Lewisham Choral Society

Elisabeth Meister – Mezzo-Soprano

Peter Davoren –

David Stout – Bass

James Orford – Organ

Bromley Boy Singers Director of Music: Travis Baker

Forest Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

Edward Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op 38

The Dream of Gerontius is a musical drama like no other, no traditional – Elgar didn’t call it such – as the music continues without significant breaks. An old man (Gerontius) faces death; he has a vision of the journey his soul is about to undertake. The drama begins with a magnificent orchestral prelude, embodying most of the work’s emotional themes. It leads straight into Gerontius’s opening soliloquy. The chorus, as Assistants at his bedside, offers up a soft, fervent prayer. Gerontius rallies his strength and prepares to meet his God. The Assistants continue their prayers and then – in a long, impassioned aria – Gerontius reaffirms his faith. Despair however soon engulfs him once more and the Assistants again minister to him with ever-intensified prayer, ending with a Gregorian litany recalling how God saved his Old Testament faithful: Noah, Job, Moses and David. Gerontius, on the point of death, faintly interposes a wish for his life to slip away. His end is marked by a pause, followed by a stern chord and the voice of the Priest, who – with the Assistants – sends the newly-released soul confidently on its journey.

In Part II, the Soul finds itself to be moving in a strange, tranquil and unencumbered timelessness. The Soul is in the hands of an Angel, who reveals that it is being borne towards the divine court of judgment, to the “awful presence of God”. But first they pass a chorus of demons. Their tumultuous din dies away gradually and the peaceful converse between Angel and Soul is resumed. The Angel confirms that the Soul will briefly glimpse the Almighty but warns of the dire effect of such a moment. Distant choral sounds of praise from the throne of God float on the air. Various sections of the chorus are gradually employed to bring gusts of sound towards us, ever growing in strength and fullness. This continues until the travellers, surrounded by the full glory of the heavenly choir, enter the innermost circle of Heaven to the sound of the laudatory hymn Praise to the Holiest in the Height from the boys’ chorus of Angelicals. As the Soul nears its hour of judgment, the distant voices of his friends on earth are heard in prayer and the stern Angel of the Agony intercedes for mercy. Gerontius is face to face with his maker. The orchestra rises to a mighty climax in which, as the score says, “for one moment, must every instrument exert its fullest force”. The Angel bears Gerontius towards Purgatory, where the voices of souls at prayer can be heard, and bids him farewell with promises of a glorious morrow. The Angelicals return to bring the work to a close with its repeated hymn of praise.

Part I Tenor solo (Gerontius)

Rouse thee, my fainting soul, and play Prelude the man; And through each waning span Tenor solo (Gerontius) Of life and thought as still has to be trod, Jesu, Maria – I am near to death Prepare to meet thy God. And Thou art calling me; I know it now. And while the storm of that Not by the token of this faltering breath, bewilderment This chill at heart, this dampness on my Is for a season spent, brow, - And ere afresh the ruin on me fall, (Jesu have mercy! Mary, pray for me!) Use well the interval. ‘Tis this new feeling, never felt before, Chorus (Assistants) (Be with me, Lord, in my extremity!) That I am going, that I am no more, ‘Tis this strange innermost abandonment, Be merciful, be gracious; spare him, (Lover of souls! great God! I look to Thee,) Lord. This emptying out of each constituent Be merciful, be gracious; Lord, deliver And natural force, by which I come to be. him. Pray for me, O my friends; a visitant From the sins that are past; Is knocking his dire summons at my door, From Thy frown and Thine ire; The like of whom, to scare me and to From the perils of dying; daunt, From any complying Has never, never come to me before; With sin, or denying So pray for me, my friends, who have not His God, or relying On self, at the last; strength to pray From the nethermost fire; Chorus (Assistants) From all that is evil; From power of the devil; Thy servant deliver, Kyrie eleison. For once and for ever. Holy Mary, pray for him. By Thy birth, and by Thy Cross, All holy Angels, pray for him. Rescue him from endless loss; All Apostles, all Evangelists, pray for him. By Thy death and burial, All holy Disciples of the Lord pray for him. Save him from a final fall; All holy Innocents, pray for him. By Thy rising from the tomb, All holy Martyrs, all holy Confessors, By Thy mounting up above, All holy Hermits, all holy Virgins, By Thy Spirit’s gracious love All ye Saints of God pray for him. Save him in the day of doom

.

