The Dream of Gerontius Recording Critique: Gardner and the LPO Present a Bold and Powerful Rendition
While Elgar's Gerontius may be an surprising focus of Alan Bennett's play The Choral, this masterpiece scarcely needs a popularity boost. Edward Gardner's lively latest album is among three issued in the past 24 months, with an additional one expected early next year.
Recorded live at the BBC Proms in 2022, the propulsive performance boasts a great deal going for it. Clayton portrays the febrile essence of the dying man whose every sensation is both a fear and a intrigue. His heroic tone thrills in the magnificent prayer, Sanctus Fortis, while an expressive use of lyrics illuminates the thought-provoking question and answer session in Part Two. Barton's rich voice has a palpable presence as well as providing ample resources of solace. James Platt's rugged bass voice is well-suited to the Angel of the Agony.
Gardner is intensely dramatic, expressing the narrative with an nearly operatic audacity. The London Philharmonic performs as if a group of evil spirits was at its back, paralleled by the combined forces of the London Philharmonic and Hallé choirs. In places, the acoustic robs the recording of the last ounce of immediacy, but overall it's a fine achievement to place alongside Nicholas Collon's arresting from Finland version released earlier this year.
