Last year, when I surveyed
most of the available recordings of
The Dream of Gerontius,
I expressed the hope that Mark Elder,
as he then was, and his Hallé
forces might make a commercial recording
of the work. That hope was inspired
by the remarkable performance that they
had given at the 2005 Henry Wood Promenade
Concerts, which, as I commented
at the time, made a great impression
on me. Having re-listened to it more
than once in the off-air recording I
made, I now feel it was, quite simply,
the finest live account of the work
that I ever expect to hear. And now,
with almost identical forces, the newly-knighted
Sir Mark Elder has made a studio recording.
It comes too late for the 150th
anniversary of Elgar’s birth but instead,
and more fittingly, perhaps, it marks
the Hallé’s own 150th
birthday, which falls this year.
The inevitable question
is: has it been worth the wait for this
recording? The answer is an unequivocal
"yes".
The American tenor,
Paul Groves, reprises the role of Gerontius,
as I hoped he would. I hadn’t realised
it at the time but we learn from the
booklet biography that his performance
at the 2005 Proms was his debut in the
role, which makes his achievement that
night all the more remarkable. His greatest
virtue of all, it seems to me, is the
clarity and ease of his singing. Every
note is hit right in the centre and
his voice has an exciting and pleasing
ring. The top notes are always true
and secure. I followed in the score
but, frankly, that was superfluous as
far as the text is concerned for Groves’
diction is crystal clear – as, indeed,
is that of the other soloists and the
choirs.
In Part I Elgar sets
his tenor a task that is almost impossible.
The singer must try to suggest the frailty
of a man on his death bed while, at
the same time, he must be able to deliver
heroic, dramatic passages, such as ‘Sanctus
fortis’. Groves is fully equal to the
dramatic sections though sometimes he
does sound a little too healthy for
a dying man. ‘Sanctus fortis’ is a huge
test and it’s one that Groves passes
with flying colours. He starts it in
ringing, forthright voice but later
on, just before cue 48 in the vocal
score, he shades off the end of the
phrase "Parce mihi, Domine"
with great sensitivity. In this aria,
and frequently during the performance
as a whole, he demonstrates prodigious
breath control. One example occurs in
‘Sanctus fortis’, where the whole eight-bar
phrase, "For the love of Him alone,
Holy Church as his creation" is
taken in one span, where most tenors
take a breath, quite legitimately, after
the comma. Later, the first phrase of
‘Take me away’ is one glorious, seamless
whole, as it should be but often isn’t.
Returning to ‘Sanctus fortis’, there’s
a lovely piangendo at cue 53,
when the words "Sanctus fortis"
are repeated gently by Gerontius, and
then the phrase "O Jesu, help"
is truly anguished. Groves’ delivery
of the climatic "In Thine own agony",
top B flat and all, is magnificent.
In all, his performance of this testing
keynote aria is very fine.
Part II brings different
demands for the tenor soloist. Now he
represents the soul of the dead Gerontius.
Quite a bit of the music in Part I required
the vocal resources of a heldentenor
but the opening pages of Part II needs
the subtlety of a lieder singer.
I’m not sure that Groves is quite successful
in these passages. The clear, pleasing
singing remains a constant feature but
he doesn’t seem to delve as deeply into
the words as do some of his distinguished
predecessors in the role. As an example,
I compared the first solo – "I
went to sleep" - as sung on disc
by John Mitchinson (for Rattle) and
by Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Vernon Handley).
Both are so much more responsive to
the words and both also sing more quietly.
Groves can’t quite match those experienced
masters of the role. But he brings his
own insights and subtleties to the part
and his dialogue with the Angel is intelligently
and sensitively sung. Inspired, no doubt,
by the presence of an audience, he was
a touch more spontaneous at times in
the live Proms performance. On the other
hand, on that occasion he had to project
into a huge acoustic. Here, recording
under studio conditions, he can offer
a more subtly nuanced reading. The last
section of the role, the aria ‘Take
me away’, is another hugely demanding
solo. Groves’ opening is superb. Later
on, perhaps, a little more dynamic contrast
would have been welcome but his fervour
– not overdone - firm tone and excellent
breath control offer ample compensation
and the final phrase – "there let
me be" – is most affecting.
Alice Coote, who was
the Angel in the Proms performance,
once again takes the role for the recording.
Like Paul Groves she offers much but
I found it interesting to compare this
performance with her live account. To
my ears her voice has a slight edge
to it at times in this present performance
and her tone doesn’t have quite the
same degree of warmth and fullness that
she exhibited at the Proms. That said,
she is right inside the role, she sings
with feeling and commitment and her
performance gives a great deal of pleasure.
