Come & Sing – The Dream of Gerontius

The Dream of Gerontius Sir Edward Elgar’s choral masterpiece

Piers Maxim is our Musical Director and he will be guiding us through the score. Elgar himself said ‘This is the best of me’ . Whether you have sung this work and enjoyed it or come new to it, see if you agree.

Piers writes:

To many people, Elgar’s Gerontius is his masterpiece, even more so than his “Enigma” Variations or Pomp and Circumstance Marches, which may be better known to the wider public. Certainly, in this work, Elgar laid bare his own religious inclination to the Roman Catholic Church, which was of course in the minority in Protestant England of the 19th Century. This caused some reticence in cathedral circles to mount performances in the early years of the last century, some performances even changing Cardinal Newman’s text to temper some of the more mystical aspects of Catholicism. It is now recognised as having some of Elgar’s greatest music, and is an absolute joy to sing. There are lush, Elgarian moments, such as the final pages of the first Part, “Go on thy course” where the chorus sing at the bedside of the dying Soul with the Priest, as well as the savage mockery and laughter of the Demons’ Chorus in the second Part. I think we can agree with Elgar, who himself quoted John Ruskin, when he had finished writing the work: “This is the best of me”.

About the venue

St Andrew’s Methodist Church is within a pedestrian area just off the High St. and there are many public car parks within 5 mins walk.

Registration is from 9.30am and free refreshments will be waiting for you on arrival and during breaks throughout the day in the Hall (1st floor). PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MUG

Toilets can be found off the adjacent corridor on the 1st floor.

We will be singing in the church which is on the 2nd floor.

There is full stair and lift access to all areas from the Foyer.