December, 2015
by richibi
“December“ (1890)
__________
for Susan
several years ago, a friend of mine
invited me to a concert, Sir Edward
Elgar‘s “The Dream of Gerontius“,
to my mind, a double mountain to
cross, both English and ceremonial,
this is not music you can dance to,
nor even dream on, but music that
demands your allegiance, as well
as your attention
to my mind English music, nearly
an oxymoron, remained stagnant
from Purcell, 1659 to 1695, to the
Beatles, 1960 to 1970, with very
few exceptions, never managing,
mostly, to hold, even, a tune
ceremonial music suffered much
from its rigid partisan bent,
whether political or religious, try
singing “La Marseillaise“ or
“The Stars and Stripes“ if you’re
not of those nations, you are
instantly sidelined, a mere
spectator, try “How Great Thou
Art“ at a party, however
inspirational
but the ticket was free, my friend
couldn’t think of anyone else she
could invite who’d enjoy the show,
she’d received the tickets in a
bundle
Gerontius, an old man – you’ll note
the Greek root, geron, as in
“gerontology” – is dying, fears the
other side, friends comfort him and,
in particular, a priest sends him on
his way, that’s act one
act two, he’s on the other side,
wherein the dream of being on the
other side, should he still be alive,
or the actuality of being on the
other side, confront him, have I
died, he wonders
I could tell you something about
that
an angel appears to lead him to,
the programme boasted, no less
than God eventually, in a burst,
for the occasion, of musical
pyrotechnics
well, I wondered, let’s see what
they’re going to do with that
it was unforgettable, though my
friend was somewhat more
equivocal, perhaps not as intent,
quite yet, as I was, about meeting
her divine
in search of something lately to
commemorate the several recent
worldwide atrocities, I quickly
settled on the only work I could
think of, apart from anything,
of course, by Bruckner, to mourn
appropriately
I found this extraordinary production
from no less than London’s St Paul’s
though not an oratorio, according
to the composer’s strict intentions,
Elgar‘s “The Dream of Gerontius“, a
concert piece, is played here in a
church, an Anglican, indeed,
cathedral, despite the flagrantly
Catholic story being told, Elgar had
converted to Catholicism, the piece
transcends, however, religions
an oratorio, incidentally – not to be
confused with Ontario, the Canadian
province – is an opera conceived
without sets or costumes, usually
associated with significant religious
occasions
the text of “Gerontius” is taken
from a poem of Cardinal John
Henry Newman, 1801 to 1890,
a Catholic convert himself, only
recently beatified, as a matter
of fact, not yet, however, for
insufficiency of miracles, it
would appear, canonized
“The Dream of Gerontius“ is
Cardinal Newman‘s retelling of
Dante‘s “Divine Comedy“, our
original tour guide through
Purgatory, Heaven and Hell,
Newman‘s take on it is
particularly poignant, Elgar‘s
musical accompaniment not
any less
the conjunction of divine,
composer, sacred venue and
superior performers is an
extraordinary occasion,
despite, not least, a
scratchy recording, the
experience here is
profound
bring your solemnity
Richard
by the way: December is the end of
the year, 2016 is already act two, are
you ready to meet your own God/dess
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