Tenor solo (Gerontius) Some bodily form of ill Floats on the wind, with many a Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus, loathsome curse De profundis oro te. Tainting the hallowed air, and Miserere, Judex meus, laughs, and flaps Parce mihi, Domine. Its hideous wings Firmly I believe and truly And makes me wild with horror and God is Three, and God is One ; dismay. And I next acknowledge duly O Jesu, help! pray for me, Mary, Manhood taken by the Son. pray! And I trust and hope most fully Some Angel, Jesu! such as came to In that Manhood crucified; Thee And each thought and deed unruly In Thine own agony… Do to death, as He has died. Mary, pray for me. Joseph, pray for Simply to His grace and wholly me. Light and life and strength belong. Mary, pray for me. And I love, supremely, solely, Him the holy, Him the strong. Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus, Chorus (Assistants) De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex meus, Rescue him, O Lord, in this his evil Parce mihi, Domine. hour, And I hold in veneration, As of old, so many by Thy gracious For the love of Him alone, power:- Holy Church, as His creation, Noe from the waters in a saving And her teachings, as His own. home; (Amen.) And I take with joy whatever Job from all his multi-form and fell Now besets me, pain or fear, distress; (Amen.) And with a strong will I sever Moses from the land of bondage and All the ties which bind me here. despair; (Amen.) Adoration aye be given, David from Golia and the wrath of With and through the angelic host, Saul; (Amen.) To the God of earth and heaven, …- So, to show Thy power, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Rescue this Thy servant in his evil Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus, hour. De profundis oro te, Miserere, Judex meus, Tenor solo (Gerontius) Mortis in discrimine. I can no more; for now it comes again, Novissima hora est; and I fain would That sense of ruin, which is worse than sleep, pain, The pain has wearied me…Into Thy That masterful negation and collapse hands, Of all that makes me man. O Lord, into Thy hands… …And, crueller still, A fierce and restless fright begins to fill The mansion of my soul. And worse, and worse,

Bass solo (The Priest) Go, in the name of Patriarchs and Proficiscere, anima Christiana, de hoc Prophets; mundo! And of Apostles and Evangelists, Go forth upon thy journey, Christian soul! Of Martyrs and Confessors, in the Go from this world! Go, in the Name of God name The Omnipotent Father, Who created thee! Of holy Monks and Hermits; in the Go, in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, name Son of the Living God, Who bled for thee! Of holy Virgins; and all Saints of God, Go, in the Name of the Holy Spirit, Both men and women, go! Go on thy Who Hath been poured out on thee! course; And may thy place today be found in Chorus (Assistants) peace, And may thy dwelling be the Holy Go in the name Mount Of Angels and Archangels; in the name Of Sion: - through the Same, through Of Thrones and Dominations; in the name Christ our Lord. Of Cherubim and Seraphim, go forth! Of Princedoms and of Powers; and in the name Of Cherubim and Seraphim, go forth!

 Interval 

Part II Nor does one moment differ from the Introduction next. This silence pours a solitariness Tenor solo (Soul of Gerontius) Hath something too of sternness and of pain. I went to sleep; and now I am refreshed Another marvel: someone has me fast A strange refreshment: for I feel in me Within his ample palm; … An inexpressive lightness, and a sense …A uniform Of freedom, as I were at length myself, And gentle pressure tells me I am not And ne’er had been before. How still it is! Self moving, but borne forward on my I hear no more the busy beat of time, way. No, nor my fluttering breath, nor And hark! I hear a singing; yet in sooth struggling pulse; I cannot of that music rightly say Into the very essence of my soul; Whether I hear, or touch, or taste the And the deep rest, so soothing and so tones. sweet, Oh, what a heart-subduing melody!  

Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Tenor solo (Soul)

My work is done, I would have nothing but to speak with thee My task is o’er, For speaking’s sake. I wish to hold with And so I come, thee Taking it home Conscious communion; though I fain would For the crown is won, know Alleluia, A maze of things, were it but meet to ask, For evermore. And not a curiousness. My Father gave In charge to me Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) This child of earth E’en from its birth You cannot now To serve and save. Cherish a wish which ought not to be Alleluia, wished. And saved is he. Tenor solo (Soul) This child of clay To me was given, Then I will speak: I ever had believed To rear and train That on the moment when the By sorrow and pain struggling soul In the narrow way, Quitted its mortal case, forthwith it fell Alleluia, Under the awful Presence of its God, From earth to heaven. There to be judged and sent to its own Tenor solo (Soul) place. What lets me now from going to my Lord? It is a member of that family Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Of wond’rous beings, who, ere the world were made, Thou art not let; but with extremest speed Millions of ages back, have stood Art hurrying to the Just and Holy Judge. around The throne of God. Tenor solo (Soul) I will address him. Mighty one, my Lord, Dear Angel, say, Why have I now no fear My Guardian Spirit, all hail! of meeting Him? Along my earthly life, the thought of death Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) And judgment was to me most terrible.

All hail! My child and brother, hail! what wouldest thou?

Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Chorus (Demons)

It is because Low born clods Then thou didst fear; that now thou dost not fear. Of brute earth, Thou hast forestalled the agony, and so They aspire For thee bitterness of death is passed. To become gods, Also, because already in thy soul By a new birth, The judgment is begun. And an extra grace A presage falls upon thee, as a ray And a score of merits, Straight from the Judge, expressive of thy lot. As if aught That calm and joy uprising in thy soul Could stand in place Is first-fruit to thee of thy recompense, Of the high thought, And heaven begun. And the glance of fire Of the great spirits, Tenor solo (Soul) The powers blest; The lords by right, Now that the hour is come, my fear is fled; The primal owners, And at this balance of my destiny, Of the proud dwelling Now close upon me, I can forward look And realm of light, - With a serenest joy. Dispossessed, But hark! upon my sense Aside thrust, Comes a fierce hubbub, which would make me fear Chucked down, Could I be frighted. By the sheer might Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Of a despot's will, Of a tyrant's frown, We are now arrived Who after expelling Close on the judgment-court; that sullen howl Their hosts, gave, Is from the demons who assemble there, Triumphant still, Hungry and wild, to claim their property, And still unjust, And gather souls for hell. Hist to their cry! Each forfeit crown To psalm-droners, Tenor solo (Soul) And canting groaners, To every slave, How sour and how uncouth a dissonance! And pious cheat, And crawling knave, Who licked the dust Under his feet.

Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) With sordid aim, It is the restless panting of their And not from love. being; Ha! Ha! Like beasts of prey, who, caged within their bars, Tenor solo (Soul) In a deep hideous purring have their life, I see not those false spirits; shall I see And an incessant pacing to and fro. My dearest Master, when I reach His Chorus (Demons) throne? Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) The mind bold And independent, Yes, - for one moment thou shalt see thy The purpose free, Lord, So we are told, One moment; but thou knowest not, my Must not think child, To have the ascendant. What thou dost ask; that sight of the Most What's a saint? Fair One whose breath Will gladden thee, but it will pierce thee too. Doth the air taint Before his death; Tenor solo (Soul) A bundle of bones, Which fools adore, Thou speakest darkly, Angel! and an awe When life is o'er. Falls on me, and a fear lest I be rash. Ha! Ha! Virtue and vice, Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) A knave's pretence. 'Tis all the same, There was a mortal, who is now above Ha! Ha! In the mid-glory: he, when near to die, Dread of hell-fire, Was given communion with the Crucified, - Of the venomous flame, Such that the Masters very wounds were A coward's plea. stamped Give him his price, Upon his flesh; and from the agony Saint though he be, Which thrilled through body and soul in that From shrewd good sense embrace, He'll slave for hire, Learn that the flame of the Everlasting Ha! Ha! Love And does but aspire Doth burn ere it transform... To the heaven above

Boys’ Chorus (Angelicals) Tenor solo (Soul)

Praise to the Holiest in the height, The sound is like the rushing of the And in the depth be praise: wind - The summer wind - among the lofty Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) pines.

. . . Hark to those sounds! Boys’ Chorus (Angelicals) They come of tender beings angelical, Least and most childlike of the sons of God. Glory to Him, Who evermore By truth and justice reigns; Boys’ Chorus (Angelicals) Who tears the soul from out its case, And burns away its stains! Praise to the Holiest in the height, And in the depth be praise; Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) In all His words most wonderful; Most sure in all His ways! They sing of thy approaching agony, To us His elder race He gave Which thou so eagerly didst To battle and to win, question of. Without the chastisement of pain, Without the soil of sin. Tenor solo (Soul) The younger son He willed to be A marvel in His birth: My soul is in my hand: I have no Spirit and flesh His parents were; fear, - His home was heaven and earth. But hark! a grand mysterious The eternal blessed His child, and armed, harmony: And sent Him hence afar, It floods me, like the deep and To serve as champion in the field solemn souls Of elemental war. Of many waters. To be His Viceroy in the world Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Of matter, and of sense; Upon the frontier, towards the foe, And now the threshold, as we A resolute defence. traverse it, Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Utters aloud its glad responsive chant. We now have passed the gate, and are within The House of Judgment. . .

Boys’ Chorus (Angelicals) Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel)

Praise to the Holiest in the height, It is the voice of friends around thy bed, And in the depth be praise: Who say the 'Subvenite' with the priest. In all His words most wonderful; Hither the echoes come; before the Most sure in all His ways! Throne O loving wisdom of our God! When all was sin and shame, Stands the great Angel of the Agony, A second Adam to the fight The same who strengthened Him, what And to the rescue came. time He knelt O Wisest love! that flesh and blood Lone in the garden shade; bedewed Which did in Adam fail, with blood. Should strive afresh against the foe, That Angel best can plead with Him for Should strive and should prevail. all And that a higher gift than grace Should flesh and blood refine, Tormented souls, the dying and the God's Presence and His very Self, dead. And Essence all divine. O generous love! that He who smote Bass solo (Angel of the Agony) In man for man the foe, The double agony in man Jesu! by that shuddering dread which For man should undergo; fell on Thee; And in the garden secretly, And on the cross on high, Jesu! by that cold dismay which Should teach His brethren and inspire sickened Thee; To suffer and to die. Jesu! by that pang of heart which Praise to the Holiest in the height, thrilled in Thee; And in the depth be praise: Jesu! by that mount of sins which In all His words most wonderful, crippled Thee; Most sure in all His ways! Jesu! by that sense of guilt which stifled Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Thee; Jesu! by that innocence which girdled Thy judgement now is near, for we are Thee; come Jesu! by that sanctity which reigned in Into the veiled presence of our God. Thee; Jesu! by that Godhead which was one Tenor solo (Soul) with Thee; Jesu! spare these souls which are so dear to Thee; I hear the voices that I left on earth.

