Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38

Elgar’s late masterpiece is an extraordinary work full of drama and passion alongside exquisite music of sublime delicacy. It is a moving expression of the composer’s personally unorthodox religious faith and a poignant reflection on the journey of a man through death, depicted in striking writing for choir, orchestra and soloist.

“Mark Elder’s interpretation with the Hallé orchestra and choir evaded characterisation, though he stamps his dramatic instincts all over the piece. It is either a religious tone poem or a spiritual opera, either way the effect is frequently cataclysmic” The Guardian

The Elgar Society is proud to release this first commercial recording of The Dream of Gerontius performed in German. Licensed from Austrian Radio (ORF), the recording was made in Vienna in January 1960.

The Elgar Society formed in 1951 and The Dream of Gerontius is the 29th issue. In 2007 the Society worked in conjunction with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to produce a box set of Elgar’s recordings in order to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Elgar’s birth.

This release has its roots in the first (disastrous) performance of Gerontius in October 1900. Julius Buths, the music director of the Lower Rhine Festival, was present and despite the work’s lacklustre reception he saw potential. Buths set about translating the text into German for a performance he wanted to conduct in December 1901. By May 1902 Gerontius was being toasted by Richard Strauss prompting Elgar to write to Novello, his publisher, with excitement and enthusiasm: ‘It was worth some years of anguish-now I trust over- to hear him call me Meister!’

Elgar owed much to Germany and the German speaking world for, as journalist and music critic Michael Kennedy points out in his notes in the booklet accompanying this release, ‘Elgar would be delighted by the existence of this performance. Until 1914 his reputation in Germany was as high or even higher than in his own country’.

Of the soloists on this recording, tenor Julius Patzak will attract the most attention. In 1931 Patzak married the grandaughter of the famous operatic singer Gustav Walter. This assisted with launching the ‘amateur’ Patzak and he sang with the Vienna Staatsoper from 1945 until his retirement in 1960. Patzak was in great demand as a soloist in oratorios and as a leider singer, with the ORF being one of the last recordings to capture his voice. He died in Bavaria in January 1974 at the age of 75.

It is hoped that this release will stimulate renewed interest in The Dream of Gerontius, particularly in the German speaking world.

Booklet notes and full sung text are included in German and English.

Informed annotations penned by music critic Michael Kennedy.