E. Elgar - Dream of Gerontius - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Long an admirer of Nietzsche's poetry, Frederick Delius composed a Mass of Life while at the height of his powers, blending passages from Also Sprach Zarathustra into orchestral textures of great expressive depth and striking beauty. Written in his final years, the Prelude and Idyll sourced music from a long discarded opera, transforming a story of lust and vengeance into one which emphasizes the transience of life and love. David Hill's previous BSO recordings include a Inchperfectly judgedInch Dies natalis by Gerald Finzi (The Guardian on 8.570417), while his Vaughan Williams Sancta Civitas (8.572424) was described as Inchthrilling... a great case for a neglected workInch. (Classic FM) Renowned for his fine musicianship, David Hill is widely respected as both a choral and an orchestral conductor. He became the Bach Choir's ninth Musical Director in 1998; he is also Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers and Associate Guest Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

• Excerpted from a Q&A with the late Colin Davis...Q Sir Colin, Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius is very popular in the UK but heard less often inGermany. Why do you think that is?A That is hard to explain. As a young man, Elgar was quite famous in Germany. The work was performedin Dusseldorf.• Richard Strauss attended, and acknowledged the work's significance.• Perhaps Gerontius is less well known because the text appears to have come straight from the Vatican.• This work also addresses the issue of dying. If you think what it must be like on your deathbed, you startto dream - that is Gerontius' dream.

Sir Gibson Alexander - Dream of Gerontius Op 38 [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/01/2009