Christine Rice; John Findon; Roderick Williams; Helsinki Music Centre Choir; Cambridge University Symphony Chorus; Dominante; Helsinki Chamber Choir; Alumni of the Choir of Clare College Cambridge; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Nicholas Collon - Edward Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius

�This is the best of me� wrote Edward Elgar in 1900 at the end of the manuscript of The Dream of Gerontius. This impressive and modern new recording of Elgar�s magnum opus by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Nicholas Collon features alongside mezzo-soprano Christine Rice, tenor John Findon and baritone Roderick Williams, singers from five different choirs: Helsinki Music Centre Choir, Cambridge University Symphony Chorus, Dominante, Helsinki Chamber Choir and Alumni of the Choir of Clare College Cambridge. The Dream of Gerontius is a setting of extracts from the visionary poem of the same title by John Henry Newman (1801�90), a leading theologian and academic at Oxford University, as well as a priest. Newman was made a Cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879, beatified in 2010 by Benedict XIV and canonised by Pope Francis nine years later. Although Elgar�s brilliant The Dream of Gerontius did not prove an untrammelled success at its premiere in October 1900 � conductor Hans Richter only received the score the day before the first orchestral rehearsal � the critics and many professional musicians heard enough to realise that it was a work of genius. Two well-prepared performances in Germany proved that Gerontius was a fine work � and mightily impressed Richard Strauss, no less � and the London premiere in 1903 started to secure its reputation at home. Eventually, The Dream of Gerontius ascended to its rightful place as a major work of European art and one of the greatest works written by Elgar.