Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chor, Hallé Choir & Edward Gardner

• Edward Elgar (1857- 1934): The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I:
• 1 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 1, Prelude. Lento, mistico 09:18
• 2 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 2, Jesu, Maria - I am near to death (Gerontius) 03:03
• 3 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 3, Kyrie eleison (Assistants) 02:10
• 4 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 4, Rouse thee, my fainting soul, and play the man (Gerontius) 00:46
• 5 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 5, Be merciful, be gracious' spare him, Lord (Assistants) 02:47
• 6 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 6, Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus (Gerontius) 04:44
• 7 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 7, I can no more; for now it comes again (Gerontius) 02:05
• 8 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 8, Rescue him, O Lord, in this his evil hour (Assistants) 01:51
• 9 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 9, Novissima hora est; and I fain would sleep (Gerontius) 01:23
• 10 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 10, Proficiscere, anima Christiana (The Priest) 01:49
• 11 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part I: No. 11, Go, in the name of Angels and Archangels (Assistants) 04:10
• The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II:
• 12 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 1, Introduction 01:53
• 13 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 2, I went to sleep; and now I am refresh'd (Soul of Gerontius) 03:40
• 14 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 3, My work is done (Angel) 02:15
• 15 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 4, It is a member of that family (Soul of Gerontius) 01:37
• 16 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 5, I ever had believed (Soul of Gerontius) 03:45
• 17 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 6, But hark! upon my sense comes a fierce hubbub (Soul of Gerontius) 00:47
• 18 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 7, Low-born clods of brute earth (Demons) 02:11
• 19 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 8, The mind bold and independent (Demons) 02:35
• 20 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 9, I see not those false spirits (Soul of Gerontius) 02:51
• 21 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 10, Praise to the Holiest in the height (Choir of Angelicals) 02:53
• 22 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 11, Glory to Him, who evermore by truth and justice reigns (Choir of Angelicals) 01:16
• 23 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 12, But hark! a grand, mysterious harmony (Soul of Gerontius) 01:14
• 24 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 13, Praise to the Holiest in the height (Choir of Angelicals) 06:39
• 25 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 14, Thy judgment now is near (Angel) 02:59
• 26 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 15, Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee (Angel of the Agony) 04:15
• 27 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 16, I go before my Judge (Soul of Gerontius) 01:04
• 28 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 17, …Praise to His Name! (Angel) 00:45
• 29 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 18, Take me away, and in the lowest deep there let me be (Soul of Gerontius) 03:24
• 30 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 19, Lord, Thou hast been our refuge: in every generation (Souls in Purgatory) 01:39
• 31 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Part II: No. 20, Softly and gently, dearly-ransom'd soul (Angel) 05:54
• Total Runtime 01:27:42

Info for Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

One of Elgar's greatest works, The Dream of Gerontius is his setting of Cardinal Newman's poem about a dying man's journey from his deathbed to his judgment before God and his placement in Purgatory. The work is not a traditional oratorio; instead, it is a hauntingly beautiful and transformative journey of the soul. Elgar himself said of it, "I've written it out of my insidest inside." This BBC recording was captured live at the Royal Albert Hall during the 2022 BBC Proms season. Edward Gardner conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, with the Hallé Choir, in what was described by The Guardian as a "perfectly judged performance." The recording features a cast of three world-class soloists - Allan Clayton, Jamie Barton, and James Platt - celebrated for their individual excellence and compelling interpretation of their roles.

"Just as dramatically vibrant were the combined forces of the Hallé and London Philharmonic Choirs with precise and idiomatic ensemble work in their various guises as the Assistants to the dying Gerontius, the Choir of Angelicals, or the Demons. In the two great set choral pieces (Elgar of course right to confound the expectations of friends by not primly setting ‘Praise to the holiest’ to the existing hymn tune) they presented a solid edifice of sound, but also were dynamically responsive to the impetus of the music. Overall this was a fresh, alert performance, happily avoiding sentimental religiosity on all counts." (classicalsource.com)

Allan Clayton, tenor (Gerontius)
James Platt, bass (Priest / Angel of the Agony)
Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano (Angel)
Hallé & London Philharmonic Choir
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor

Allan Clayton
The flexibility and consistency of Allan Clayton’s vocal range, combined with his magnetic stage presence, have led to international acclaim in music from Baroque to contemporary, his breadth demonstrated in recent title roles ranging from Peter Grimes and Hamlet to Faust and Candide, and a discography running from Handel to Dean.

He is in demand at leading opera houses around the world, singing the title role in the US premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet at Metropolitan Opera, followed by a definitive interpretation of Peter Grimes there and at Teatro Real Madrid, as well as at London’s Royal Opera, where he opened the 2023–24 season in the title role in Jephtha. He returned to the Royal Opera House in February 2025 for Mark-Anthony Turnage’s new opera Festen in the role of Christian, which won him the 2025 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera.

Clayton has appeared at the BBC Proms many times since his first visit in 2008, as well as at the Barbican Hall, where recent performances include The Dream of Gerontius and Britten’s Spring Symphony. He performed Schubert’s Winterreise there in a new dramatic staging incorporating the work of Australian painter Fred Williams, which he also toured across Australia and brought to Snape Maltings as part of his artist residency.

