Elgar’s greatest oratorio is that rare thing, a complex religious text that explores core tenets of the Roman Catholic faith and yet is set to music that sweeps away any sense of dusty philosophical debate in a blaze of transcendent beauty. As the composer’s most operatic score, Gerontius responds readily to a theatrical approach, which was one reason Antonio Pappano’s dramatically charged interpretation landed so powerfully.
Take the prelude. Seldom has the music’s Wagnerian ache and the sense of time running out felt so palpable. Elsewhere, he was unafraid to pull back, teasing out Elgar’s chamber-like textures with a gentle elasticity. Most rewardingly, his conductorly attention to the protracted expressive arc ensured that the work’s twin climaxes – the great chorus of Praise to the Holiest and the soul’s searing glimpse of the Deity – felt properly earned. This, he seemed to say, is where we have been heading all along.
