On 29 September 1958 John Barbirolli conducted Part 1 of Gerontius with the Dublin Choir in the presence of Pope Pius XII at Castel Gandolfo, only a few days before the Pope's death. 'I have often wondered', he wrote, 'what the feelings of Newman and Elgar would be if they could know that the last music [the Pope] heard had been Elgar's setting of Newman's words "Go forth upon thy journey, Christian soul". As Barbirolli knelt before him, the Pope said: 'Figlio mio, questo e un capolavoro sublime' ('My son, that is a sublime masterpiece'). The header photo shows Sir John Barbirolli recording The Dream of Gerontius in 1964 in the Free Trade Hall , Manchester. No CD collection is complete without Barbirolli's Manchester account or Benjamin Britten's version which was recorded in Snape Maltings , the latter is now, thankfully, back in the catalogue - grab it while you can. Also noteworthy is the recent first-ever CD release ...
Comments
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-447427/Walkers-win-right-roam-Englands-entire-coastline.html
If this was a free event it would be a different matter. But £75 to sit on a bench....
Best wishes
Mike Hatch