Elgar's Dream of Gerontius Recording Review: Gardner with the London Philharmonic Orchestra Deliver a Daring and Powerful Interpretation
While The Dream of Gerontius may be an unlikely focus of Alan Bennett's play The Choral, this masterpiece scarcely needs a popularity boost. Gardner's vibrant new album is among three issued in the past 24 months, with another expected early next year.
Captured live at the BBC Proms in 2022, this energetic reading has a great deal going for it. Clayton portrays the feverish essence of the protagonist near death whose every sensation is both a terror and a intrigue. Clayton's valiant tone excites in the magnificent hymn, Sanctus Fortis, while an expressive handling of lyrics illuminates the thought-provoking question and answer session in Part Two. Barton's luxurious voice possesses a palpable immediacy as well as providing ample reserves of comfort. James Platt's rugged bass is well-suited to the Angel of the Agony.
Edward Gardner is intensely theatrical, conveying the narrative with an nearly operatic audacity. The London Philharmonic performs as if a chorus of demons was at its heels, matched by the joint efforts of the London Philharmonic and Hallé choruses. In places, the acoustic deprives the recording of the last bit of immediacy, but all in all it's a excellent achievement to rank alongside Nicholas Collon's gripping Finnish account released earlier this year.
