Monday, November 14, 2016

Dream of Gerontius (Sir Edgar Elgar)


   Sir Edward Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, based on the poem by that name by Cardinal John Henry Newman, is the story of a devout soul’s death and journey to his judgment before God.  In Part II, the man is accompanied by a guardian angel, who, having safely led the soul past demons, must inform him that the agony he is to face is nearly unbearable.  The angel’s description of this excruciating experience-to-come recalls the purification by fire suggested by our readings this past weekend as it narrates the story of St. Francis of Assisi and his stigmata:

                        There was a mortal, who is now above
                        In the mid glory:  he, when near to die,
                        Was given communion with the Crucified, --
                        Such, that the Master’s very wounds were stamped
                        Upon his flesh; and, for the agony
                        Which thrilled through body and soul in that embrace,
                        Learn that the flame of the Everlasting Love
                        Doth burn ere it transform…

   To hear Part II of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, with Philip Langridge (Gerontius) and Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Angel), click on the video below.  The segment cited above is at 22:28.



Image source:  Norman Perryman, Elgar's Dream

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