Theology applied to music : the Dream of Gerontius revisited

Abstract

The theme of Cardinal John Henry Newman’s The Dream of Gerontius is the Roman Catholic theology of death and the redemption of a sinner. It is a respectable piece of writing in poetical language, numerously reprinted and translated in French and German. It formed the basis of Edward Elgar’s libretto and music bearing the same title as Newman’s work. The scope of this article is to explore the relationship of Elgar’s to Newman’s vision as interpreted in his libretto and choral composition. The article concludes by placing Newman’s work in the context of the history of musicology.