The English Catholic Dream of Gerontius: An Aesthetic Synthesis of Newman and Elgar

Abstract

Due to inherent paradoxy and limited sample size, fin-de-siècle English Catholic aesthetics are difficult to define, especially in the case of music. At the turn of the nineteenth century, English music and Catholic theology underwent a period of intense development and reconstruction, yet the intersection of theology and musical aesthetics in this era is largely under-researched. This paper identifies one such intersection using two monumental figures in theology and music: John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) and composer Edward Elgar (1857-1934). Newman’s theology provided a basis on which fin-de-siècle artists and poets could express their faith; such figures are associated with decadence. For both Newman and Elgar, decadent Catholicism combined with the traditionally Protestant English environment resulted in a complex relationship with their country and the continent. This paper examines this complex and paradoxical relationship between faith and nationality, and thus defines English Catholic aesthetics as they are expressed by Newman and Elgar.