Edward Elgar’s “Give unto the Lord”: St Paul’s Cathedral 1982 (Barry Rose)

This setting of Psalm 29 (originally written with orchestral accompaniment) is Elgar’s Op. 74. It was first performed at the Festival of the Sons of the Clergy at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, on 30 April 1914. This performance comes from a BBC radio Choral Evensong broadcast from St Paul’s Cathedral on 13 August 1982, with the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral, directed by Barry Rose and accompanied by Christopher Dearnley (organ).
Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength, give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth; it is the Lord that ruleth the sea. The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty; the voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. yea, the breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire, the voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness and strippeth the forests bare.
In His temple doth every one speak of His glory. The Lord sitteth above the water-flood; and the Lord remaineth a King for ever. The Lord shall give strength unto His people; the Lord shall give His people the blessing of peace.

[@catholiccrusader5328]

Here in Chicago, we had a world-class church choir the Paulist Choristers. You should have heard them sing this hymn! It was heavenly. Once Church Latin fell out of fashion they disbanded.

[@Cantorisalto1]

Untouchable!! Barry's interpretation - the best I've ever heard of this magnificent piece.

[@davidbrookes9430]

Mighty- magnificent-majestic.

[@Cantorisalto1]

Barry Rose - the best choir trainer St. Paul's has ever seen in my book!

[@davpal3]

True - Cantoris tenor.

[@OldPost661]

Stunning. The ensemble between the choir and organ is simply astonishing. They sound like they're performing in a much smaller room, not cavernous St. Paul's Cathedral. When the choir begins singing 'In his temple . . ." the organ plays a rolled chord on (guessing) some sort of doppelflute - sounds just like a harp! And of course the choir's work is beyond words. I'm sure Elgar himself never heard a performance like this.

[@davidjewell3960]

Peak of civilisation, David's words, Elgar's music, Rose and Dearnley at and with the Choir of St Paul's