New Auxiliary Bishop for Birmingham...Bishop Kenney added: "Since I was a boy at St Philip's I have associated Newman with Birmingham rather than with Oxford. Among the first seriou music I remember listening to was The Dream of Gerontius. Whenever I hear it now, it is associated with the Town Hall in Birmingham. I sincerely hope and pray for the beatification and canonization of Cardinal Newman." ...full
If you want to hear a masterpiece of classical music that is truly Catholic listen to Elgar's Dream of Gerontius. It's the story of a soul passing from death on earth to eternity, and it's magnificent. And if you can find the live recording with Jon Vickers singing Gerontius, you'll be hearing one of the greatest oratorio recordings of all time.
John,
Do you have any more info on the Vickers recording?
http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Gerontius-Elgar/dp/B00008EP16/ref=sr_11_1/102-1864443-5096907?ie=UTF8
Hard to find on the street, but if you e-mail me your address info I can probably burn you a copy. js -at- tenor.com is the address.