Souls, who in prison, calm and patient, wait Which ne'er can cease for Thee; To throb, and pine, and languish, till Hasten, Lord, their hour, and bid them possest come to Thee, Of its Sole Peace. To that glorious Home, where they shall There will I sing my absent Lord and ever gaze on Thee. Love: - Take me away, Tenor solo (Soul) That sooner I may rise, and go above, I go before my Judge... And see Him in the truth of everlasting day. Chorus (Voices on Earth) Take me away, and in the lowest deep Be merciful, be gracious; spare him, Lord There let me be. Be merciful, be gracious; Lord, deliver him. Chorus (Souls in Purgatory) Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) Lord, Thou hast been our refuge: in . . . Praise to His Name! every generation; O happy, suffering soul! for it is safe, Before the hills were born, and the Consumed, yet quickened, by the glance of world was, from age to age Thou art God. God. Bring us not, Lord, very low: for Thou hast said, Tenor solo (Soul) Come back again, O Lord! how long: and be entreated for Thy servants. Take me away, and in the lowest deep Mezzo-Soprano solo (Angel) There let me be, And there in hope the lone night-watches Softly and gently, dearly-ransomed keep, soul, Told out for me. In my most loving arms I now enfold There, motionless and happy in my pain thee, Lone, not forlorn, - And o'er the penal waters, as they There will I sing my sad perpetual strain, roll, Until the morn, I poise thee, and I lower thee, and There will I sing, and soothe my stricken hold thee. breast, And carefully I dip thee in the lake,

And thou, without a sob or a resistance, Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial Dost through the flood thy rapid passage here, take, And I will come and wake thee on Sinking deep, deeper, into the dim the morrow. distance. Farewell! Farewell! Angels to whom the willing task is given, Shall tend, and nurse, and lull thee, as Chorus (Souls) liest; And Masses on the earth, and prayers in Lord, Thou hast been our refuge, heaven, etc. Amen. Shall aid thee at the Throne of the Most Highest. Boys’ Chorus (Angelicals) Farewell, but not for ever! brother dear, Be brave and patient on thy bed of sorrow; Praise to the Holiest, etc. Amen.

 ELGAR, NEWMAN & THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS

Edward William Elgar was born in the small Worcestershire village of Lower Broadheath on 2 June 1857. His father William was a piano tuner and shopkeeper and his mother Ann the daughter of a farm worker who worked as a barmaid. Ann had recently converted to Roman Catholicism and raised her son as a Catholic. William was an Anglican but played the organ in the local Catholic church. He also was a proficient violinist and Edward was soon taking lessons on both the violin and the piano. He began composing at an early Elgar on the day Gerontius age but remained largely self-taught in his future was completed profession. He learnt German to help fulfil his dream of studying in Leipzig but his father could not afford to send him there. After school, he soon left his first job as a solicitor’s clerk to work at his father’s shop, selling musical scores and instruments. Meanwhile he also accompanied singers at the Worcester Glee Club and at the age of 22 became conductor of the attendants’ band at the Worcester & County Lunatic Asylum.

Getting his works published and performed was a struggle. In 1889 Elgar married the daughter of an army general, Caroline Roberts, eight years his senior and the couple moved to London to be to the centre of British musical life. Nevertheless, the struggle to make a living and a name for himself continued for Edward; the couple

was by no means well-off (she had married outside of her class and of her family’s religion); Caroline had been disinherited by her father. And so the couple, with their young daughter Carice, were obliged to move back to Worcestershire. Eventually however in the 1890s Elgar established what proved to become a long-standing relationship with the publishers Novello & Co. And Elgar’s work for the great East Midlands choral festivals began to be heard and appreciated. The prediction by his friend August Jaeger – who worked at Novello – that his “time of universal recognition will come” was soon to be realised. In the final year of the decade his orchestral work, the Enigma Variations, received great acclaim and gained him renown at home and abroad. And so he was expected to produce a worthy successor to the Variations. The twentieth century was about to dawn and the prestigious Birmingham Triennial Music Festival was keen to greet the 1900s with a work by this leading home-grown composer.

John Henry Newman, an Anglican priest and academic at Oxford, was a leading light in the nineteenth century Oxford Movement, which sought to reclaim Anglicanism’s pre-reformation roots. Whereas a younger, evangelical Newman had described Roman Catholicism as ““polytheistic, degrading and idolatrous”; now delving into these roots made him declare that “to be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant”. He was received into the Catholic church and, in 1846, ordained a Catholic priest. He became, and remains, a widely known, influential theologian and also a noted literary figure. He was also a controversial figure, viewed with suspicion by his erstwhile Anglican colleagues but also by the Vatican, with one official Newman portrayed by Millais describing him as “the most dangerous man in England”. Controversy stayed with him (and overshadowed the initial performances of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius). Newman wrote the poem in just 22 days in 1865, at the age of 64. He was created cardinal in 1879, but declined to become a bishop. He died in 1890, in Birmingham, and in 2010 was beatified nearby, by Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to the UK.

