Musical Storytelling: The Dream of Gerontius

It’s no exaggeration to say that it’s a big event when Berwaldhallen plays Edward Elgar’s magnificent The Dream of Gerontius, considered one of Elgar’s best pieces, for the first time. Three renowned singers carry the soloist parts; tenor Andrew Staples, who recently recorded The Dream of Gerontius with Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim, multitalented baritone Simon Keenlyside who, like Staples, has visited Berwaldhallen many times before, and celebrated mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg who has recently started her tenure as Artist in Residence at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre.

A devout Catholic, Elgar himself chose well-liked English cardinal John Henry Newman’s poem The Dream of Gerontius to base the piece on. Newman converted to Catholicism as an adult, and in the poem, he explores the Catholic faith’s belief in the soul’s journey from the moment of death through Paradise to God, and on to Purgatory to be cleansed. In his life, Newman was a respected theologian, and spent a lot of time helping the poor and the sick. On Sunday the 13th of October, he will be declared a saint by Pope Francis, a significant event which makes this performance all the more relevant.

The first part of the piece shows the anxious Gerontius – the name comes from the Greek ‘geron,’ meaning old man – who is on his deathbed, surrounded by his friends. They pray to Mary, to the disciples and angels to ask for mercy for Gerontius’ soul. He himself is filled with anxiety and fear in the face of death, but a priest urges him to move on: ‘Go forth upon thy journey, Christian soul!’

In the second part, Gerontius’ soul is led by an angel to the meeting with God. On the way, they pass evil spirits and demons waiting to take the condemned to Hell. The angel who visited Jesus in Gethsemane promises joy, but warns about the pain of Jesus’ suffering. From earth, the voices of Gerontius’ friends still echo: ‘Be merciful, be gracious, spare him, O Lord.’ In one violent, instrumental outburst, Gerontius’ soul is judged by God in an instant, and in the end, Gerontius meets the choir of souls in the cleansing fires of Purgatory, with a promise of salvation.

The original performance of The Dream of Gerontius in Birmingham on the 3rd of October 1900 was a failure due to a poorly prepared choir and unwell soloists. Musicians and critics saw the greatness of the piece, however, and when it was performed in Düsseldorf and then in London the following year, it really had a breakthrough. Richard Strauss celebrated Elgar as the reinventor of English music, and German newspapers described Elgar as ‘one of contemporary music’s leading figures.’ In Sweden, The Dream of Gerontius was likely first performed in 1904 at the Royal Swedish Opera, led by none other than Wilhelm Stenhammar. In 1912, it was performed again, at the Hedvig Eleonora Church in Stockholm, with Hugo Alfvén conducting.

Text: David Saulesco and Henry Larsson