FULL THE KINGDOM (Elgar) Sydney 2026 Brea Holland, Christina Pilgrim, Patricia Turner, Beth Redwood

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: THE KINGDOM  
• Composer: Elgar Edward  
• Libretto:
• Venue & Opera Company: University of Sydney’s Great Hall, Sydney, Australia, Pacific Opera Studio  
• Recorded: April 4, 2026
• Type: Concert Live
• Singers: Brea Holland, Christina Pilgrim, Patricia Turner, Beth Redwood, Amelia Bland, Angelique Tot, Christopher Whalley, Michael Kaufmann, Zachary Ahrens, James Pinneri
• Conductor: Luke Spicer  
• Orchestra: Sydney University Symphony Orchestra  
• Stage Director:   
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: Sydney University Symphony Orchestra  
• Date Published: 2026  
• Format: Streaming
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: yessubs, ensubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  The Kingdom, Op. 51, is an English-language oratorio by Edward Elgar. It is written for four soloists – soprano, contralto, tenor and bass – choir and large orchestra. The work was first performed at the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival on 3 October 1906. It continues the narrative of the lives of Christ’s disciples begun in his earlier oratorio, The Apostles. It depicts the community of the early church, Pentecost, and the events of the next few days.

  Following The Dream of Gerontius and The Apostles, the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival commissioned Elgar to produce another large choral and orchestral work for the 1906 festival. As a schoolboy he had been impressed by his teacher’s vivid exposition of the character of the apostles; he recalled:

  Addressing his pupils [his teacher] once remarked, “The Apostles were poor men, young men, at the time of their calling: perhaps before the descent of the Holy Ghost no cleverer than some of you here”. This set me thinking … I have been thinking about it since boyhood, and have been selecting the words for years, many years.
  As an adult he conceived the idea of a work depicting the Apostles as ordinary men, reacting to extraordinary events. His biographer Percy Young has commented that if Elgar had been a German he would have realised the idea in the form of Musikdrama but “being an Englishman he conceived a work of this magnitude according to the prescriptions of oratorio”. The critic W. J. Turner wrote, “Unlike The Dream of Gerontius, which is definitely Catholic, The Kingdom has no sectarian bias but is broadly Christian.

  Elgar’s ideas outgrew the confines of a single work: parts of The Kingdom were written before The Apostles, and Elgar conceived the two works as the first parts of a trilogy. The Kingdom is, in effect, its slow movement. The analyst Byron Adams has called it “this most contemplative of Elgar’s mature oratorios” The projected third part, The Last Judgement, was never completed, and Elgar repurposed some of his sketches for it in other scores.[5] The general conception of The Kingdom began to take shape as early as 1882, while Elgar was organist at St George’s Church, Worcester. Themes sketched for his early choral works were used in The Apostles and The Kingdom. The music for the Lord’s Prayer at the end of The Kingdom comes from a sketch-book of 1902 between drafts for “Land of Hope and Glory” and the Op. 45 part songs.[2] Elgar’s friend W. H. Reed wrote, “The Kingdom followed on naturally from The Apostles, the same themes being used in carrying out the somewhat elastic Leitmotiv system of characterization, new themes being introduced and the working out of these themes being treated in accordance with his text”

  Synopsis
  The duration of the work is about 1 hour and 45 minutes.[8] It is in five parts, and is preceded by a prelude. Each part is played without a break. Elgar specified that if a break were required in mid-work it should come between parts III and IV.[8] Words were selected by the composer from the Acts of the Apostles, supplemented by material mainly from the Gospels.[9]

  I. In the Upper Room. The disciples meet and the new Apostle, Matthias, is chosen.
  II. At the Beautiful Gate. The two Marys remember Jesus’s actions in the temple.
  III. Pentecost. The disciples are visited by the Holy Spirit and preach to the multitudes.
  IV. The Sign of Healing. Peter and John heal the lame man and are imprisoned.
  V. The Upper Room. Peter and John have been released; the disciples break bread and sing the Lord’s Prayer.
  As in Elgar’s other mature oratorios, the Prelude introduces the main musical themes and sets the mood. The music is lyrical and mystical, with less narrative drive than in The Apostles. Among its best-known moments are the depiction of Pentecost, Mary’s aria The sun goeth down, and the setting of the Lord’s Prayer.

  Quoted from Wikipedia

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