Delius?

[Mirror Image]

Boy, I hate to be the voice of reason. I must be getting old. Is this one of those things that happen when you turn 50? (or was it 30?)

Ha! Don't worry about it, Paul. You're still a young man.

[DavidRoss]

Top o' the pops among classical equivalents of "smooth jazz" artists. Sonic wallpaper to my ears. But nicely polished sonic wallpaper, to be sure.

In an attempt to forestall outraged slander, let us note that (a) that's just one man's opinion, (b) no one is suggesting that everyone else must share this opinion, (c) the ostensible purpose of the thread is to survey members' opinions, and (d) I felt similarly about Sibelius for decades but kept listening until lightning struck and now he is one of my favorites.

[DavidRoss]

Boy, I hate to be the voice of reason. I must be getting old. Is this one of those things that happen when you turn 50? (or was it 30?)

For some it never happens. Maintaining compassion for those old enough to know better is a challenge.

[Mirror Image]

Top o' the pops among classical equivalents of "smooth jazz" artists. Sonic wallpaper to my ears. But nicely polished sonic wallpaper, to be sure.

I feel the same way about Mozart and Bach, so we're even.

[Opus106]

Delightful Daylight Delius Debate Debut!

Delirious about Delius? Not at all; but I like my share of cowpat music (serisously).

[Karl Henning]

Shakespeare puts me to sleep, but I love the collected works of Rod McKuen . . . .

Bach and Mozart are pillars of the art; where Delius (whatever one's feelings) is a reed in the wind ; )

[Mirror Image]

Shakespeare puts me to sleep, but I love the collected works of Rod McKuen . . . .

Bach and Mozart are pillars of the art; where Delius (whatever one's feelings) is a reed in the wind ; )

So you're no longer ignoring me, Karl? You acknowledge my post because Dave or no one, except myself, mentioned anything about Bach or Mozart. In any event, I can't stand either composer. Now, let's see if you can leave my opinion alone and move on...

[Gurn Blanston]

I'm not sleeping though. Or ignoring. Or lying in wait. I submit the likelihood that every one here is well aware of where various composers stand in the Great Firmament of Composers. Of course, there are always outliers.

[Karl Henning]

I'm not sleeping though. Or ignoring. Or lying in wait. I submit the likelihood that every one here is well aware of where various composers stand in the Great Firmament of Composers. Of course, there are always outliers.

Exactly. No matter how enthusiastic I am about the music of Nielsen, my feelings do not magically invest him with greatness equivalent to Bach or Mozart or Haydn.

[Karl Henning]

Dang, Gurn, you're poised to vie with Paul for the title of Voice of Reason ; )

[Mirror Image]

Exactly. No matter how enthusiastic I am about the music of Nielsen, my feelings do not magically invest him with greatness equivalent to Bach or Mozart or Haydn.

Or Brahms or Schubert or Beethoven or Mahler...or...or...

[springrite]

...Bach or Mozart. In any event, I can't stand either composer. Now, let's see if you can leave my opinion alone and move on...

You have this in common with my wife Vanessa. I don't know if this is good or not, but it is true.

[Mirror Image]

You have this in common with my wife Vanessa. I don't know if this is good or not, but it is true.

She dislikes Bach and Mozart too? Splendid! Sounds like a good woman you got there, Paul.

[Opus106]

Splendid!

You should know better than to tread that road again, John.

[Karl Henning]

At any event, shall we state the obvious?  This is a poll about Delius.  Even opinions about Bach, Mozart, Milhaud, Leifs, whomever, are of profound irrelevance here.

On this thread, if you think that Delius sucks moldy clementines, this is the place to register that fact, and to exult in it! ; )

[Karl Henning]

Even a certain neighbor learnt his lesson w/r/t Elgar. Just sayin'.

[DavidRoss]

Even a certain neighbor learnt his lesson w/r/t Elgar. Just sayin'.

Well, we're all slow learners, Karl. (But some of us are determined to prolong the process by clinging to unwarranted arrogance--is arrogance ever warranted?--like mold clings to rotting clementines.)

I've been trying to love Delius for as long as I've been trying to love Bantock and Bax and Bridge and Holst and RVW and several others. RVW eventually caught fire and I would not want to be without recordings of many of his works, even though none would be the first I'd reach for in event of fire. One or two of Holst and Bridge's works I likewise love.

But like Bantock and Bax, Delius has yet to inspire passion in my soul (though Bax comes close at times). To me their music is usually inoffensively pleasant but seldom stirring. And Delius seems the most like white bread of the three, with Bantock as whole wheat and Bax a more muscular rye.

Yet I would not claim that Delius is trivial or unworthy of my attention (even though that is posterity's concensus -- so far!). I keep listening with interest and an open mind. Last year I bought some Delius recorded by one of my favborite conductors, Barbirolli, as effective an advocate for English music as anyone, IMO. Perhaps it's time to give it another go.

So -- what pieces in particular would the Delius advocates around here recommend, especially to a listener with such abysmal taste that he enjoys Mozart and Bach and Beethoven above all others (excepting, perhaps, Sibelius and Mahler ... and Stravinsky and Prokofiev ... and Debussy ... and -- but I digress )?

[Karl Henning]

Well, we're all slow learners, Karl.

(* raises his hand *)

[springrite]

Well, we're all slow learners, Karl.

Slow is always preferrable to stationary.

[Karl Henning]

. . . said Paul, confirming his Voice-of-Reason status : )