The Church of Divine Peace, Istanbul
Gerontius: John Aler; The Angel: Jean Rigby; The Priest & The Angel of the Agony: Alan Opie.
Postscript: probably influenced by the ‘Prelude & Liebestod’ from Wagner’s Tristan, Elgar arranged that the ‘Prelude & Angel’s Farewell’ from Gerontius (with or without the singer) could be played as a short concert item. On the following YT entry, an attempt has been made to replicate Elgar’s bookend intentions using the above Slatkin-conducted performance. Extracting from a complete rendition means the Angel-singer (here, Jean Rigby) remains, which Elgar gives as an option, but also the choir, which he does not. So, we need a new recording of these composer co-joined excerpts – preferably for orchestra alone to give a different aural perspective to the ‘Farewell’.