He is a frequent visitor to Wigmore Hall and gives lied recitals around the world. Committed to contemporary music, he has sung in the world premieres of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin, Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchioand Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Underground.

James Platt
British bass and Vocal Consultant James Platt was educated at Chetham’s School of Music and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music and the Opera Course of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He was a member of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden from 2014–2016.

James combines a busy international career with a thriving private teaching studio. He is also Vocal Consultant for the Mascarade Opera Studio, Florence. He presents public lectures and masterclasses in the UK and abroad with Classical Voice Training.

In the 2025/26 season, he makes a return to Glyndebourne Festival Opera in Handel’s Messiah and makes his house and role debut at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl as Titurel in Parsifal.

Recent engagements have included Swallow in a new production of Peter Grimes for the Dutch National Opera; Sarastro Die Zauberflöte and Il Re Aida for the Royal Ballet & Opera; Sarastro for the Glyndebourne Festival; Bottom in new productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at both the Deutsche Oper, Berlin and the Grange Festival and Trulove The Rake’s Progress at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He has also appeared at Teatro all Scala, Milan, the Opéra de Lille and at the Welsh National Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera.

Notable concert appearances include Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the London Philharmonic Orchestra/Edward Gardner at the BBC Proms, Zacharie La Prophète with the London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; Handel’s Messiah with the Hallé/Christian Curnyn, Verdi’s Requiem with the Orchestre National de Lyon/Leonard Slatkin, Dvořák’s Requiem with the BBC Symphony Orchestra/Jiří Bělohlávek and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko.

Jamie Barton
Critically acclaimed by virtually every major outlet covering classical music, American opera singer Jamie Barton is increasingly recognized for how she uses her powerful instrument offstage – lifting up women, queer people, and other marginalized communities. Her lively social media presence on Instagram and Twitter serves as a hub for conversations about body positivity, diet culture, social justice issues, and LGBTQ+ rights. Jamie has recently brought her perspective to The Guilty Feminist, Slate, Studio 360, Front Row Live, The Times, Observer | The Guardian, San Francisco Chronicle, and cover stories in Opera Now Magazine, Classical Music Magazine, and BBC Music Magazine. She was named 2020 Personality of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards and received the Opera Magazine Readers’ Award at the 2021 International Opera Awards. Her album Unexpected Shadows earned a 2022 Grammy® nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album.

Edward Gardner
is Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Music Director of The Norwegian Opera and Ballet. He additionally serves as Honorary Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, following his tenure as Chief Conductor from 2015 to 2024.

Edward opens his inaugural season as Music Director of The Norwegian Opera and Ballet with concert performances of Wagner The Flying Dutchman and Mahler Symphony No. 2 ’Resurrection’. He will then conduct two fully staged operas; Verdi La Traviata and Janáček The Cunning Little Vixen, following earlier productions of Bartok Bluebeard’s Castle, Zemlinsky A Florentine Tragedy and Verdi Un ballo in Maschera.

During his fourth season with the LPO, Edward will conduct nine concerts at the Royal Festival Hall as well as a US tour culminating at Carnegie Hall, and in major European cities including Vienna, Frankfurt and Hamburg. Highlights of their London season include Strauss Alpine Symphony, Ravel and Rachmaninov double bills and several world premieres, closing with Mahler Symphony No.8 Symphony of a Thousand.

In demand as a guest conductor, this season Edward appears with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Frankfurt Radio, Dallas Symphony, New World Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. Debuts in recent seasons include New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, San Francisco Symphony, Staatskapelle Berlin Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, and Wiener Symphoniker; with re-invitations to Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Montreal Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di Milano. In the UK he has had longstanding collaborations with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was Principal Guest Conductor from 2010-16, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, whom he has conducted at both the First and Last Night of the BBC Proms.

In Spring 2025 Edward returns to the Royal Opera House to conduct the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage Festen having made his debut with a new production of Káťa Kabanová, and he returns to Bayerische Staatsoper in June for Rusalka, following his debut with Peter Grimes in 2022 and Verdi Otello in 2023. Music Director of English National Opera for eight years (2007-15), Edward also built a strong relationship with The Metropolitan Opera with productions of Damnation of Faust, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier and Werther. Elsewhere, he has conducted at La Scala, Chicago Lyric Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Opéra National de Paris.

Edward has an extensive discography with Chandos. His many recordings with the Bergen Philharmonic feature Brahms, Sibelius, Nielsen, Grieg, Bartok, Schoenberg and Britten, and their recording of Janáček Glagolitic Mass received a Grammy nomination. His recording of Tippett The Midsummer Marriage for LPO Live received the Gramophone Opera Award 2023 and their most recent release is Berlioz The Damnation of Faust

A passionate supporter of young talent, Edward founded the Hallé Youth Orchestra in 2002 and regularly conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He has a close relationship with the Juilliard School of Music, and with the Royal Academy of Music who appointed him their inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Conducting Chair in 2014.

Born in Gloucester in 1974, Edward was educated at Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music and gained early recognition as Assistant Conductor of The Hallé and Music Director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera. His many accolades include the Royal Philharmonic Society Conductor of the Year Award (2008), an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2009) and an OBE for Services to Music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours (2012).

Booklet for Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius