Martyn Brabbins on The Dream of Gerontius

With members of The Choral having performed The Dream of Gerontius in Scotland last week, we spoke to Martyn Brabbins about what makes this piece so special.

Could you tell us a little bit about The Dream of Gerontius?

Well, The Dream of Gerontius is probably Elgar’s greatest composition, and what makes me say that is what he wrote at the end of the score; he was quoting the poet, writer and thinker John Ruskin.

He wrote, ‘This is the best of me. For the rest I ate and drank and slept, loved and hated like another. My life was as the vapor and is not. But this I saw anew. This, if anything of mine, is worth your memory.’ So, Elgar was a composer full of self-doubt, as are we all as human beings. But as a composer, you’re a very public figure. Your expressions are given out for everyone to hear, see, consume, and think what they will of them. Gerontius was written in 1900 and Elgar died in 1934, so he still had a few things to write, but he thought The Dream of Gerontius was his greatest offering, certainly up to that point.

It’s an oratorio, a work for three soloists, tenor – Gerontius ­– a mezzo soprano, and a bass baritone, accompanied by orchestra and chorus. It’s in two parts and it’s a very, very dramatic and vivid portrayal of a man and his journey to death. It may sound pretty grim and miserable, but let’s be honest, it comes to us all. Also, the way Elgar sets this work, the way he deals with this subject, is so incredibly moving and uplifting that every time I perform it, which I have done quite a number of times including a few times with the Choral, is an experience unlike anything else.

It prepares us for that final journey in the most moving, profound and exquisite way.

Has the piece got a lot of religion built into it or is it something that people who maybe don’t have any religious beliefs could still enjoy?

It’s certainly based on a religious text by Cardinal Newman that Elgar and a priest friend of his wrote and made into the text for this piece. I have no profound religious beliefs myself, but I still find this one of the most moving musical experiences. The last time I did it, funnily enough, was in Finland, in a place called Lahti. Now, the Finns are not at all Catholic and this is based on a Catholic text. But the Finns were profoundly moved by this piece. Their response to the music, both as performers and audience, was absolute and incredibly deep.

So I don’t think religion, whether you believe or not, has any part to play in the enjoyment and the experience of this great piece.

If people don’t know what an oratorio is, how would you describe it to somebody who’s maybe coming to this as a first-time experience?

An oratorio, which as a musical form dates back centuries to the time of Bach and before, is usually based on a religious text – such as the St. John Passion from Bach. Oratorios tell stories from the Bible with soloists, choruses, and an accompanying orchestra. What that allows the composer to do, and what Elgar does probably better than most, is present an incredibly dramatic and vivid story.

There are characters depicted by the chorus in this piece; the choir go from wonderful Angels to dreadfully taunting, horrible anger mongers. There’s this profound mixture of a strong kind of ‘goodness’ from all the characters at various points, but there’s also a pervading sense of foreboding – what if you don’t do well and you go to the dark side?

So there are lots of opportunities for calm reflection and comfort, if you like, while in contrast to that, Elgar reminds us that life is not always like that, and that’s something we all have to accept. There’s this real mixture of emotions in our existences and somehow, as he says, he encapsulates this in the best way he possibly could in this piece.

From your perspective as the conductor of the piece, how do you approach conducting a work like this? Especially with the Choral, having done it multiple times?

Well, as with any other piece, I’m hugely excited to be rehearsing and bringing together the forces that will make this great work happen, and that there will be about 200 people involved. It’s a wonderful thing.

I have the obvious privilege of having performed the piece eight or nine times already in my conducting life, so it’s a piece that’s really in my bones. I don’t have to concern myself too much with what I want to do with the piece as I already know how I like to interpret it.

I’ve just been looking at the score this morning, it’s a very lovely, constant companion of mine at the moment. I haven’t done it with the Choral for a number of years – I think the last time might’ve been in their 175th anniversary concert – so that was a good few years ago.

There’ll be a lot of new members who may be singing the piece for the first time. One of the things I love about working with the Choral is that they make this sound that no other choir I’ve come across creates, so I’m really interested to see whether this influx of new people has enhanced the wonderful, glorious sound that the Choral make. I’m sure that will be the case, because they all come into membership of the Choral knowing that they have this special reputation. And Greg Batsleer will be working on the quality of the sound that the whole choir produces, ready for the performance and subsequent recording.