125 years since its premiere, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius remains one of Birmingham's most treasured choral works.

Commissioned and premiered at the Birmingham Music Festival in 1900, there is no denying that this iconic piece has become one of the CBSO's favoruite choral works to perform over the years.

For Music Director Kazuki Yamada, our performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius on Wednesday 17 September was his first performance of the work and so it felt incredibly special to introduce him to this deeply emotional work rooted in Birmingham's history which explores death and the afterlife.

The text originates from a poem written by Cardinal Newman, who founded the Birmingham Oratory in 1849. The original text and score of both the poem and of Elgar's setting of it are kept in the Cardinal's library at the Oratory.

Kazuki Yamada and Catherine Arlidge, Director of Artistic Planning, took a trip to the Oratory to see the archived score. Only brought out on special occasions and handled delicately due to the acidity of the paper, we were informed that the last person to view the score was His Majesty the King of England so it felt a real privilege to have been given this honour.

As for the commission of the work, Laurence Johnstone offered us some insight into the wonderful origin of The Dream of Gerontius. As the great-grandson of George Hope Johnson and a regular CBSO audience member, Laurence shares his personal connection to the piece.

"George Hope Johnstone was a prominent civic leader and businessman in Birmingham, deeply involved in the city’s musical life. As Chairman of the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival from 1879, he persuaded Elgar to compose The Dream of Gerontius for the Festival’s 1900 season. Beyond securing the commission, Johnstone negotiated Elgar’s royalties with Novello, ensuring that the composer’s rights were protected.

Johnstone was a prominent civic leader and businessman in Birmingham, deeply involved in the city’s musical life. As Chairman of the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival from 1879, he persuaded Elgar to compose The Dream of Gerontius for the Festival’s 1900 season. Beyond securing the commission, Johnstone negotiated Elgar’s royalties with Novello, ensuring that the composer’s rights were protected." - Laurence Johnstone

This concert not only marked Kazuki's debut performance of the work, it was also Simon Halsey's last concert in his role as Director of the CBSO Choruses, a role he has held since 1982. There are many moments over the next few seasons where we're looking forward to continuing to work with Simon, but it felt important to say a huge thank you from everyone at the CBSO at this concert!

Joined by soloists Jess Dandy, Roderick Williams and Benjamin Hullet, CBSO Chorus demonstrated the strong foundations of choral singing in Birmingham.