Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38 (1900)
Allan Clayton (tenor); Jamie Barton (mezzo-soprano); James Platt (bass-baritone)
Hallé Choir; London Philharmonic Choir; London Philharmonic Orchestra/Edward Gardner
rec. live 31 August 2022, Royal Albert Hall, London, UK
Reviewed from a WAV download 48kHz/24-bit
Text included
LPO 0138 [88]

Here is a performance of Elgar’s masterpiece that feels almost perfect. I was lucky to be at the Albert Hall in August 2022 when Edward Gardner conducted it, and even by Proms standards, the rapt silence which followed the meticulous diminuendo of the sustained final chord was extraordinary. More than most pieces, Gerontius can leave the listener with an intense feeling of awe, especially in the febrile atmosphere of a live performance. I was cautiously delighted then, when I heard that the LPO’s own label was going to release the performance three years on, wondering if the elation I felt at the performance would still hold when I sat at home by myself. It very much did. 

In analysing why I feel so warmly about this performance, I’m drawn again and again in the to the quality of the choral singing and its direction. We know that Edward Gardner is a highly skilled conductor of big choral works (indeed, see my colleague John Quinn’s illuminating review of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time by these same forces for a recent testament). Still, even by his own standards, the response he encourages from the combined Hallé and LPO Choirs is striking. Their singing has power, sensitivity and flexibility. Above all, one is struck by two things. First, the consistent unanimity of movement and approach. One isn’t constantly aware that these are large choral forces (over 250 singers I think) such is the agility displayed. Second, a consequence of the first, is their superb diction. We don’t talk enough these days about Newman’s literary genius, but in its whole or abbreviated form (as set by Elgar) Gerontius is for the most part a remarkable piece of writing, deceptively simple, attractively rhetorical, deeply moving. There isn’t a superfluous word. It follows that we need to hear every one of them, and in this performance we do.

Turning to the soloists, Allan Clayton sounds as if he were born to sing Gerontius. He has the necessary power and lyricism, of course, but it’s the colour and shading he brings to his singing which is astonishing, with attendant dramatic effect. From the mesmerising way in Part 1 he inhabits the mercurial change from the nobility and assurance of the ‘Sanctus fortis’ passage to the shattering realisation of ruin and fear which immediately follows, to the beautifully characterised ‘Take me away’, somehow both impassioned and frail, at the end of Part 2, he consistently compels one’s attention. Jamie Barton’s Angel has an almost operatic quality at times without becoming in any way melodramatic, and she possesses the utmost sensitivity as well as a sometimes startling power. Her singing of ‘Praise to His Name’ is a resounding example of the latter. James Platt as both Priest and Angel of the Agony is appropriately adamant and authoritative, and he has a lovely, full-bodied tone.

I’ve talked about Gardner’s choral direction, but he elicits playing of similar sensitivity from the orchestra too. From the measured, perfectly judged Prelude, to the perfectly paced lead-in to Gerontius’s last words and the control then shown over the closing minutes of the work, the LPO’s playing is utterly responsive.

As one would expect, the BBC’s recording of the performance is excellent, possessing clarity, depth and resonance. Seek it out.

Dominic Hartley    

Previous review: John Quinn (November 2025)

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