This live recording of The Dream of Gerontius is a vibrant new interpretation by the young British conductor Nicholas Collon. Well known as the founder and Principal Conductor of the Aurora Orchestra, he has also filled the role of Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (widely regarded as the finest in Finland) since 2021. The orchestra is joined, furthermore, by a combination of Finnish choirs – the Helsinki Music Centre Choir, Dominante and the Helsinki Chamber Choir – and two choirs from Cambridge (Collon’s old stamping ground), the Cambridge University Symphony Chorus and Alumni of the Choir of Clare College. The combined chorus, who play such a vibrant and diverse role in Elgar’s oratorio, acquit themselves with aplomb throughout – the diction is commendable for the most part, as is the clarity of tone, blend and intonation.

The ‘motet’ style of the ‘Kyrie eleison’ is conveyed with a compelling stillness and the resolute march ‘Go forth in the name’ is sung with appropriate vigour. The demonic fugue (potentially the weakest part of the work if not communicated with genuine malevolence) is rendered with gusto, helped by some energetic playing from the virtuoso orchestra and a clear recorded sound (where nasal muted brass, multiple divided strings and the cavernous low range of the double bassoon come through splendidly). The Chorus of Angels (‘Praise to the Holiest’), the longest choral phase in the work, can in some performances drag and seem too long, but here Collon lends it a real sense of momentum with a range of graded dynamics and rhythmical drive. Its conclusion is ecstatic in volume and elation.

The soloists also capture the bittersweet, searingly romantic atmosphere of Newman’s poem and the Wagnerian substance of Elgar’s dramatic score. Occasionally, perhaps, the lyrical phases of Gerontius’s pleading might have been a little more limpid, but John Findon makes up for this with the more passionate operatic dimension of the central character, not least with his powerful but unforced cri de coeur ‘Take me away’ after the terrible glimpse of the Creator. Christine Rice’s sonorous contralto is a captivating and sympathetic Angel in Part 2 (her ‘love duet’ with Gerontius is enthralling): her preludial material to the Angels’ Chorus has real pathos (particularly the ‘Novissima hora est’ music with the solo cellos), as do her valedictory words in the oratorio’s heartbreaking finale (‘Softly and gently’). The shorter roles for the baritone are no less significant in their impact; Roderick Williams’s resonant baritone imparts priestly authority in the funeral procession ‘Proficiscere anima Christiana’ and there is a palpable ambience of Tristanesque tragedy in his portrayal of the Angel of the Agony.

This is a captivating recording of a complex score in which the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra justify their reputation. I hope Collon will do more Elgar and perhaps even some other big British choral scores by Parry, Stanford and Vaughan Williams, as we could be in for some real treats.