The Apostles (Elgar)
Encyclopedia
The Apostles, Op. 49, is an oratorio
for soloists, chorus
and orchestra
composed by Edward Elgar
. It was first performed on 14 October 1903.
and The Dream of Gerontius
, and was encouraged by a commission from the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
(which had also produced Gerontius) to compose the large work he had long been contemplating. He said he had been thinking about the topic, and selecting the words, since boyhood. The Apostles, like its successor The Kingdom
, depicts the disciples of Jesus
and their reactions to the extraordinary events surrounding them.
It is a narrative work, dealing with the calling of the Apostles and their experiences of Jesus’ preaching, crucifixion
(which is not directly depicted), and ascension. The Kingdom would carry the story onward. Elgar was more interested in human motivations than philosophical underpinnings, and the most memorable characters in the work are the two sinners Mary Magdalene
and Judas Iscariot
.
Elgar's conception outgrew the confines of a single work: The Kingdom was first conceived as the last part of The Apostles, but later Elgar considered them as the first two parts of a trilogy
. In any case, the projected third part was never written.
The German translation and the German premiere were both the work of the conductor Julius Buths
.
, of typical late Romantic proportions, with the addition of a shofar
(usually substituted by a more conventional instrument, such as a flugelhorn
), which announces the dawn. There is a double chorus
with semichorus, and six solo singers
representing:
- Blessed Virgin / Angel Gabriel
(soprano
)
- Mary Magdalene
(contralto)
- St John
/ Narrator (tenor
)
- St Peter
(bass)
- Jesus
(bass)
- Judas
(bass)
and Apocrypha
.
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
for soloists, chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
composed by Edward Elgar
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
. It was first performed on 14 October 1903.
Overview
Elgar had experienced international success with the Enigma VariationsEnigma Variations
Variations on an Original Theme for orchestra , Op. 36, commonly referred to as the Enigma Variations, is a set of a theme and its fourteen variations written for orchestra by Edward Elgar in 1898–1899. It is Elgar's best-known large-scale composition, for both the music itself and the...
and The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius
The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment before God and settling into Purgatory...
, and was encouraged by a commission from the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival
The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, in Birmingham, England, founded in 1784, was the longest-running classical music festival of its kind. Its last performance was in 1912.-History:...
(which had also produced Gerontius) to compose the large work he had long been contemplating. He said he had been thinking about the topic, and selecting the words, since boyhood. The Apostles, like its successor The Kingdom
The Kingdom (Elgar)
The Kingdom, Op. 51, is an oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra composed by Edward Elgar.It was first performed at the Birmingham Music Festival on 3 October 1906, with the orchestra conducted by the composer, and soloists Agnes Nicholls, Muriel Foster, John Coates and William Higley. The...
, depicts the disciples of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and their reactions to the extraordinary events surrounding them.
It is a narrative work, dealing with the calling of the Apostles and their experiences of Jesus’ preaching, crucifixion
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
(which is not directly depicted), and ascension. The Kingdom would carry the story onward. Elgar was more interested in human motivations than philosophical underpinnings, and the most memorable characters in the work are the two sinners Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
and Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
.
Elgar's conception outgrew the confines of a single work: The Kingdom was first conceived as the last part of The Apostles, but later Elgar considered them as the first two parts of a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
. In any case, the projected third part was never written.
The German translation and the German premiere were both the work of the conductor Julius Buths
Julius Buths
Julius Buths was a German pianist, conductor and minor composer. He was particularly notable in his early championing of the works of Edward Elgar in Germany. He conducted the continental European premieres of both the Enigma Variations and The Dream of Gerontius...
.
Performers
The Apostles is written for a large orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, of typical late Romantic proportions, with the addition of a shofar
Shofar
A shofar is a horn, traditionally that of a ram, used for Jewish religious purposes. Shofar-blowing is incorporated in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.Shofar come in a variety of sizes.- Bible and rabbinic literature :...
(usually substituted by a more conventional instrument, such as a flugelhorn
Flugelhorn
The flugelhorn is a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but with a wider, conical bore. Some consider it to be a member of the saxhorn family developed by Adolphe Sax ; however, other historians assert that it derives from the valve bugle designed by Michael Saurle , Munich 1832 , thus...
), which announces the dawn. There is a double chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
with semichorus, and six solo singers
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
representing:
- Blessed Virgin / Angel Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
(soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
)
- Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
(contralto)
- St John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
/ Narrator (tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
)
- St Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
(bass)
- Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
(bass)
- Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
(bass)
Synopsis
The work is in two parts and seven sections, each played without a break. Words were selected by Elgar from the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
and Apocrypha
Apocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
.
- (Part 1) "The Calling of the Apostles". The music begins just before dawn; the sun rises, and one by one the Apostles are chosen.
- "By the Wayside". This depicts Jesus' teaching, and particularly evokes the BeatitudesBeatitudesIn Christianity, the Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus that appear in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The term Beatitude comes from the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful....
. - "By the Sea of Galilee". Crossing the sea is incidental; Mary Magdalene is the focus here. After a stormy night scene, her conversion is portrayed, and the scene moves to Caesarea PhilippiBaniasBanias is an archaeological site by the ancient city of Caesarea Philippi, located at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights...
and CapernaumCapernaumCapernaum was a fishing village in the time of the Hasmoneans. Located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other...
. The scene is followed by a choral epilogue, "Turn ye to the stronghold," added late in the composition of the piece. - (Part 2) "The Betrayal". Although it follows the PassionPassion (Christianity)The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
narrative, the section is chiefly concerned with the character and motivation of Judas. He is shown as trying to maneuver Jesus so that he is forced to show his divine power and establish his kingdom. The events of the trial and condemnation happen "off-stage", with occasional contributions by the chorus (in the roles of singers in the temple and the mob). In the end Judas gives way to despair. - "Golgotha". The scene of the crucifixion is, in Elgar's words, "a mere sketch". Jesus' dying words "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani" are declaimed by the orchestra alone; after which the chorus respond pianissimo, "Truly this was the son of God".
- "At the Sepulchre". The story of the Resurrection is briefly told by the narrator and a chorus of angels, in a blissful, spring-like interlude.
- "The Ascension". The miracle is almost incidental; the point is that the Apostles, though here joining in praise with the angels, are about to establish the church on earth. This idea informs the final climax of the work, scored for the full forces of soloists, chorus and orchestra.