His poem became known around the world; the Czech composer Antonín Dvořák had thought of setting Gerontius to music but eventually abandoned the idea. Newman’s poem was well known to Elgar; in 1900 he said that it had “been soaking in my mind for at least eight years”. In 1889 as a wedding present he was given a second copy of the poem, annotated with notes by General Charles Gordon – the work was Gordon’s particular favourite. But it took another ten years for Elgar to put pen to paper in earnest. In the end he set less than half of Newman’s work so as to concentrate on the central story of a man’s death and his soul’s journey into the afterlife. In March

1900 the first pages of the vocal score were sent to Jaeger for printing and more ollowed. There was however a hitch…

When Jaeger went through the draft score, he found something missing – a depiction of the moment Gerontius’ soul appears before God. Elgar however asked him to “remember that none of the “action” takes place in the presence of God. I would not have tried that, neither did Newman.” Jaeger thought that what Elgar had written at that point was “mere weak whining…and not at all impressive.” He proposed that Elgar should “suggest, in a few gloriously great and effulgent orchestral chords, given out by the whole of the orchestra in its most glorious key, the MOMENTARY vision of the Almighty. A few chords!” Elgar relented to August Jaeger his friend and produced one of the work’s finest moments.

After much toing and froing between composer and publisher, the work was complete. Elgar wrote “The trees are singing my music – or have I sung theirs?” and added the dedication A.M.D.G. – to the greater glory of God – the Jesuit motto. He ended the manuscript with a quotation from a lecture by John Ruskin: “This is the best of me…this, if anything of mine, is worth your memory”.

Ten years after Cardinal Newman’s death at the Birmingham Oratory, it was in the city’s Town Hall that The Dream of Gerontius was first performed. Some 54 years previously Mendelssohn had conducted the premiere of his oratorio there to great acclaim. Elgar’s work did not immediately enjoy the same success, principally because the premiere was a disaster. The conductor Hans Richter had only seen the score ten days before. Chorus master Charles Swinnerton Heap, an early devoted patron of Birmingham Town Hall Elgar, had died suddenly four months earlier. The 70-year old William Stockley was brought in to replace him; he had been a most capable and distinguished choirmaster but by now – three years after his retirement – was slow and physically feeble. Tenor Edward Brema wasn’t up to the task either; he was very nervous and not in especially good voice. He retired later that year. The amateur chorus struggled to master the work. Unsurprisingly, Elgar was not happy. He railed: “I always knew God was against art”, “I have allowed my heart to open once – it is now shut against every

religious feeling and every soft, gentle impulse for ever” and “I have worked hard for 40 years and at the last providence denies me a decent hearing of my work”.

Furthermore, it did not help in Protestant England that the text by the controversial Newman was imbued with Catholic theology – Purgatory and the intercession of saints, for example. Jaeger had warned Elgar that there was a “lot of Joseph and Mary about the work…it’s likely to frighten some damn fools of Protestants”. Fellow composer Charles Stanford complained that it “stinks of incense”. It was banned from performance in Gloucester Cathedral in 1901 and only an expurgated version was allowed in Worcester Cathedral in 1902. As recently as the 1930s, the Dean of Peterborough refused permission for a performance in his cathedral. The work – and its composer – had a great deal more acceptance overseas. The Cologne Gazette said that Elgar was “one of the leaders of musical art of modern times”. And at a performance of Gerontius in Düsseldorf, Elgar was called to the stage 20 times. There were still doubts back at home: composer Hubert Parry said “it reeks too much of the morbid and unnatural terrors and hysterics engendered by priestcraft to be congenial - vivid though it certainly is.”

But all these criticisms were made rather more on religious rather than musical grounds. The first London performance – in Westminster Cathedral in 1903 under the composer’s baton – was much more of Gerontius marble panel in a success. Fortunately the deep religious divides are on Westminster Cathedral on the whole a thing of the past. So we can enjoy tonight what is universally acknowledged to be one of Elgar’s greatest works – and perhaps his masterpiece. 

Some other things you may not know about Elgar & Gerontius…

 Elgar was a Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. supporter; he even penned for them what has been called “the world’s first football chant”  He was a keen amateur chemist and invented a device for synthesising hydrogen sulphide  He enjoyed cycling - he nicknamed his Royal Sunbeam bicycle Mr Phoebus  He had three dogs, named Marco, Mina and Mobey  In 1923 he sailed to Brazil for a voyage up the Amazon to visit the opera in the rain forest at Manaus  His father tuned the piano of William IV’s widow, Queen Adelaide  The name Gerontius comes from the Greek for ‘old man’; there are differences of opinion over how to pronounce the initial “g” – hard or soft? The Birmingham

Gazette on the eve of the first performance said “Gerontius – strictly with a hard ‘g’, if you please!”  Harry Plunket Greene, the baritone soloist in the premiere of Gerontius, was the grandfather of Mary Quant’s husband.

