Although Elgar's Gerontius could be the surprising focus of Alan Bennett's The Choral, this work hardly needs a popularity boost. Gardner's lively latest album is one of three released in the last two years, with an additional one due in January.
Recorded in a live setting at the 2022 BBC Proms, the propulsive performance has a great deal in its favor. Clayton portrays the feverish nature of the dying man whose each feeling is both a fear and a intrigue. His valiant tone thrills in the magnificent prayer, Holy and Strong, while an expressive use of lyrics highlights the thought-provoking question and answer session in Part Two. Barton's luxurious voice possesses a tangible immediacy as well as providing ample reserves of solace. James Platt's craggy bass voice is well-suited to the angel character.
Gardner is intensely dramatic, conveying the story with an almost opera-like audacity. The London Philharmonic performs as if a chorus of demons was at its heels, paralleled by the joint forces of the London Philharmonic and Hallé choirs. Here and there, the acoustic robs the performance of the final bit of immediacy, but overall it's a fine accomplishment to rank with Nicholas Collon's gripping Finnish account released in recent months.
