The Dream of Gerontius is reckoned by many to be the Great English Oratorio. Elgar avoided the use of that term, maybe because the subject matter of oratorio is almost always heroic, whereas Gerontius is intensely personal and introspective. The music spans every mood from intense prayer to one of the most extraordinary drama; the moment in which the soul goes to God is cataclysmic. Elgar’s direction here is simple: ‘For one moment mist every instrument exert its fullest force’.

Recording history

Gerontius had its first performance in Birmingham in 1900. It was not an immediate success; the choir and orchestra were under-prepared for such a demanding work. The first complete recording came in 1945, as England emerged from war. It was, of course, by the Huddersfield Choral Society with Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; the combination of forces that defined the Choral’s Golden Age of recording.

HCS has recorded the work four times and now it is time for a new live recording of this work, which has been so important to the emergence of HCS as champions of Elgar’s music; one that will stand alongside those historic performances. We are delighted to be working with the Hyperion Label, which does not yet have a Gerontius in its catalogue.

Priority booking for Friends of HCS go on sale at 9am on Tuesday 30th July.

Individual tickets go on sale to the general public at 9am on Tuesday 13th August. 

If you’d like to consider buying a season ticket, visit our Season Ticket page.