Gramophone Magazine
June 2025
Editor's Choice

Francesca Chiejina (soprano), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo), Benjamin Hulett (tenor), Ashley Riches (bass-baritone)

London Mozart Players, Crouch End Festival Chorus, David Temple

Elgar’s unjustly neglected ‘greatest choral masterpiece’ (Jeremy Dibble) is given an outstanding new recording by conductor David Temple, Crouch End Festival Chorus, London Mozart Players, and soloists Francesca Chiejina, Dame Sarah Connolly, Benjamin Hulett and Ashley Riches. Composed in 1906 after The Dream of Gerontius and The Apostles, The Kingdom depicts the lives of Christ’s disciples and the community of the early church with a mixture of gentle conversational sections and astonishing dramatic passages. Recorded in the recently restored Victorian Theatre at Alexandra Palace, its fluid musical narrative is both arresting and profoundly moving. Echoing Sir Adrian Boult, David Temple considers the oratorio to be Elgar’s pinnacle achievement. ‘I truly believe The Kingdom to be Elgar’s greatest choral work. It is a gem from the first note to the last.’

"Not the least of its virtues is the sterling contribution of the Crouch End Festival Chorus, whose members (one fleeting moment of strain aside) respond with a full-throated ardour and watchful sensitivity that stir the emotions to the manner born." - Gramophone Magazine, June 2025