Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius Karen Cargill, David Butt Philip, Roland Wood, Huddersfield Choral Society, Orchestra Of Opera North & Martyn Brabbins

• Sir Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1:
• 1 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: I. Prelude 09:38
• 2 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: IIa. Jesu, Maria, I Am Near to Death 03:55
• 3 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: IIb. Kyrie eleison 01:42
• 4 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: III. Rouse Thee, My Fainting Soul – Be Merciful, Be Gracious 03:31
• 5 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: IVa. Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus 05:26
• 6 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: IVb-d. I Can No More – Rescue Him, O Lord – Novissima hora est 05:27
• 7 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 1: V. Proficiscere, anima Christiana – Go, in the name of Angels and Archangels 06:07
• The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2:
• 8 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: Introduction 01:48
• 9 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: VIa-b. I Went to Sleep – Another Marvel 04:15
• 10 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: VIc. My Work Is Done, My Task Is O'er 02:05
• 11 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: VII. It Is a Member of That Family 06:01
• 12 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: VIIIa. But Hark! Upon my Sense Comes a Fierce Hubbub 00:51
• 13 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: VIIIb-d. Low-born Clods of Brute Earth – Dispossessed, Aside Thrust – The Mind Bold and Independent 04:52
• 14 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: IXa. I See Not Those False Spirits 02:12
• 15 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: IXb-d. There Was a Mortal Praise – Praise to the Holiest in the Height – Glory to Him 05:30
• 16 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: Xa-b. But Hark! A Grand Mysterious Harmony – And Now the Threshold as We Traverse It 01:20
• 17 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: Xc. Praise to the Holiest in the Height 07:40
• 18 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: XIa. Thy Judgement Now Is Near 02:20
• 19 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: XIb. Jesu! By That Shuddering Dread – XIIa. I Go Before My Judge 05:05
• 20 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: XIIb-d. Praise to His Name! – Take Me Away! – Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge 05:48
• 21 Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38, Pt. 2: XIII. Softly and Gently "Angel's Farewell" 06:45
• Total Runtime 01:32:18

Info for Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

This new album of Elgar’s choral-orchestral masterpiece ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ from Huddersfield Choral Society is optimally timed to coincide with major new film ‘The Choral’ (trailer here) which stars 3-time Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes playing the conductor of a Yorkshire choral society Elgar, ‘Gerontius’ and singing are integral to the plot of the film, which is the latest in a line of movies where classical composers and musicians are central to the story (e.g. Maestro, Tár, Amadeus) Set in 1916, the film, written by Alan Bennett and directed by Nicholas Hytner (the duo behind ‘The History Boys’ and ‘The Lady in the Van’), centres around a northern English choral society as they prepare to perform Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ despite the challenges and losses of key singers fighting on the Western front.

There are striking parallels between the choir in the film and the Huddersfield Choral Society recorded here:

23 members of the real-life Huddersfield Choral Society served in World War I, just as in the film, where tenors and basses are in short supply

There was a celebrated Huddersfield performance of ‘Gerontius’ under the baton of Sir Edward Elgar himself in 1917

‘The Choral’ is both the name of the film and the nickname given to the Huddersfield Choral Society

The film is set in the fictional town of Ramsden, the name of the land upon which Huddersfield is built

Huddersfield Choral Society made the hugely successful first-ever recording of the work in 1945, but the choir’s 120-year relationship with Elgar’s masterpiece stretches all the way back to 1905.

"There’s much to admire in this new, live recording. I don’t think it supplants the very finest versions but even so, 80 years after they took part in the first complete recording of The Dream of Gerontius, Huddersfield Choral Society has made another notable contribution to the work’s discography." (John Quinn, musicwebinternational.com)

David Butt Philip, tenor (Gerontius)
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano (The Angel)
Roland Wood, baritone (The Priest/The Angel of the Agony)
Huddersfield Choral Society
RNCM Chamber Choir
Orchestra of Opera North
Martyn Brabbins, conductor

David Butt Philip
One of the most exciting tenors Britain has to offer today, David Butt Philip is quickly becoming a firm favourite on the major international stages.

An alumnus of the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, his recent debuts have included the title role in Wagner’s Lohengrin and Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Wiener Staatsoper; Florestan in Beethoven’s Fidelio and Prince in Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Royal Ballet and Opera; Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss) at the Edinburgh International Festival and Bayerische Staatsoper and title roles of Der Zwerg (Zemlinsky) and Lohengrin at Deutsche Oper Berlin have earned him major critical and public acclaim.

Last season, Butt Philip made three appearances at Wiener Staatsoper: his role debut as Apollo in Richard Strauss’s Daphne, a new production of Lohengrin and a return as Stolzing in the production he premiered the previous season. Other highlights included Don José in Bizet’s Carmen and Lohengrin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Florestan (Fidelio) at the Bayerische Staatsoper and a role debut as Canio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci at Opera Holland Park. On the concert platform he performed Mahler’s Symphony No 8 with Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Christian Thielemann and at the Bergen International Festival with Edward Gardner; and made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker with Dvořák’s Stabat mater conducted by Jakub Hrůša.

Born and brought up in Wells in Somerset, Butt Philip was a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral. He is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio and was also a Samling Artist, an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and winner of the prestigious John Christie Award in 2011.

