with that chord of 'utmost force' in the moment Gerontius finally glimpses his creator.
No lack of force or presence in Bryn Terfel's proclamation to 'Go forth!' – the portals of heaven open to that, as indeed they do with the arrival of the heavenly host for the great 'Praise to the Holiest' chorus. The Hallé choir bravely gather momentum in that, thanks to Elder's insistence on clear rhythmic articulation, and he achieves a simply stonking crescendo on the final chord, leaving the organ to plumb infinite depths.
Of course, Janet Baker's timbre still haunts every measure of the Angel's music, but the wonderful Alice Coote conveys great confidentiality in her highly personalised reading. 'Softly and gently' is gloriously enveloping – and maybe that's the word which ultimately best describes this fine and most satisfying recording.

January 2009

It is, by a mile, the best-sounding Gerontius we have had, handsome in its depth and breadth with great spatial perspectives and a wonderful sense of how the score is layered. Of course, Janet Baker's timbre still haunts every measure of the Angel's music, but the wonderful Alice Coote conveys great confidentiality in her highly personalised reading.

2011 edition

Alice Coote sings radiantly…Paul Groves is a most affecting Gerontius...and Bryn Terfel is predictably commanding in both his roles...the Halle Chorus is richly expressive over the widest possible dynamic range

7th November 2008

The orchestra and chorus are wonderfully imposing, and Elder's performance never lets you forget this is a work built out of quasi-operatic dialogues...Groves is the perfect embodiment of humanity, neither too English nor too Italianate but with all the power necessary to cope with even the most demanding vocal passages...Coote's performance is a marvel

Offer,Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38

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