journey of a soul
The Dream of Gerontius

John Henry Newman wrote this imaginative and moving poem after the death of a close friend.
Edward Elgar received it as a wedding present and fell in love with it. It resonated with his personal faith and it prompted his most majestic choral work

Elgar’s masterpiece, The Dream of Gerontius, is the intersection of the the creative genius of two highly introspective Victorian Catholics – John Henry Newman who wrote the poem in 1865 and Edward Elgar who set it to music for the Birmingham Music Festival (1900).

The Dream has been performed three times in New Zealand during the past 12 months to celebrate Elgar’s jubilee year (150 years since his birth). There was a memorable performance in September 2007 under the baton of David Burchell, in Dunedin Town Hall. This has been followed this year by performances in Christchurch and Wellington. This celebration of the Dream of Gerontius is providential since Newman has himself just been declared ‘Venerable’ by the Catholic Church, a prelude to his beatification confidently expected by the end of the year.

John Henry Newman
The November issue of Tui Motu – the month in Catholic devotional tradition when the faithful departed are commemorated – seems an opportune time to look at this masterpiece of composition. Newman wrote the poem in 1866, and it is said that it was composed in great grief after the death of a close friend. Newman all his life enjoyed very close and warm friendships and the death of anyone close always made a deep impression on him.

It is characteristic of much of his writing – academic as well as fictional – that it leaps out of his own experience and reflects his personal spirituality. The poem describes the journey of a dying man. The name Gerontius suggests an elderly person with a full experience of life, and could be Newman himself who was 65 years of age when he wrote it. Newman was always acutely aware of the other world of the spirit, the hidden reality of God. Therefore the final departure from this earth, the specifics of the human journey into eternity, is of intense interest to him.

The Dream of Gerontius
Part 1 describes Gerontius on his death bed, part terrified at the prospect of his impending fate, part confident of the mercy of God and secure in his own faith. One of Newman’s best known hymns Firmly I Believe and Truly comes from this section. The choral voices, his friends gathered round his bed (Assistants) pray and intercede for him while the priest chants Go Forth, Christian Soul, the prayer from the funeral rite familiar to all Catholics.

Part 2 opens gently with the moment of the soul of Gerontius reawakening from death. Here Newman allows his imagination to run riot, and the great appeal of the poem undoubtedly comes from that universal curiosity of what happens to our loved ones at this climactic moment of life. Obviously this section is highly coloured by Newman’s acceptance of the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory – and it was distaste for this dogma which triggered the initial coldness with which The Dream of Gerontius was received by English audiences.

The popularity of the work today throughout the English speaking world shows that the discerning public have long laid that ghost to rest. David Burchell, himself an Anglican, says: “I have no problem with Newman’s theology. I find the story quite a valid conjecture of what the soul goes through after death. It has a compelling sense of progression: Gerontius’ deathbed fears, his statement of faith – Firmly I believe and Truly; his dialogue with the Angel. Newman is exploring what happens”.

Gerontius receives a beautiful reassurance from the Angel (his ‘angel guardian’ in the Catholic devotional tradition), but this is rudely interrupted by the Demons’ Chorus – the fallen angels expressing their utter abhorrence of mere mortals who have supplanted them. The male voices spit out their anger and derision – but fortunately Gerontius cries: ‘I see not those false spirits’.

Gerontius is then greeted by a chorus of Angelicals, the heavenly chorus welcoming him. Their climax is the wonderful and familiar Praise to the Holiest in the Height. Gerontius expresses a desire to see God and the Angel leads him on.

“ He receives only a fleeting glimpse.” notes Burchell, “Elgar builds up the volume over a page of writing. There is an almighty crash – and it’s gone. It is like a flash of blinding light.” Elgar notes: ‘for one moment, must every instrument exert its fullest force’.

After that triumphant climax the Angel takes the soul of Gerontius off to Purgatory. He encounters the Angel of the Agony, a bass solo acclaiming the redeeming actions of Christ on the Cross. Finally we hear a prolonged song of farewell with the distant sound of the Angelicals with a brief snatch of earthly voices interceding for the soul of Gerontius, before the final Amen.

David Burchell sums up: “Elgar is very introspective and spiritual. His famous concertos focus on one player, one instrument. Gerontius too is focused on one person: it is like a concerto for voice. The tenor voice of Gerontius carries the story right through.

“ It says something about Elgar’s character and his genius: the ‘Newman of music’. His best works came from deep down within him. He is inspired in a way we can also describe J.S. Bach. A great work of music continues to speak to us long after we have listened to it – and long after the composer’s death.”

The Production
“ I took immense satisfaction in producing The Dream of Gerontius last year”, says David Burchell. “Gerontius has probably been Number One on my list of works to perform.

“ Elgar learned to write a continuous work like this more from the operatic than from the oratorio tradition. Gerontius is a journey with one scene entering into the next almost seamlessly. Nothing before or after in Elgar’s work quite matches up the dramatic structure of Gerontius.

“ It is a most complex piece for a Director. I sang in it when I was in my teens and fell in love with it then. It has been a great privilege to perform such an intense and well-crafted work: a first rate line-up of soloists; an orchestra giving their everything; the choir likewise, singing with wonderful conviction.”

In the Dunedin production David Hamilton (tenor) sang the part of Gerontius; David Griffiths the bass and baritone parts; and Helen Medlyn (mezzo-soprano) sang the part of the Angel. Helen Medlyn said this about it: “I really love this piece... The music is very potent, both musically and lyrically. It’s very touching and moving and engaging. And it’s always a treat to come down and perform in Dunedin Town Hall. It has the most wonderful acoustics – probably the best in the country.”

David Burchell is Director of Music at St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, Dunedin. He is also regular conductor for the City of Dunedin Choir