On Saturday 8 October, the Parliament Choir have been invited to perform Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in San Paolo Fuori le Mura, the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The invitation was extended following a moving performance that was given by the Parliament Choir and the Southbank Sinfonia at Westminster Cathedral in November 2019. But philanthropic sponsorship is still needed to make the dream become Vatican reality. 

Edward Elgar – regarded as perhaps the greatest Catholic composer of the 20th century – composed The Dream of Gerontius work in 1900, from the poem written by Saint John Henry Newman in 1865. This great poetic work shows man’s journey from death through Purgatory and thence to Paradise, and to God. The poem accompanies the main character as he nears his earthly end and then reawakens as a soul, preparing for judgement, following one of the most important events any human can experience: death.

The canonisation of Newman was a significant moment for Catholics in the United Kingdom and so it was therefore timely for the Parliament Choir to originally perform The Dream of Gerontius a month after Newman was canonised. The work has only once been performed in Rome, in 1957, and there has been a growing desire for it to be performed in the Vatican following St Henry Newman’s canonisation. The Westminster Cathedral performance attracted the attention of the then British ambassador to the Holy See, and the aim had been to perform in Italy a year later to mark the canonisation anniversary, but it had to be postponed due to the recent pandemic. The Vatican performance is now planned for 8 October, eve of Newman’s feast day.

Leading the planning for this unique event has been the Parliament Choir’s director of music and conductor, Simon Over. Simon, who founded the Parliament Choir with Lord Filkin over 20 years ago, will be bringing together some 250 choir members, including members of parliament and staff from the Palace of Westminster, with additional guests from other choirs. 

“The Dream of Gerontius is not only Elgar’s finest choral work and a masterpiece, but it also is additionally memorable because of Newman’s poignant words,” says Mr Over. “What a special privilege it will be to perform on the eve of the Feast Day of St John Henry Newman this coming October, in the burial place of St Paul, to provide living witness to the written work of Newman’s great text and introduce it to a wider community.”

He singled out “special thanks” to Cardinal Harvey, with the blessing of Cardinal Ravasi (president of the Pontifical Council for Culture) for the invitation. “Bringing a great English work with a much-loved Catholic text to the Vatican will attract significant attention and deliver great impact,” he said.

Yet there is a hurdle still to be overcome. The performance requires significant musical forces – a double choir, an orchestra and soloists – and will only be able to go ahead if the choir and the orchestra can generate additional financial resources to undertake the work. The Parliament Choir needs to find an additional £100,000 by Easter if it is to fulfil this request. The choir is anxious to perform this work to an audience in the Vatican to demonstrate the huge significance of Newman’s words, which are not well known in Rome. This inspirational work had a profound emotional impact on me as a singer in the Westminster Cathedral performance. I hope we can bring such spiritual understanding to an audience in Rome, but that is very much in the balance as we seek the financial resource to complete our plans.

From rehearsals in the chapel of St Mary’s Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster, the Parliament Choir, a charity, has grown over the years to become a special entity under the direct auspices of the Speaker and the Lord Speaker. 

The Parliament Choir unites MPs, peers and those working in parliament  from all political backgrounds to join in harmony and share the common love of choral singing. Now more than ever, recent times have shown the importance and power of music and poetry on our emotional and spiritual wellbeing and how in difficult times, a sharing spirit can transcend borders, showing warmth, collaboration and support across communities and countries in solidarity and togetherness.

Supporting the Parliament Choir will be some Italian musicians and the Southbank Sinfonia, an orchestra of young, hugely talented professionals and internationally recognised as a leading orchestral academy. Each year it brings together 33 of the world’s most promising graduate musicians to provide a springboard into the profession, performing with leading arts organisations such as the Royal Opera and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the National Theatre. 

When Sir John Barbirolli conducted Part 1 of Gerontius in the presence of Pope Pius XII at Castel Gandolfo, only a few days before one Pope’s death, the words of the dying man were “Figlio mio, questo e un capolavoro sublime” – “My son, that is a sublime masterpiece.” CH

Lord German is the Lords Spokesperson for Rehabilitation, Probation and Prison Reform. He is chair of the Parliament Choir. Any philanthropists or donors who would like to assist should contact the choir’s director of music at [email protected]

This article first appeared in the March 2022 issue of the Catholic Herald. Subscribe today.

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