I like, for example, the inflection
she brings to the words, "this
child of clay". A little later
on, she has the right amount of legato
and warmth for "A presage falls
upon thee." That wonderful passage
"There was a mortal" is done
with appropriate inwardness – I think
she does this passage even better here
than in the Proms performance. Her account
of the celebrated Farewell is lovely.
She brings compassion and dignity to
this solo and sends the Soul of Gerontius
on his way in a most reassuring way.
There is one change
to the line up of soloists that took
part in the Prom performance and it’s
a significant one. In place of Matthew
Best, who sang in 2005, Bryn Terfel
sings the two bass solos. This is luxury
casting indeed. Terfel is a magisterial
Priest. His opening phrases are delivered
with all the power and sonority that
one would expect from this singer. However,
I was delighted to note how, as the
aria unfolds, he’s attentive to Elgar’s
dynamic markings, which are often quiet,
and by so doing he makes the Priest’s
words properly prayerful. He’s an imposing
Angel of The Agony, singing this dramatic
solo quite splendidly. One relishes
the sheer amplitude of his voice but,
once again, one notes how attentive
he is to the dynamic markings – and
it makes such a difference. Often I’ve
found that a soloist is more suited
to one of these two solos than the other
but on this occasion Terfel is completely
successful in both.
At the Proms performance
the Hallé Youth Choir, a mixed-voice
choir whose members are aged between
twelve and nineteen years, sang the
crucial semi chorus parts. Their contribution
was important then and I’m delighted
to find them similarly involved this
time. The involvement of these young
singers, for whom this recording must
have been a tremendous experience, gives
this performance an edge over most of
its CD rivals. Benjamin Britten scored
a significant coup by using the
choir of King’s College, Cambridge as
the semi chorus when he recorded Gerontius
in 1971 and I wonder if Sir Mark Elder
had that precedent in mind. The use
of young voices, with their completely
different timbre, results in a sharp
and very telling contrast and I find
the effect is really exciting and atmospheric.
The writing for the semi chorus is often
extremely exposed but the young Hallé
singers rise to the challenge superbly
and their fresh, youthful voices add
an additional and very welcome dimension
to the choral sound. I think their involvement
is a major success and I applaud it
unreservedly.
Their adult colleagues
in the main Hallé Choir are also
on top form. They’ve obviously been
prepared superbly by their chorus master,
James Burton. So, every strand is clear
in "Be merciful" and they
bring real bite and urgency to "Rescue
him." In the Demons’ Chorus their
singing is virile and has excellent
definition. Perhaps they could have
snarled a bit more but it’s an exciting
account of the chorus. Equally fine
is ‘Praise to the Holiest’ and, towards
the end, they are clear, controlled
and atmospheric at "Lord, Thou
hast been our refuge", never an
easy passage to bring off.
The orchestral contribution
is, if anything, even finer. From the
very start of the Prelude to Part I
you sense we’re in for something a bit
special. The playing glows here and
elsewhere. Dynamics are beautifully
observed, the rhythms are well articulated
and there’s a consistent feeling that
the players are right inside the idiom
and playing with belief. Two things
are worthy of special comment. Firstly,
the engineers have contrived to balance
the organ beautifully so that whenever
it plays it enriches the textures without
being unduly prominent. Secondly, the
harp part is hugely important and once
again, the instrument is balanced perfectly
so that time and again one is aware
of its importance yet it never draws
unwarranted attention to itself.
But for all the splendour
of these contributions the whole is
knitted into something much greater
than the sum of its parts by Sir Mark
Elder. Writing of his Prom performance
I suggested that one or two of his tempi
were a fraction too fleet. I have no
such feelings here. I cannot recall
a single bar in the whole score when
I felt that the pacing wasn’t just right.
Elder has demonstrated in several previous
Elgar recordings and performances that
he is a master interpreter of this composer.
This superb interpretation confirms
that judgement in spades. His shaping
of the Prelude is masterly and that
sets the tone for the whole performance.
He is scrupulous in his observance of
Elgar’s markings and in many ways that’s
the key to success in Elgar performance
for the composer was copious in the
indications he gave in the score and
if a conductor trusts Elgar and follows
the markings that’s more than half the
battle.
