Newman's poem tells the story of a soul's journey through death. It is thinking about the unseen world of Roman Catholic theology. The name Gerontius comes from the Greek word "geron", "old man". The name "Gerontius" is not sung in the work, and not everyone agrees on how it is pronounced. The Greek "geron" has a hard 'g' (like in “grass”), but English words that come from it often have a soft 'g', as in "geriatriac". Elgar did not use all the words of Newman’s poem. He leaves out a lot of the meditations in Part 2 which would otherwise have made it very long.
In the first part, we hear Gerontius who is very faithful to God. Sometimes he is frightened but at other times he is hopeful. A group of friends (also called "assistants" in the text) joins him in prayer and meditation. He passes in peace, and a priest, with the assistants, say farewell as he sets off on his journey. In the second part, Gerontius, now called "The Soul", wakes up in a place apparently without space or time, and becomes aware that his guardian angel is there. She is happy that her task (bringing Gerontius to God) is done (the angel in Newman’s poem is male, but Elgar makes the angel female, giving the part to a female singer). They have a long conversation after which they journey to the throne of judgement. They have to pass the demons. They meet a choir of angels who are praising god. The Angel of the Agony pleads with Jesus to spare the souls of the faithful. Finally Gerontius briefly sees God and is judged in a single moment. The Guardian Angel lowers Gerontius into the soothing lake of Purgatory, gives him a final blessing and promises him he will wake up in glory.
Elgar scored the work for a large orchestra which includes, besides the usual instruments, piccolo, cor anglais, contrabassoon, harp and organ.
Although people usually describe it as an oratorio, it is not an oratorio in the traditional sense: there are no breaks in the music (except between the two parts), and it does not tell a story from the Bible.
The music is written in a late Romantic style which is clearly inspired by Wagner, especially by his opera Parsifal. The opening of “The Dream of Gerontius” is a long orchestral introduction which uses themes that are going to be important in the work. The music of the character Gerontius is sometimes in speech rhythm (similar to recitative) but often very lyrical. Elgar moves quickly from one style to the other. The chorus provide a wonderful reflection on what is happening. The chorus of angels singing “Praise to the Holiest in the Height” is particularly beautiful. The chorus of demons is very difficult to sing.
Birmingham Town Hall
Birmingham Town Hall is a Grade I listed building for concerts and meetings in Victoria Square, Birmingham 1, England. It was built as a home for the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival which had started in 1784 in order to raise money for a hospital.
Between 2002 and 2008, it was refurbished into a concert hall and is now used for many different kinds of performances such as organ recitals, rock, pop and classical concerts and events such as graduation ceremonies for Aston University. It has a famous pipe organ which has 90 stops.
Chloë Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz (born February 10, 1997) in Atlanta, Georgia is an American model and actress. She lived until 2002 in Cartersville, Georgia, when she moved to New York City. Moretz has four older brothers: Trevor, Brandon, Colin, and Ethan. Her father, McCoy Moretz, is a plastic surgeon. Her mother, Teri Duke Moretz, is a nurse. Her acting career began in 2004. She has performed in many movies and television programs. These include "Desperate Housewives", "30 Rock", "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" , "Kick-Ass" and "Dark Shadows". Moretz got worldwide recognition for "Kick-Ass" as the character Mindy Macready (Hit-Girl). In 2013 Moretz played Carrie White in "Carrie". She was the main character in a movie for the first time.
Hex editor
A Hex editor is a piece of software that allows one to edit binary data on a computer. The name comes from the fact that such data is usually represented as hexadecimal numbers.
List of rivers of Suriname
This is a list of rivers in Suriname. This list is arranged by where the river drains. Tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name.
List of rivers of Sweden
This is a list of the rivers of Sweden.
with Svartån
A-Z of Swedish rivers. The lengths in miles are also given:
List of rivers of Switzerland
The following is a list of rivers in Switzerland.
(> 100 km, only the length in Switzerland):
Switzerland is drained into four directions:
Some rivers (like the Danube) do not flow through Switzerland themselves. They are list for having Swiss tributaries. They are given in "italics".
Aar, Albula, Allaine, Arve, Birs, Birsig, Breggia, Broye, Diveria, Doubs, Drance, Emme, Hinterrhein, Inn, Julia, Kander, Kleine Emme, Landquart, Limmat, Linth, Lonza, Lütschine, Maggia, Mera, Orbe, Poschiavino, Reuss, Rhine, Rhône, Rom, Saane/Sarine, Sihl, Simme, Thielle, Thur, Ticino, Töss, Tresa, Venoge, Vispa, Vorderrhein, Wiese.
List of rivers of Syria
This is a list of rivers of Syria. Tributaries are listed under the river into which they flow.
List of rivers of Tanzania
This is a list of rivers in Tanzania. They are arranged by where the rivers flows. Tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name.
A list by letters is given at the bottom of the article.
Great Ruaha River
Kagera River - Kalambo River
Malagarasi River - Manonga River - Mara River
Rufiji River - Rurubu River - Ruvuma River - Ruvyironza River
Semu River - Sibiti River
Umba River (Tanzania)
Wami River - Wembere River
List of rivers of Togo
This is a list of streams and rivers in Togo. Togo's longest river is the Mono River.
List of rivers of Trinidad and Tobago
This is a list of rivers of Trinidad and Tobago. Tributaries are indented under each larger stream's name.
List of rivers of Turkey
This is a list of the rivers of Turkey.
List of rivers of Turkmenistan
This is a list of rivers of Turkmenistan. They are arranged by where the river flows.
List of rivers of Uganda
This is a list of streams and rivers in Uganda
Achwa River
Kabi River - Kagera River - Katonga River - Kazinga Channel - Kidepo River
Lamia River - Lugogo River
Mayanja River
Nile River - Nkusi River
Okot River - Ora River
Pager River
Victoria Nile
White Nile
List of rivers of Ukraine
This is a list of the major rivers that flow through Ukraine. Ukraine, a country on the continent of Europe, has many rivers. The most notable rivers of Ukraine include the: Danube, Dnieper, and the Dniester.
"Note: The following rivers are listed from west to east. Rivers listed in bold are either major rivers, or near or about 1,000 km. long.
Alma • Bazavluk • Bilozerka • Bug River • Byk • Bystrytsia • Cheremosh • Chorna • Danube • Desna • Dnieper • Dniester • Horyn • Inhul • Inhulets • Irpin
Kalchik • Kalmius • Kharkiv • Konka • Latoritsia • Lybid • Mius • Molochna • Oster • Poltva • Prut • Psel • Romen • Ros'
Salhir • Samara • San • Seret • Seversky Donets • Seym • Sluch • Snov • Southern Bug • Stryi • Stuhna • Styr • Sudost • Sula • Supiy
Teteriv • Tiasmyn • Trubizh • Tysmenytsia • Uchan-su • Uzh (Ukraine, Slovakia) • Uzh River (Northern Ukraine) • Vorskla • Vovk • Zolota Lypa • Zbruch
List of rivers of the United Kingdom
For details of rivers of the United Kingdom, see
List of main rivers of England
This is a list of rivers of England. It includes all the main rivers, but usually not the tributaries
This section includes all rivers entering the Irish Sea from England between the Scottish border and the Welsh border.
All rivers going into the Solway Firth, Irish Sea and Morecambe Bay from the Scottish border south to Silverdale on the Cumbria/Lancashire border.
Border Esk catchment