The Apostles (Elgar) The Apostles (Elgar) The Apostles, Op. 49, is an oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra composed by Edward Elgar. It was first performed on 14 October 1903. After his international success with the "Enigma Variations" (1899) and "The Dream of Gerontius "(1900), Elgar was commissioned by the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival, which had also produced "Gerontius", to write a new choral work. This encouraged Elgar to start composing a large-scale work on a subject he had been contemplating, according to the composer, since boyhood when he had even started selecting the words. "The Apostles", like its successor "The Kingdom", depicts
Keys of the kingdom who spoke / preached to the disciples. Here we see Peter act on the commission given to him by Christ in Matthew 16; Afterwards, Peter speaks a message explaining the completion of several prophecies, concluding with; Keys of the kingdom The keys of the kingdom is a Christian concept of eternal church authority. It was established in the 1st century AD, initially through St. Peter, then through the rest of the 12 Apostles. The latter, continuing with the early Church Fathers, would eventually comprise the early church and its doctrine. It is this authority, having been given the "keys", that