The performance has
huge sweep and conviction but there
are also many small points that show
Elder’s meticulous and perceptive attention
to detail. One example comes in the
Prelude a couple of bars before cue
17 when the orchestra plays a quiet,
stabbing chord, with the gong adding
a frisson. Elder places and balances
that chord to perfection. Move on to
the short, hushed Prelude to Part II,
for the strings alone. Elder obtains
miraculous, luminous textures from his
players and in a mere twenty-six bars
he establishes an otherworldly atmosphere,
just as Elgar intended. Best of all,
at cue 3 the dynamic marking is an incredible
pppp. Elder achieves precisely
that and the effect is superb. Only
one other conductor in my experience
has matched this, namely Simon Rattle
in his 1986 EMI recording, but to be
honest, I think even Rattle is put in
the shade at this point. These are very
small points in themselves but they
catch the ear and show the scrupulous
attention to detail that has gone into
the preparation of this performance.
Elder, however, is
anything but a micro-manager. He is
magnificent in the big moments. The
end of Part I, after the chorus has
joined the bass soloist at "Go,
in the name of Angels and Archangels",
is brought off expertly. Every strand
of Elgar’s many-layered tableau is given
its proper weight and the whole passage
causes the eyes – or my eyes, at any
rate – to prickle, as it should. Even
better is the long build up to ‘Praise
to the Holiest’. This long passage,
after the Angel’s solo "There was
a mortal" is challenging, but Elder’s
direction is superbly assured. Once
again, all the various strands - semi
chorus, chorus, orchestra and two soloists
- are knitted together perfectly. One
thing I admired particularly is the
way in which Elder paces the several
short sections marked Poco più
animato with a vernal eagerness
and then observes the decelerations,
marked by Elgar, to perfection. Here
the ladies of the chorus and the younger
ladies in the semi chorus sing with
a wide-eyed freshness that is completely
appropriate to Angelicals. The whole
passage is an unqualified success and
Elder builds the tension and the atmosphere
so that when the choir erupts at "Praise
to the Holiest" it is as if great
gold doors have been thrown open to
reveal blinding light. Elder handles
the ensuing chorus masterfully. The
last pages, from cue 94 onwards, are
tremendously exciting without recourse
to excessive speed as Sakari Oramo does
on his CBSO recording (see review).
The end of the chorus bids fair to lift
the roof off the Bridgewater Hall yet
Elder’s forces have more to give and
manage to observe the crescendo on the
last, long chord. It’s a thrilling moment.
One more example of
Elder’s perceptive command of the score
and of his forces will suffice. In Part
II, starting at cue 114, is the remarkable
passage where Gerontius sings, "I
go before my Judge", followed by
the choir’s muffled entreaties, "Be
merciful". Elder distils the most
incredible atmosphere in these bars.
The music has an awestruck quality that
I’ve never heard brought out so well.
It sounds as if everyone – Paul Groves,
the choirs, the orchestra – is on tenterhooks,
scarcely daring to articulate the notes.
It’s the most remarkable piece of music
making imaginable.
So how can I sum up
this recording? I think it’s a remarkable
achievement and I have been greatly
moved by hearing it. Paul Groves and
Alice Coote both deliver very fine performances.
I feel that both gave a little more
in terms of spontaneity during the Proms
performance, inspired by the presence
of an audience. On the other hand, under
studio conditions they achieve some
subtle points that were not possible
in the huge arena that is the Royal
Albert Hall. Bryn Terfel is a superb
addition to the cast. The choirs and
orchestra are on inspired form and Sir
Mark Elder confirms that he is the finest
Elgar interpreter now before the public.
Under his inspired leadership the white-hot
inspiration of Elgar’s visionary score
comes alive.
The performance is
captured in excellent, atmospheric sound.
The recording doesn’t quite have the
punch and presence of the Oramo recording
but it’s not far short in terms of immediacy.
The forces are splendidly and truthfully
balanced and the whole project is a
great success for the engineers. The
notes are by Michael Kennedy and up
to that fine writer’s usual immaculate
standard.
It has been well worth
the wait for this recording. For over
forty years Sir John Barbirolli’s great
1964 recording of Gerontius has
dominated the catalogue. I’m sure he
would rejoice that, in their 150th
anniversary year, his beloved Hallé
and their distinguished current Music
Director have produced a worthy successor
and one that offers irrefutable proof
that the Elgar tradition of the Hallé
is being maintained in the twenty-first
century. Let us hope that Sir Mark will
go on to give us new and equally fine
recordings of Apostles and Kingdom
but even if that doesn’t happen
they have done Elgar proud with this
distinguished recording which I have
found to be a very moving experience.
John Quinn.
Alice Coote (mezzo) - The Angel; Paul
Groves (tenor) – Gerontius; Bryn Terfel
(bass-baritone) - The Priest and The Angel
of The Agony 
