Frederic Walter Gadsby et al. in Huddersfield - 9 April, 1945, at night

from "The Dream of Gerontius", Elgar's opus 38: Vivid memories from April 1945:

April this year [2015] marked the 70th anniversary of the recording in Huddersfield Town Hall of the ‘Dream’, an occasion I witnessed at first hand. Could an 8-year old claim to have appreciated what was going on, and how much is it a genuine memory or later study? I confirm how I was deeply moved - this guaranteeing for me what I genuinely recall. I experienced a spiritual wakening at the choir’s affirmation of …   more >>

cite as

Ted Gadsby, "The Dream of Gerontius", Elgar's opus 38: Vivid memories from April 1945. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1437989869709 accessed: 29 March, 2024

location of experience: Huddersfield

Listeners

Listening to

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The Dream of Gerontius
written by Edward Elgar
performed by Gladys Ripley, Malcolm Sargent, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Heddle Nash, The Huddersfield Choral Society, Norman Walker, Dennis Noble

Experience Information

Date/Time 9 April, 1945, at night
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Notes

The recording took place between 8th and 13th April 1945, with the mornings devoted to the principals & orchestra and the evenings also with the choir present. There were some 130 members of the Huddersfield Choral Society and 75 players of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. From the recording schedule and subsequent reports, Ted has ascertained that he was present on the Monday evening (9th April, 1835-2135h), witnessing “Praise to the Holiest” (side 19), “Be merciful, O Lord” (22) and Gerontius’s cry “Take Me Away” (23). Both the Huddersfield Choral Society and The Elgar Society kindly opened their archives. Some principal references are: • Alec Robertson review, The Gramophone, June 1945. • Jerrold Northrop Moore (of 1975 LP) review and Alan Blyth (of 1993 CD) review (both drawing out the late-wartime juxtaposition of many real-life exhausted souls, comparing to that of Gerontius), Testamant CD booklet 1994. • “The Nightmare of Gerontius” by Carl Newton, Elgar Society Journal, July 1997, vol.10 no.2 pp.74-89.


Originally submitted by hgb3 on Mon, 27 Jul 2015 10:37:49 +0100