The Dream of Gerontius

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Edward Elgar, last sheet of the autograph Gerontius score (August 1900) with John Ruskin quote: “This is the best of me; for the rest, I ate, and drank, and slept, loved and hated, like another; my life was as the vapor and is not; but this I saw and knew: this, if anything of mine, is worth your memory ”.

The Dream of Gerontius (German: " Der Traum des Gerontius ") is the title of an oratorio by Edward Elgar , which was premiered in 1900. The work, published as op. 38, is one of the most important works by the English composer and is particularly popular in his homeland.

Emergence

John Henry Newman: The Dream of Gerontius , beginning of the second part

Edward Elgar had already emerged as a composer of major vocal works in the 1890s (including the cantata The Black Knight , 1893, the oratorio Lux Christi , 1896, and the cantata Caractacus , 1898). Thanks to his growing reputation, he was commissioned in 1898 with a large-scale work for the 1900 Birmingham Triennial Music Festival . Elgar began composing in the autumn of 1899 (previously occupied with other works, such as the Enigma Variations completed in 1899 ), drawing on a literary model that he himself had known since the 1880s. This is a nearly 900 line long poem published in 1865 by the English convert and cardinal John Henry Newman (1801–1890), who was beatified in 2010 and canonized in 2019 . Elgar's composition (in close correspondence with his friend August Jaeger , the German-born editor of the London music publisher Novello , who advised him on performance issues) was completed on August 3, 1900.

Elgar put the dedication “AMDG” ( Ad maiorem Dei gloriam - To the greater glory of God) in the score .

occupation

The work requires a large instrumentation typical of the late Romantic period : 2 flutes (2nd also piccolo ), 2 oboes , English horn , 2 clarinets , bass clarinet , 2 bassoons , contrabassoon , 4 horns , 3 trumpets , 3 trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion , Harp , organ and strings , as well as a 4- to 8-part double choir and three vocal soloists ( mezzo-soprano , tenor and bass ). An additional harp and 3 trumpets can be added ad libitum.

Content and structure

Newman's poem - which Elgar shortened greatly for reasons of performance practice - describes in a series of lyrical and dramatic episodes the path of a soul after leaving the dead body. According to the teachings of the Catholic Church (Elgar was a Catholic himself), she travels through various regions of the hereafter, also past purgatory , guided by a guardian angel, in order to finally see the glory of God.

The Dream of Gerontius is in two parts, with each part comprising several sections. The performance lasts about 95 minutes (part 1 about 35 minutes, part 2 about 60 minutes).

The first part describes the hour of death of an old man. His name "Gerontius" sounds like the Greek word geras, gerontos - "old man" (cf. gerontology ). After a long instrumental prelude, Gerontius (embodied by the solo tenor) expresses the state of his soul on the death bed through prayers. Surrounded he is by his friends that a Kyrie chant and pray for the salvation of his soul. They are supported by a priest (Bass) who solemnly donates the last blessing.

In the second, much more extensive part, the soul of the deceased first meets its guardian angel (mezzo-soprano). Passing demons fighting for the souls of the dead, and the angels who save the souls, she also meets the lamenting souls in purgatory. Finally the soul of Gerontius comes into the presence of God, is judged in a single moment after the intercession of the angel of death (bass) (the score notes at this point “For one moment, must every instrument exert its fullest force”) and after the purification in Purgatory accepted among the righteous.

The individual sections have the following titles:

Part 1

  1. Prelude
  2. Jesu, Maria - I am near to death
  3. Rouse thee, my fainting soul
  4. Sanctus fortis, sanctus Deus
  5. Proficiscere, anima Christiana

Part 2

  2. I went to sleep
  3. It is a member of that family
  4. But hark! upon my sense comes a fierce hubbub
  5. I see not those false spirits
  6. But hark! a grand mysterious harmony
  7. Thy judgment now is near
  8. I go before my judge
  9. Softly and gently, dearly-ransomed soul

music

A characteristic of the work is the thorough composition of both parts of the work, a composition process that refers to Richard Wagner as well as the use of leitmotifs . The orchestra is used in an expressive way and becomes an equal partner of the choir. The Dream of Gerontius is rich in melodic ideas, but contrapuntal means are also used confidently (e.g. double fugue of the demon choir in the 2nd part). The choir is differentiated according to its different roles as a simple choir, double choir or antiphonal (friends, demons, angels - sometimes only female voices - and souls in purgatory), a separate choir (semichorus) with a few singers is also used in parts.

The 1st part begins in D minor and ends in D major, the 2nd part begins in F major and ends in D major.

World premiere and reception

The premiere of The Dream of Gerontius took place on October 3, 1900 at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival under the direction of Hans Richter in the Birmingham Town Hall . The vocal soloists were Marie Brema , Edward Lloyd and Harry Plunket Greene . Due to insufficient rehearsal time (the sheet music came late, was incorrect and Richter had underestimated the level of difficulty) the concert turned out to be a catastrophic failure. Despite the inadequate performance, however, some of the critics recognized the musical qualities of the work. Julius Buths , director of the Niederrheinischer Musikfest , prepared a German translation, and in this form the work was successfully performed on December 19, 1901 in Düsseldorf in the presence of the composer. After that, it quickly became established and established itself permanently in the repertoire, particularly in Great Britain (even if there were initially critical voices from the Church of England against elements of the strongly Catholic text). Today it is considered one of Edward Elgar's main works.

literature

  • Florian Csizmadia: Leitmotivik and related techniques in the choral works of Edward Elgar. Analysis and Contexts. Berlin, Verlag Dr. Köster, 2017. ISBN 978-3-89574-903-2 , pp. 172-174
  • Kurt Pahlen: Oratorios of the World . München, Heyne, 1987. ISBN 3-453-00923-1 , pp. 172-174.
  • Meinhard Saremba: Elgar, Britten & Co. A history of British music in twelve portraits. Zurich / St. Gallen, M&T Verlag, 1994. ISBN 3-7265-6029-7
  • Peter Noelke: CD supplement for Naxos 8.553885-86 (Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius , Bornemouth Symphony Chorus / Orchestra, conducted by David Hill) ( online )

Web links

Commons : The Dream of Gerontius  - Collection of images, videos and audio files