Widely regarded as one of the distinguished composer's finest works, this oratorio for mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass soli, chorus, and orchestra was written between 1899 and 1900. Elgar based his work on a poem by Cardinal Newman concerning a man facing death and divine judgment. Grove's calls it "an affirmation . . . the first major English work in which the orchestra is as expressive as the voices . . . and the integration of chorus and orchestra is complicated and subtle." Musicians and music lovers will welcome this handsome new edition, reprinted from an authoritative source. Unabridged republication of an authoritative edition.