While Elgar's Gerontius may be an unlikely star of Alan Bennett's The Choral, the work hardly requires a popularity boost. Gardner's vibrant new recording stands as among several issued in the past 24 months, with an additional one expected early next year.
Recorded live at the 2022 BBC Proms, the propulsive reading boasts a lot going for it. Clayton portrays the feverish essence of the dying man whose every sensation is simultaneously a terror and a intrigue. His heroic voice thrills in the magnificent prayer, Sanctus Fortis, while an emotional handling of text highlights the philosophical question and answer session in Part Two. Jamie Barton's luxurious voice has a palpable presence as well as offering plentiful resources of comfort. Platt's craggy bass voice is ideally matched to the Angel of the Agony.
Gardner is intensely theatrical, conveying the narrative with an almost operatic boldness. The London Philharmonic performs as if a group of evil spirits was at its heels, paralleled by the combined forces of the London Philharmonic and Hallé choruses. Here and there, the acoustic deprives the recording of the last ounce of directness, but all in all it's a fine achievement to rank with Collon's gripping Finnish version issued earlier this year.
