Monday, September 19

Sir Edward Elgar "The Kingdom"


We attended the Melbourne Bach Choir performance of Sir Edward Elgar’s masterful oratorio (an oratorio is a large-scale musical composition usually on a sacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra ) “The Kingdom” on September 18th 2016
 It was a thoroughly enjoyable recital from the large choir, orchestra, and 4 outstanding soloists with the added benefit of the magnificent Melbourne Town Hall organ in full voice. The four soloists were MiriamGordon-Stewart (soprano), Deborah Humble (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Goodwin (tenor) and James Clayton (bass). The conductor was Rick Prakhoff.
The work of Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is oft overlooked in the shadow of his more famous predecessor namely Johann Sebastian Bach, (1685- 1750) and this was the first concert of this work in Melbourne since the 1940’s.

But lately appreciation for this magnificent work is gaining traction as was evident in the BBC Proms of 2014, where Sir Andrew Davis, described the work as “Elgar at his best”. Here is a recording of this rousing music under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis with the evocative story line of the very first fledgling Christian community.

 

2 comments:

Tom said...

I do tend to find Elgar's works deeply moving, and I refer here not the the gung-ho, patriotic [or should that be nationalistic?] stuff. For example, I dare not listen to his 'cello concerto in public. So glad you enjoyed "The Kingdom."

Lindsay Byrnes said...

Hi Tom,
Having the words from the programme to hand as we listened to the music was an absolute treat which added in beauty and meaning to this masterful piece. Elgar I found took on a whole new experience that I would not have been privy to without the benefit of attending such a recital.
Best wishes