Karen Cargill
Described as having a voice that ‘dazzles’ with a ‘treacle-rich middle register’ and a ‘full and rich top’, Karen Cargill has firmly established herself as one of the leading singers of her generation with upcoming engagements at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Dutch National Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Norwegian National Opera. Equally established on the concert stage, Karen regularly appears with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Robin Ticciati, Rafael Payare and Edward Gardner.

Recent engagements have seen her return to the role of Brangäne in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at Glyndebourne, with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Sir Simon Rattle and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra. She also made her role debut as Brigitte in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt in concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons; returned to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with Rafael Payare; the San Francisco Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem with Esa-Pekka Salonen; the Toronto Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem with Jukka-Pekka Saraste; and the San Diego Symphony for Mahler Symphony No 3 with Rafael Payare.

With her recital partner Simon Lepper Karen has performed at Wigmore Hall London; Concertgebouw Amsterdam; Kennedy Centre Washington and Carnegie Hall New York, and regularly gives recitals for BBC Radio 3. With Simon, Karen also recently recorded a critically acclaimed recital of Lieder by Alma and Gustav Mahler for Linn Records, for whom she has previously recorded Berlioz Les nuits d’été and La mort de Cléopâtre with Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Karen is Patron of the National Girls’ Choir of Scotland and sang in the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for King Charles III following his Coronation in 2023.

Roland Wood
was born in Berkshire and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music with Patrick McGuigan and Robert Alderson, then at the National Opera Studio. He was the winner of the 1998 Webster Booth Prize and the 1999 Frederick Cox Award, and was also awarded Second Prize in the 2000 Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Awards.

Roland made his debut for Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2000 and has now sung major roles for all the major UK companies and overseas. Highlights include Ford (Verdi’s Falstaff) and Roucher (Giordano’s Andrea Chenier) for the Royal Opera; Count Almaviva (Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro), Paolo (Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra), Zurga (Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers), Bunyan/Pilgrim (Vaughan Williams’s The Pilgrim’s Progress) and Marcello (Puccini’s La bohème) for English National Opera; Golaud (Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande), Scarpia (Puccini’s Tosca), Count di Luna (Verdi’s Il Trovatore), Escamillo (Carmen) and Robert Storch (Richard Strauss’s Intermezzo) for Scottish Opera; Nick Shadow (Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress) for Glyndebourne Festival; Giorgio Germont (Verdi’s La Traviata) Opera North; Renato (Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera) and Nottingham (Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux) for Welsh National Opera; and Scarpia and Renato for Grange Park Opera.

Roland Wood has recorded extensively for both Chandos Records and Opera Rara and has also featured often on the concert platform, where highlights include Tippett’s Child of our time with the Hallé, Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ with the English Chamber Orchestra, Donizetti’s Il Diluvio Universale with the London Philharmonic and Bernstein’s Candide at the opening concert of the Edinburgh Festival.

Huddersfield Choral Society
Since its foundation in 1836, Huddersfield Choral Society has developed an international reputation as the UK’s leading choral society, under a succession of distinguished principal conductors and chorus masters. The present chorus master is Joseph Cullen, with Darius Battiwalla deputy chorus master.

The choir’s special quality is the unique ‘Huddersfield Sound’—a thrilling full-bodied and firm blended tone, flexible enough for both the most shattering climaxes and for the softest but most focused pianissimos.

The Society promotes its own professional subscription concert season in Huddersfield Town Hall, its home since 1881. The choir also visits other major concert halls in the UK and abroad, regularly broadcasts for radio and television, and has a long history of pioneering recordings. Repertoire includes established works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Britten’s War Requiem as well as world and UK premières including Agamemnon’s Tomb (John Pickard) and Messages (Jonathan Harvey). In recent years the choir has travelled to France, Japan, the Czech Republic, Belgium, as well as to festivals in the UK from Cheltenham to Orkney.

But Handel’s Messiah is perhaps the work most closely associated with the Society, performed at least annually since 1864 and still attracting capacity audiences at the two Christmas performances in Huddersfield. Lightness and flexibility combine with awesome grandeur to bring this choral masterpiece to life for contemporary audiences.

Mindful of its 175 year history and of the need to encourage young people to become the choral singers of the future, the Society supports three junior choirs—the Youth Choir, Young Voices and Chamber Choir. The choirs are directed by professional musicians and have their own independent concert programmes.

Martyn Brabbins
was recently appointed Chief Conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and of the Symphony Orchestra of India, taking up both roles in the 2025/26 season. He was Music Director of the English National Opera from 2016 to 2023.

An inspirational force in British music, Brabbins guest conducts top international orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw, San Francisco Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony and most of the other leading UK orchestras. He is a popular figure at the BBC Proms, which in 2019 commissioned fourteen composers to write a birthday tribute to him. Known for his advocacy of British composers, he has conducted hundreds of premieres across the globe. He has recorded nearly 150 albums to date, including prize-winning recordings of operas by Korngold, Birtwistle and Harvey. Brabbins has had a busy opera career since his early days at the Kirov, with more recent engagements at La Scala, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and regular performances in Lyon, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Antwerp.

He was Associate Principal Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (1994-2005), Principal Guest Conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2009-2015), Chief Conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic (2012-2016), and Artistic Director of the Cheltenham International Festival of Music (2005-2007). Brabbins holds the positions of Prince Consort Professor of Conducting at London’s Royal College of Music, Visiting Professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and Artistic Advisor to the Huddersfield Choral Society. For many years he has supported professional, student and amateur music-making at the highest level in the UK. In 2023 he received the RPS Conductor Award for his ‘colossal’ contribution to British musical life.

Booklet for Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius