Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius/Edward Gardner repeats Gerontius on Radio Three

[Osborn]

Tweet from Sarah Connolly:

'Thank you glorious CBSO and CBSO Chorus for being so inspiring. I have never heard such beautiful, lyrical soft singing and playing. xx'

[Pabmusic]

Tweet from Sarah Connolly:

'Thank you glorious CBSO and CBSO Chorus for being so inspiring. I have never heard such beautiful, lyrical soft singing and playing. xx'

Very tweet. But it was a very good performance.

[salymap]

If tweets were called something else I might be able to take them more seriously, but the thought of some musicians 'tweeting' after a performance makes me laugh- no reflexion on SC intended.

[Chris Newman]

Tonight was the first time I've heard Gerontius in full, so I don't really have much to compare it with as regards previous performances. I really enjoyed the music, the climax at the end of 'Praise God in the highest' being a particularly powerful moment, in addition to the conclusion of the work and the long silence.

That you enjoyed the music is the important thing, maestro, so ignore my criticism.

[Caliban]

the climax at the end of 'Praise God in the highest' being a particularly powerful moment

I wasn't able to hear the performance last night beyond the first few moments (the orchestral introduction sounded marvellous, the tenor less so when he came in) but if you love that 'Praise to the Holiest in the Height" section, I earnestly recommend you to hear the recording of the work conducted by Benjamin Britten http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elgar-Dream-...4320721&sr=8-1 He conducts that choral climax with an ecstatic urgency which never fails to shiver my timbers. Once heard, never forgotten.

[Mary Chambers]

I think Robert Murray has a beautiful voice, but he was doing this at short notice, and I agree he sounded a bit strained at times. Still enjoyed it, though I find I like the work less than I used to..

The Britten performance is my benchmark, but you will get people going on about Pears being past his best (or of course just not liking him at all ). Quite possibly, but my goodness, he's convincing, and sounds as if he knows what he's singing about, which makes up for it IMO. Nobody young can ever have quite that insight, and that goes for the conductor as well.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I agree about the Britten performance. Pears is fine too, and if he sounds less than youthful, that's appropriate too.
My only reservation is that the recording is one of Decca's few lemons, with some horrible overloading distortion in the the Demons' Chorus.

[Brassbandmaestro]

I will catch this this weekend! Looksas though I have much to look forward to!

[Pabmusic]

I agree about the Britten performance. Pears is fine too, and if he sounds less than youthful, that's appropriate too.
My only reservation is that the recording is one of Decca's few lemons, with some horrible overloading distortion in the the Demons' Chorus.

I agree with you. I find the Britten performance a little frustrating because it should be better than it is. But the deciding factor for me is Britten's wilful re-scoring in the Prelude, when he introduces bass drum rolls during two moments of silence. There is no justification whatsoever for this, though I know Britten said the autograph score shows it. It doesn't - at least it didn't show this to me when I looked at it - and Elgar's own live recording from the RAH does show that the composer wanted two silent bars.