If you're in the mood for sacred choral blockbusters after hefty doses of Bach and Handel, why not try this new recording of Elgar's oratorio The Dream of Gerontius? I'm predisposed to liking Martyn Brabbins' performance; it's accompanied by local orchestra and features a famous Yorkshire chorus, recorded in one of my favourite concert venues. I've struggled with Gerontius in the past, my issues being more with its text and baggage than the actual music. John Pickard's sleeve note usefully reminds us how Gerontius broke with the English oratorio tradition of setting biblical texts from an Anglican perspective, Elgar setting a Catholic text to music with a debt to Wagner that's apparent in the first few bars of the prelude. Brabbins has excellent soloists: David Butt Philip's Gerontius is suitably animated in the early stages ('Rouse me, my fainting soul, and play the man …'), becoming more introspective and thoughtful as the work progresses. Sample him at the start of Part II, Karen Cargill a warm and ever-patient Angel.
Roland Wood doubles as the Priest and the Angel of the Agony, magnificent in his 'Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee', the prelude to a stinging fortissimo chord as Gerontius' soul gets scrutinised. The Huddersfield Choral Society are impressive throughout, singing with a winning combination of warmth and clarity, and Brabbins draws excellent playing from the Orchestra of Opera North, Elgar's scoring never seeming thick or stodgy. Taped last April in Huddersfield's glorious Town Hall, it all sounds marvellous. Full texts are included, plus a bonus essay about the fortunes of the choir during World War 1 to tie in with the recent release of the Nicholas Hytner/Alan Bennett film The Choral.