Classical review: The Dream of Gerontius

Published on Monday 1 March 2010 18:03

THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS **** USHER HALL, EDINBURGH

WHEN Elgar's oratorio The Dream of Gerontius was first performed in Birmingham in 1900, it was a near disaster, the singers and orchestra having had little time to rehearse it.

No such fate for this little-heard (these days) masterpiece at the Usher Hall, when the combined forces of Edinburgh Bach Choir, Jubilo and Scottish Sinfonia, all under the persuasive baton of Neil Mantle, gave a deeply felt, reverential reading to Elgar's setting of John Henry Newman's poem based on the prayer of a dying man and the journey of his soul towards heaven.

Written for large orchestra, Gerontius proved a perfect choice for Scottish Sinfonia and Mantle, who excels in early 20th-century British orchestral music.

Using a revised score which he had specially prepared, based on a 1927 recording with Elgar conducting, Mantle lovingly lifted its subtle colours from the page, radiant one moment, sombre and reflective the next.

From the choirs, it was the voices in full flight moments which worked best. The glorious peaks of Go Forth and the Cardinal Newman hymn, Praise to the Holiest in the Height, were uplifting in their conviction – but less so the quieter passages where lack of clarity masked their meaning.

The three soloists were a complementary choice, each voice possessing its own rich beauty well-suited to Elgar, especially tenor Mark Wilde, who rose above the orchestra to convey the great humanity of Newman's text.