And some links between Lewisham Choral Society, Elgar & Gerontius

Elgar had a brief association with South London (though sadly, we can find no record of him visiting Lewisham). In his youth he often made day trips from Worcestershire by rail to Crystal Palace as his only chance to hear new music being performed. And he and his wife lived for six months in Fountains Drive, Upper Norwood in 1889. And it turns out that three members of our choir have family and Kath, John & Morwenna historical links – tenor Kath, soprano Morwenna and bass John. You can read their fascinating stories – in two parts – on the news page of the choir’s website: https://lewishamchoralsociety.org.uk/news/

TONIGHT'S PERFORMERS

Elisabeth Meister – Mezzo-soprano

Elisabeth Meister’s career has seen her in the title roles of Aïda and Lucrezia Borgia as well as Elisabeth Tannhäuser for Santiago de Chile, the title role in Turandot for Bilbao and the title role in Lucrezia Borgia and Florinda Fierrabras for La Monnaie, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth for Scottish Opera, Miss Wingrave in Owen Wingrave for Toulouse, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte and cover title in for Lyric Opera Chicago and Sieglinde in Die Walküre for Saffron Opera Group.

Her roles for the , Covent Garden include Pale Lady in The Gambler, Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen, High Priestess in Aïda, Costanza in L’isola disabitata, Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Helmwige and cover Sieglinde in Die Walküre, Third Norn in Götterdämmerung, and Ker in The Minotaur. In addition she has covered Polina in The Gambler and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes, as well as

the title roles in Der Rosenkavalier, Aïda, Anna Nicole, Gloriana, and Turandot.

In concert, Elisabeth recently performed at the Royal Opera House’s Extraordinary Gala marking the Queen’s Jubilee alongside , Angela Gheorghiu and Bryn Terfel and made her Carnegie Hall debut with performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. She has also performed at Buckingham Palace, the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, Segerstrom Hall and many other prestigious venues around the world.

Her concert repertoire includes Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Elgar’s Caractacus, The Dream of Gerontius and The Kingdom, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater, Tippett’s A Child of our Time, Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem, among many other works.

Peter Davoren – Tenor

Peter Davoren was awarded the Dr Ralph Kohn Scholarship to attend the , London under the tutelage of Neil Mackie and Mary Hill. During his time at RAM Peter gained plaudits for his recital singing as a member of the Academy Song Circle, performing at the Chelsea Lieder Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival and the Wigmore Hall. The Independent hailed him as ‘excellent’ and singing with ‘a warm, bel canto style.’ These performances led to a Lieder night in the Duke’s Hall with Dame Felicity Lott. Peter performed frequently on the oratorio stage and quickly gained a reputation as ‘one to watch for the future’ after his performance as Evangelist in the RAM performance of Bach’s St John Passion, conducted by Edward Higginbottom. Peter’s experience in Oratorio has led to being a regular performer for the Monteverdi Choir with John Elliot Gardiner and made his BBC Proms debut as a soloist in the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610.

Past engagements include: Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, LaCouff and Le Journaliste in Les mamelles de Tirésias and Florville in Il Signor Bruschino with the Dutch National Opera Academy; Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte with Opera Lyrica; Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Goro in Madama Butterfly, Song Vendor in Il Tabarro, Messenger in Aïda, Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Opera Holland Park; Ramon in La Navarraise and Carlino in Don Bucefalo with Wexford Opera; Tito in La clemenza di Tito at the Teatru Manoel, Malta; Dream of Gerontius with Bradford Festival Choral Society;

Christmas Oratorio with Ludus Baroque and Marian Consort; and B minor Mass with Solomon’s Knot. Future engagements include: Matthew Passion for Bracknell Choral Society; Monteverdi’s Vespers at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School; and Alfredo in La Traviata with Hampstead Garden Opera.

David Stout – Bass

A former Head Chorister of Westminster Abbey, David Stout studied Zoology at Durham University, sang with the choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge University and studied opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

David’s operatic roles include: Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro for ENO and WNO; Papageno in Die Zauberflöte for WNO; Figaro in Figaro Gets a Divorce for Opéra Genève; Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice and Roucher in Andrea Chénier for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Leporello in Don Giovanni for WNO and Opéra Genève; Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore for Opera North; Marcello in La Bohème for Scottish Opera and at Sankt Gallen; Angelotti in and Roucher in Andrea Chénier for the Bregenzer Festspiele; Rodrigo in Don Carlo and Sancho Pança in Don Quichotte for Grange Park Opera; and Count Douglas in Guglielmo Ratcliff for Wexford Festival.

Discography includes: Haydn’s The Creation; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Orchestra of the Swan; Wolf’s Eichendorff Lieder with Sholto Kynoch; Zaza and Le Duc d’Albe for Opera Rara; and Jane Eyre with the English Symphony Orchestra. Forthcoming appearances include: Napoleon in War and Peace for WNO; Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore at Sankt Gallen and The Dark Fiddler in Delius’ A Village Romeo and Juliet at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.

James Orford – Organ

James Orford is the Organ Scholar at St Paul’s Cathedral and King’s College, London, having recently completed two years as Organ Scholar at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. He also studies the organ on a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, where David Titterington is his teacher. His past positions have included Organ Scholar at Truro Cathedral and Dulwich College and Assistant Organist at St Mark’s Church, Bromley.

An active performer, James has given many recitals across the UK in many notable venues, including St Paul’s, Westminster, Truro, Hereford, and St Albans Cathedrals, Christchurch and Bridlington Priories, the Chapels of both Clare and Queens’ Colleges, Cambridge, Lancing College Chapel, and the Royal Festival Hall.

