Sunday, May 11, 1941
In what appears to have been the final concert event of this season at Queen’s Hall on upper Regents Street, the Royal Choral Society gave a performance of Edward Elgar’s “Dream of Gerontius” yesterday afternoon. The London Symphony Orchestra participated under the baton of Sir Malcolm Sargent. Noted tenor Webster Booth sang the part of Gerontius with flair and passion “ we can only hope he is given the opportunity to record this work one day in a more auspicious future. The performance also featured the magnificent contralto Muriel Brunskill as the Angel and bass Ronald Stear as the Soul of Gerontius in the other soloist roles. The performance was a notable event in the concert series, and much anticipated by audiences from both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds.
Based on a poem by Cardinal John Newman, the oratorio is in two parts, often presented without an interval. When first premiered in 1900 at the Birmingham Festival, this work was underestimated by its directors and thus presented sadly under-rehearsed. Ironically, considering current circumstances, the second performance, in Dusseldorf in 1901, was a great sucess. Elgar considered “Gerontius” the finest of his compositions, and time has proven him correct. The symphony was particularly well-prepared for this performance, making a particularly splendid go of the Demons’ Chorus. The choral society also made a proud showing, particularly appreciated in this time of tension. “An excellent performance,” said attendee and social lion Abraxius Malfoy. “Elgar has always been a personal favourite of mine.”
Another concertgoer, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, stated, “Ordinarily I prefer chamber music to oratorios, but for this particular work, by this particular composer, I am willing to make an exception.” Professor Dumbledore was looking particularly stylish yesterday evening in robes of purple with aquamarine piping “ quite the fashion statement amidst the more understated wartime finery of most of the audience.
Elgar’s work tells the story of Gerontius, an ordinary man facing death with alternating trepidation and confidence. When he passes on he is guided by an angel and brought eventually to Purgatory, where he is left to await his rebirth into glory. The work presents a compassionate and forgiving afterlife. Presumably a British follower of Grindelwald has a nasty sense of humour.
About 11 pm, under cover of a five-hour Luftwaffe attack, the Queens Hall was struck with a particularly nasty version of the Incendio Curse, lodging a fireball between the slate roof and its supports and consigning the Hall to a fiery end. Attempts to extinguish the blaze, by two fire-watchers and a single hose, were initially believed successful, but the roof re-ignited. The London Fire Service had a great many conflagrations to attend to, and did not arrive on the scene until 2 am, but as there was no water available for two more hours, and as the blaze was magical, not mundane, in origin, their presence accomplished little. By 7 am Queens Hall was entirely gutted, now resembling Roman ruins rather than the acoustic marvel it once had been. One can only assume this is a violent objection to the joint leasing of the hall by Muggle publishing’s Chappelle and Co. and the Wizarding investment company Tofty and Schmidt. The firing of the hall under such cover bespeaks an arsonist both timorous and petty.
The official Muggle account of the night’s disasters claims this was “the Luftwaffe’s final fling before its journey to “ or towards “ Moscow. For five moonlit hours, over three hundred bombers dropped great numbers of incendiaries and high explosives, causing a serious fire situation, setting a new record for casualty figures (1436 killed and 1792 injured) and doing great damage to public buildings. The House of Commons chamber was destroyed. Westminster Abbey was hit, so were the British Museum, the Law Courts, the War Office, the Mint, the Mansion House and the Tower. Five of the Halls of the City Companies were destroyed and many famous churches damaged.” We can only hope that Grindelwald and his minions will also turn his attention toward Moscow “ and may they break their teeth on it.
The performers can now claim the sad distinction of participating in the final concert at Queen’s Hall. At least the venue’s funeral was marked with music both appropriate and excellent. We can only hope that after the Paradise of performance and the short time of Inferno the hall itself will also enjoy a rebirth into glory, rebuilt with its excellent acoustics intact, at the first opportunity, and in the meantime wish it a peaceful rest in Purgatory as it awaits its judgement.
The Promenade concert series is expected to relocate to the Royal Albert Hall on the south side of Kensington Gardens for this season, according to Proms director Sir Henry Wood.
-- Filed by Imelda Skeeter, society reporter and music reviewer, Daily Prophet