| Thursday 29 January 2026 | 19:30 |
| Elgar, Sir Edward (1857-1934) | The Kingdom - oratorio for soloists chorus and orchestra, Op.51 |
| Francesca Chiejina | Soprano |
| Dame Sarah Connolly | Mezzo-soprano |
| Benjamin Hulett | Tenor |
| Ashley Riches | Baritone |
| Crouch End Festival Chorus | |
| Hertfordshire Chorus | |
| London Orchestra da Camera | |
| David Temple | Conductor |
The Kingdom - Elgar’s masterpiece
The extent to which The Kingdom resides under the shadow of Elgar’s much-loved The Dream of Gerontius is clear from its comparatively infrequent performances and fewer recordings.
However, David Temple firmly believes that, with its beautiful, gentle conversational sections, astonishing dramatic passages and iridescent colours, The Kingdom is Elgar’s best choral work. His conversion happened gradually, and he is now so taken with the work that he struggles to find any fault with it at all: ‘It is a gem from the first note to the last!’.
His desire to share this glorious music as widely as possible has led to his recent recording with Crouch End Festival Chorus for Signum Classics (a Gramophone Editor’s Choice) and, of course, to this performance.
Joining Crouch End Festival Chorus and Hertfordshire Chorus are the four wonderful soloists from that recording: soprano Francesca Chiejina, mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, tenor Benjamin Hulett and baritone Ashley Riches.
