If ever a piece of music has proved its doubters wrong, it would have to be Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. Despite a disastrous initial performance in Birmingham in 1900, this extraordinary setting of Cardinal John Henry Newman’s poem has gone on to win the hearts of listeners globally.

Initially reviled as doubly dangerous because it mixed depictions of the contentious Catholic netherworld of purgatory together with a groundbreaking Wagnerian approach to oratorio, the sheer conviction of Elgar’s vision was soon championed by no less a figure than Richard Strauss.

Nearly 125 years later, this masterpiece has transcended its partisan religious and musical origins, speaking more broadly to the universal fragility of the human condition with its dread of mortality and its longing for reconciliation. Elgar’s skill in moving so fluidly between the stark intimacy of death and the awe-inspiring realms of heaven make this work a singularly moving experience. 

The grand scale of Gerontius is a perfect match for Paul McCreesh, now a seasoned purveyor of sonic spectaculars. He certainly does not...