As a choral accompanist, James has worked with many professional choirs, chamber choirs and choral societies. He is currently the accompanist for the Sloane Square Choral Society, Concordia Chamber Choir, and the Hackney Singers, having previously held the same position with the Truro Choral Society and the Allegri Singers. He also regularly works with the London Choral Sinfonia, Lewisham Choral Society, the Ashtead Singers, and the Gower Street Singers as either accompanist or continuo player. Engagements with these choirs and others have taken him to many venues in the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and the USA, including the Royal Festival Hall, Chartres Cathedral, Neresheim Abbey, and Christchurch Cathedral, Montreal. He was the organist for King's College's Radio 3 Epiphany broadcast in 2017 and features as the organist on Carols from Chelsea, a critically acclaimed Christmas CD recorded by the Chapel Choir of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, directed by William Vann, on the SOMM Label.

When not playing the organ, James is also a pianist. Working mainly as an accompanist, he has performed with many soloists, both instrumental and vocal, and regularly accompanies song recitals, most notably one given by at Dulwich College in 2014 as part of the First World War commemorations. He has also won the accompanist prizes in the AESS Courtney Kenny Song Competition, the John Kerr English Song Competition and the Marjorie Thomas Art of Song Prize.

Bromley Boy Singers

The award-winning Bromley Boy Singers – one of the UK's finest independent boys’ choirs – celebrated their 40th anniversary last year. Delivering first rate musical education, fun and unique opportunities and renowned for the technical quality and ability to captivate audiences, they perform in London, around the UK and abroad

collaborating with, for example, Mary King and Bob Chilcott, in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Under the expert leadership of Travis Baker, voice coach for Westminster Abbey School and Glyndebourne Education, they won Beckenham Festival’s youth choir category in 2014 & 2016 and were last year’s runners up in the Cornwall International Male Choir Festival’s youth competition, which they had won in 2015.

For their anniversary tours to Cornwall and Paris – performing in Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Eglise de la Madeleine and at Disneyland – they added a string of challenging sacred works and popular classics to the world premiere of a special commission - that’s just how they like it!

Forest Philharmonic Orchestra

Under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Shanahan, Forest Philharmonic Orchestra has gained an impressive reputation for the high quality and vitality of its performances, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014/15. Originally the Leyton Municipal Orchestra, it was reconstituted under its current name in 1964 by its first Artistic Director, Frank Shipway. The first President was Zoltan Kodály, followed by Sir , with an illustrious list of patrons including Leonard Bernstein, Sir , and Lorin Maazel and soloists including pianists John Lill and Stephen Kovacevich.

Today, the orchestra continues to perform with top artists such as soprano Susan Bullock and pianist Stephen Hough, and also gives opportunities to young musicians in the local Waltham Forest community through open rehearsals and a participation programme. Each string section is led by a professional player, whose input in rehearsals enables the orchestra to fulfil its aim of coaching the musicians of tomorrow while providing a platform for the leading amateur players of today.

In addition to its regular season at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Forest Philharmonic performs within the borough and surrounding areas, including at the Stow Festival and chamber concerts in local churches. It was invited by Waltham Forest Council to

perform for HM The Queen for her visit to Walthamstow as part of her Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012, and recently performed the live music accompaniment to Hitchcock’s film Blackmail as part of ‘Beyond Barbican’. The orchestra has also performed in the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Centre, St John’s, Smith Square and St Albans Cathedral, featuring works such as Mahler’s Symphonies nos. 2, 3 and 8, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time and Britten’s Spring Symphony. Recent soloists include Ronan O’Hora, Fenella Humphreys, Gemma Rosefield, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Paul Archibald, Gareth Hulse, Anne-Marie Owens, Linda Richardson, Julian Gavin and Andrew Greenan. The orchestra regularly performs with choral societies and also took part in the BBC 2 programme Maestro.

Dan Ludford-Thomas – Conductor

Dan Ludford-Thomas enjoys a busy schedule as a conductor, chorus master and singing teacher in London. He directs a wide variety of choirs from professional ensembles, church choirs, chamber choirs and large symphonic choruses. He performs regularly in major concert venues across the country including Birmingham Symphony Hall and The Royal Albert Hall. In 2012 he conducted over 300 singers and the Forest Philharmonic in a performance of Handel's in the Royal Festival Hall. In 2014 he conducted over 200 singers in a performance of Verdi's Requiem in the Fairfield Halls, returning with the same forces to put on Mendelssohn's Elijah in 2016. In 2017 he conducted over 300 Singers and the London Mozart Players in a performance of Bach's B minor Mass at the Royal Festival Hall.

Dan was the Chorus Master for the Choir of the Enlightenment, preparing them to sing Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Marin Alsop at the 2013 BBC Proms. He returned as Chorus Master for Marin, preparing the Choir of the Enlightenment to perform Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody and Triumphlied at the 2015 BBC Proms. In 2012 Dan worked as a choirmaster on BBC2’s The Choir: Sing While You Work and then became the Artistic Director of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir enjoying success as the co-producer and musical director for the Choir's 2015 Christmas Number One 'Bridge Over You'. He returned in 2013 to work on BBC2’s The Choir: Sing While You Work series 2 as choirmaster to Citibank Choir with whom he has continued as the Musical Director; highlights include performing at the Hammersmith Apollo and a series of concerts in New York. In 2015 Dan worked behind the scenes as choirmaster for The Choir: Gareth Malone's Great Choir Reunion.

