Elgar conceived The Kingdom as part of a trilogy of oratorios though he only completed two, the second being The Apostles. His oratorio The Dream of Gerontius stands apart from these two works, but the best writing in The Kingdom and The Apostles marks them as equals. The soaring soprano solo ‘The sun goeth down’ is outstandingly impressive and demanding for the singer, in this performance to be sung by Sophie Bevan, returning after last singing it with CCS to great acclaim in 2011 at the outset of her prolific career. Elgar tells the story of the development of the Christian church with choruses and solos of touching beauty together with some of his most stirring and evocative orchestral writing. A wonderful work, not to be missed!