Main content

Elgar's Dream of Gerontius

Episode 5 of 5

How Elgar's poignant choral work has touched and changed people's lives. With Terry Waite and Jude Kelly. From July 2013.

How the choral work The Dream of Gerontius, by Edward Elgar, has touched and changed people's lives.

For Terry Waite, it was the first piece of music he heard as a hostage in the Lebanon, after four years in solitary confinement.

Writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson describes how Elgar's own fragile emotional state is written into the music, which describes the journey taken by a dying man.

Singer Catherine Wyn-Rogers explains how Elgar's music helped her come to terms with the loss of her parents.

Martin Firth recalls a life-enhancing performance of the piece in Bristol cathedral.

Jude Kelly, artistic director of the South Bank Centre, explains how she experienced the choir in this piece as a 'spiritual army' when she performed it at university.

Martyn Marsh describes how the music brought him to a realisation about how he would like to end his days.

And Robin Self recalls a life-changing performance of this piece, which enabled him to grieve for his son.

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.

Producer: Melvin Rickarby

First broadcast on 91热爆 Radio 4 in July 2013.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Wed 17 Nov 2021 00:30

More episodes

Next

You are at the last episode

See all episodes from Soul Music

Broadcasts

  • Tue 30 Jul 2013 11:30
  • Sun 11 Aug 2013 13:30
  • Fri 9 Jun 2017 18:30
  • Sat 10 Jun 2017 00:30
  • Tue 16 Nov 2021 18:30
  • Wed 17 Nov 2021 00:30

Why Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' became a Civil Rights anthem

Why Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' became a Civil Rights anthem

Watch the animation - Professor Mary King describes how the song became a symbol of hope.

Podcast