He is currently Head of Vocal Studies at Dulwich College, Musical Director of Concordia Chamber Choir, Musical Director of The Hackney Singers, Interim Artistic Director of the National Children’s Choir of Great Britain and Director of Music of Lewisham Choral Society.

Lewisham Choral Society

Lewisham Choral Society is one of London’s most popular community choirs, performing at local venues and major concert halls such as Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, the Cadogan Hall and the Fairfield Halls. It is a large, lively community- based choir, with almost two hundred singers. Founded in 1950 by a group based at Lewisham’s parish church, it grew in size and ambition, marking its transformation by a change of name to Lewisham Choral Society in the early 1980s. The Society is a member of Making Music – the National Federation of Music Societies. It is a performing choir, staging four concerts a year, frequently collaborating with other choirs and taking part in other choral singing events when opportunities arise. Under the professional direction of Dan Ludford-Thomas and his deputy Nico de Villiers, the choir has a wide repertoire and performs music from the Renaissance to the twenty- first century, ranging from Tallis and Monteverdi to Arvo Pärt, Cecilia McDowall and Eric Whitacre.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN LEWISHAM CHORAL SOCIETY AS A SINGER?

Lewisham Choral Society offers a warm welcome to new joiners. We are open to singers in all voice parts, but given the need to maintain a good balance across the choir we are targeting our recruitment at and basses. Although we do not audition, the choir performs to a high standard and tackles some complex pieces which require a level of experience and musical ability. Rehearsals are relatively fast- paced, so may not suit complete beginners. We rehearse on Monday evenings from 8 to 10 at St Laurence’s Church, 37 Bromley Road, Catford, SE6 2TS: five minutes’

walk from Catford and Catford Bridge stations; buses 47, 54, 136, 171, 199 and 208 stop outside*. Parking is relatively easy on nearby residential streets and there is limited parking within the church grounds.

Rehearsals for our summer term start on Monday 19 March and continue until the concert on 10 July. We shall schedule additional rehearsals as and when necessary. Singers are welcome to join as new members on 19 or 26* March or 9 April.

*Please note: the 26 March rehearsal will be held at St Andrew the Apostle’s Church, Catford, SE6 1XD. Buses No. 124, 160, 181 & 284 all stop nearby

Introduction & programme notes by Martin Bull

Design of concert posters and flyers by Ben Leslie

No flash photography please

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Lewisham Choral Society, Registered Charity Number 1040570 acknowledges the support of the

London Borough of Lewisham and is affiliated to Making Music

We hope you enjoyed tonight's performance.

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Our trip to Berlin 13-15 April

Lewisham Choral Society are giving the opening concert of the 25th Blankensee Summer Music Festival on 14 April in this beautiful lakeside village south of Berlin. At the invitation of our friends from the Johannischer Chor Berlin we also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the twinning of the boroughs of Lewisham and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Look out for details soon on our website and do come along if you’re in the area!

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To help you find out more about Elgar, the Elgar Society organises regular talks in London and throughout the UK. For information about the composer, his music and the Society go to http://elgar.org/elgarsoc/

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LSO COMMUNITY CHOIR & GAMELAN SHOWCASE Let yourself be transported by folk songs from around the world. The LSO Community Choir and Gamelan Group bring together powerful choral music and the hypnotic sounds of the Gamelan to explore folk music from all four corners of the world.

Monday 26 March 7.30pm LSO St Luke’s lso.co.uk/lsostlukes15 TICKETS £7; £5 concessions - plus booking fee per transaction of £0.60 online or £0.70 by phone

Lewisham Choral Society’s next concert

Transatlantic Rhapsodies

& Broadside Ballads

Tuesday 10 July at 7.30 pm

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Lewisham Choral Society, directed by Dan Ludford-Thomas, perform music from both sides of ‘the pond’ with joyous works by British composer Jonathan Dove and, from the USA, Randall Thompson’s beautiful Fare Well together with two pieces by renowned choral composer Eric Whitacre.

Nico de Villiers and James Orford play a spirited two piano version of a piece which in the 1920s was ground-breaking in its combination of classical music with jazz.

The Bromley Boy Singers, directed by Travis Baker and accompanied by Krystal Tunnicliffe, sing a setting by James Lark of the words of 19th-century broadside ballads which speak of topics still relevant today. The work was specially commissioned to celebrate the choir’s 40th anniversary and was premiered to great acclaim last year.

Jonathan Dove: The Passing of the Year

Jonathan Dove: Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars

George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, arr. for two pianos

James Lark: Broadside Ballads

Randall Thompson: Fare Well

Eric Whitacre: When David Heard

Eric Whitacre: Sleep

Tickets on sale from 22 March (Southbank Centre members) & 23 March (general public). Details at lewishamchoralsociety.org.uk