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Review by Geohominid August 5, 2006 (10 of 10 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (MC): |
Sir Edward Elgar's Oratorio, The Dream of Gerontius, is a setting of a poem by Cardinal Newman narrating the journey of a soul after death to the moment he meets his God. Its first performance under Hans Richter in 1900, with an under-rehearsed choir and orchestra, was disastrous. Now it is regarded as one of his great masterpieces, but is still rarely performed outside the UK. Newman's poem is full of heavy Catholic allegory and religiosity, but Elgar saw within it an evolving drama of epic proportions. He used all his prodigious skills as an orchestrator and melodist to
compose a truly symphonic setting, filled with dozens of Wagner-type leitmotives to ensure its continuity and drive, as a passionate statement of his own religious beliefs at the time. But wether one is religious or not, this imaginative and humanitarian account of the last journey of a token Man is an artistic achievment as touching as Renaissance paintings of a similar subject.
I first heard this piece at the Halle in Manchester, conducted by Sir John Barbirolli and with Janet Baker as The Angel. Myself and another music-loving schoolboy friend were transfixed to our seats, hairs standing out on the back of our necks. We were so affected that afterwards we walked to the bus station in stunned silence. I told this story to Michael Kennedy, one of Elgar's biographers, and he also admitted to similarly profound reactions at his own first hearing of the work. For my part, I collected all the stereo recordings, and studied them together with the scores. Great and insightful as some of these were, there was something missing in each - of course I coul never recapture the magic of my first exposure to the music. Until now. I had been waiting for a Gerontius in super-audio. It arrived earlier than the stated release date direct from LSO Live and I played through it immedately in one sitting.
First a word about the soloists - a very well-balanced group, who were clearly sensitive to Sir Colin Davis' fervent approach. David Rendal was the Gerontius at tle live performance, and at first I wondered if his vibrato was not a little wide, but soon was won over to him. Gerontius roughly translates to "old man", and we meet him on his death bed, so a virile Wagnerian tenor is certainly not what we want; Rendal portrayed the frailty and abject fear of his subject superbly. His great arias, the ringing "Sanctus, Fortis!" and the exquisite "Novissima hora est" in Part 1 were completely convincing, as was the magisterial and implacable contribution of Alastair Miles as the Angel of the Agony. Barbirolli's red book recording of Gerontius has obviously been one of my favourites. However,in this set, the words of the Angel of Death commanding Gerontius' soul to leave, "Go in the name of God", were rendered by Kim Borg very clearly as "Go in the name of Cod", which ruined the whole effect for me. No such uncertainties of enunciation with the cast of the present disc, indeed I was struck by the clarity of the words from both soloists and chorus. Anne Sofie von Otter was, I think, an inspired choice as The Angel; she shows great depth of emotion in supporting Gerontius throughout his ordeal, and is wonderfully tender in "Softly and gently, dearly ransomed soul" as she ushers him to his purgatorial rest near the end of the piece.
Great praise also to the LSO Chorus for their unflagging commitment. The tension leading up to the great set-pieces of the Demon's Chorus, "Praise To The Holiest" and "Take Him Away" is palpable, and these cimaxes are thrilling - more hair-raising here! The Demon's Chorus itself often
suffers from an over-polite middle class tone colour and diction (a Home Counties "Saah" for "Sire" on Britten's otherwise insightful Decca disc, for example). Sir Colin Davis,in contrast, has his choir spit venomously and sneer harshly at the "canting groaners" (clerics!), so these LSO Chorus demons were truly terrifying, supported by a wicked orchestra.
Now to the recording. Previous LSO Live engineering has been controversial, with accusations of excessive dryness and congestion. As with the recent Davis "Kullervo" from this source, I found that I had to set the volume (in multi-channel) very much higher than usual, when everything
came very much into focus. This is the thrilling Gerontius sound that I want to hear at a live performance in the best seats, with tremendous dynamic range and definition. The voices of the soloists clearly had an aura of the hall that they were singing out into, and there is good terracing of the instruments and chorus, although without quite the ravishing perspectives possible in some more forgiving halls. I could even clearly hear the bass clarinet, and the timbre of the violas, so crucial in this work, was also very beautiful and realistic. Even though this is a 5.0 production, there is bass a-plenty, and my 6 channel Cambridge Audio amp still sends the LF to my Quad Lite Subwoofer even when there is no dedicated sub channel. Deep string basses, a substantial bass drum and deep organ pedals all contribute to the majesty and effect of the climatic moments. Kudos therefore goes to the engineers for the balance achieved in the tricky Barbican environment, but also palms to Sir Colin Davis for the wonderful primary balancing of his forces.
In summary, an uncommonly fine account of The Dream of Gerontius, one worthy of Elgar's own estimation of it as the best of him. Davis has the full measure of the drama in view, pacing the huge climaxes with breathtaking effect. He certainly brought the tingle factor back to me.
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Review by jlaurson October 10, 2007 (2 of 2 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics (S): |
I can’t think of a work any less “New York” than Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. Espresso-fueled and with the 57 Street Station exit spitting out and swallowing up people right in front of my nose, Gerontius’s melancholic, confident, consoling, beautiful, and utterly lukewarm oratorio is something for greener pastures. I’ll gladly watch a lonely cow lick her brown spots and swat flies with her tail. But city buzz is alien to it. David Rendall, the tenor on the new Colin Davis recording isn’t doing anything that might overcome a tame, indifferent feeling to it all.
Of Davis’s only advantage over the stalwart Boult and Barbirolli recordings (EMI, both) – Anne Sofie von Otter’s immeasurably pleasing voice – there is too little to merit getting excited about this release. Expulsion from the CD player is the necessary consequence. Truly disappointing to these ears -- although, as seen above this review, the ears can differ on this. (And I did not not like this only because I happen to have been in NYC that day...)
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