Anvil Arts

Cardinal Newman's poem tells of the journey of a man's soul after death - Gerontius may be translated roughly as old man. Elgar was given a copy of the poem in 1889 as a wedding present. The first performance, in 1900 in Birmingham, was not a success, due to the complexity of the work and insufficient time being allowed for rehearsals. However, one year later, and with the benefit of hindsight, a performance in Dusseldorf, to a packed audience of 2500, was an unqualified success. It was followed in March 1903 by further acclaimed performances on successive nights - the first by the Halle Orchestra in Manchester, the second in Hanley with Elgar himself conducting.

Today, the work is undoubtedly the most popular of all Elgar's choral works, and indeed among the most frequently performed of all his works. Surely no-one can remain unmoved by the priest's invocation to Gerontius, as part 1 ends, to 'go forth' ('Proficiscere, anima Christiana'); nor, in part 2, by the chorus of 'Praise to the Holiest', the words of which were also taken to form the well-known hymn. (source: The Elgar Society).