Recording Review #73: A Groggy Gerontius

Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius, Op. 38. Karen Cargill (Angel); Roland Wood (Priest and Angel of Agony); David Butt Philip (Gerontius); Martyn Brabbins, conductor; Huddersfield Choral Society; Orchestra of Opera North. Hyperion CDA68461/2.

When I reviewed Paul McCreesh's Signum Records Gerontius for Nineteenth-Century Music Review last year (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479409825100621), I began by noting that there were not all that many complete entries in the catalogue (just north of two dozen). But I may have spoken too soon. Including this new one on Hyperion, there have been THREE released since the McCreesh. And while I can't say if there are more in preparation, it seems like this oratorio has become something of a bandwagon. Mostly this is a pity: almost none of them match the best ones that have long been available. That very much includes this newcomer directed by Martyn Brabbins. 

We have two main problems here. The first and more serious one is that Martyn Brabbins just doesn't have the moxie to be conducting a dramatic, post-Wagnerian oratorio. His energy tends to be low, and his instincts too much favor cool balance and reserve. He's best in music like Vaughan Williams's Pastoral Symphony or Walton's Second Symphony...things that flatter his relative introversion. In Gerontius he holds back his very good vocal soloists with poor tempo decisions and a lack of bold orchestral gestures. When the protagonist is on his deathbed in the first part, we need to have more desperation. I get the sense that David Butt Philip (who really has a great voice and sense of purpose here) wants to let this rip, but he's held back by a dampening Brabbins and OON. It comes off lethargic instead of desperate. Particularly plodding is the "Sanctus fortis" section, which should be alive with existential dread. It needs a faster tempo. Poor Gerontius goes through enough in this story; do we really want to drag out his death, too? Brabbins gets let off the hook somewhat in the overall calmer second part, where the Angel is leading Gerontius around in the afterlife. But even here I think he could have driven home the emotional highs more consistently. The part toward the end when the poor man is judged and consigned to Purgatory is almost limp. Again, Philip does his best, but the orchestra under Brabbins gives him little dramatic help.

The second problem is the decision to use an amateur choir. Yes, I know: this work has a long tradition with such societies, and one of my favorite recordings even uses an earlier cast of this very Huddersfield Choral Society (Malcolm Sargent and Heddle Nash on Testament SBT2025). But while Paul McCreesh's 2024 effort is not my preferred one, his group of professionals convinced me that you really need a skillful chorus for parts of this to work best. Or maybe just a better group of amateurs. The HCS here sounds rough at times. If you listen carefully, you can hear the heterogeneous makeup of the group, a sensation familiar to anyone who has sung in an average amateur ensemble. It comes out especially in the demons chorus and 'Be merciful' stretch at the outset. In louder portions, such as Gerontius's send-off at the end of the first part, and in the 'Praise to the Holiest in the height' area in Part II, the massed sound resembles a church congregation, with all that entails. In my review of the McCreesh, I criticized the choir for not being crass enough in the demons part. Well, here we have a rather incidental crassness, but we also lose a sheeny sound. I guess you can't have it all. 

In spite of what I'm saying, I would be fine with all of this in a live regional performance. But that's not the same as listening to a recording. Some things more advantageously pass in the moment, never to be experienced again. A recording is an artifact – a monument with a strong claim to posterity. And I'm afraid this particular one isn't very monumental. 

Verdict: Not Recommended