Frederick Delius

Started by tjguitar, May 14, 2007, 05:44:52 PM

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cilgwyn

Quote from: Mirror Image on February 19, 2013, 01:46:43 PM
Speaking of Schreker, for me, it doesn't get much better than Prelude to a Drama. A remarkable work IMHO.
Yes,I remember hearing that on the radio years ago,before any of his operas had been recorded & thinking,'Wow!' Amazing orchestration! It really IS something! (I can't help wishing he'd stuck to orchestral works!)
I know I was playing the 'comparison game' a little there;but the fact that I was thinking of Schreker,not Strauss,reminds me of just how cosmopolitan Delius was. There are all sorts of influences there,but like all the best composers,he absorbs them & creates his own,wholly individual,sound world. And of course,he wasn't just imagining allot of those places;he actually lived in,or visited them.
I suppose some other English compoers did travel. Bax followed some girl to Russia,I believe;but while I can detect the influence of some Russian composers,here & there,the only Russian inspired music I can think of,by Bax,is of a picture postcard nature. Winter Legends is inspired by wild northern landscapes,but it's the response of a fantasist.
Elgar's stunning,'In the South',is another 'fantasy' & all the main English operas I can think of,around the time,are very firmly entrenched in the British Isles. Savitri isn't,but again,it's the product of a very richly stocked imagination.
And then there's Lambert's 'Rio Grande',which is an evocation of sunnier climes;but again,it's just a clever 'picture postcard'!


cilgwyn

#461
The wordless choirs in 'Daphnis et Chloe'. That's a good comparison,Johan! ;D It's got that ecstatic quality! :) which is why I brought up the Schreker comparison. Not because,I was  pointing to similarities of orchestration,or the use of wordless choruses. It's that feeling of ecstatic longing,but not in the voluptuous Scrabin-esque sense. This is something more subtle,more universal. I don't find it in many other English composers of the period;if any? Bantock,maybe;here and there;but it's more superficial,with the possible exception of 'Sappho'!

I'm listening to 'A Village Romeo & Juliet' now,by the way! 'Koanga',next! :)

Mirror Image

#462
Ah yes, A Village Romeo & Juliet. Incredible piece of music. Davies or Mackerras performance, cilgwyn? Have you heard Fennimore & Gerda? This was to be Delius' last opera and I think it's quite good.

I watched the documentary Discovery Delius again tonight and I found it to be rather fragmented. It seemed to jump around a lot, but there were some interesting commentary in the film particularly from Eric Fenby, Julian Lloyd-Webber, and Tasmin Little and it was great seeing Mackerras on the podium.


Mirror Image

Re: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring

I re-listened to the Lloyd-Jones performance earlier tonight and it's too damn fast! I mean was it Lloyd-Jones' lunchtime? Did he tell the orchestra members "Let's get this thing over with...I'm starving!" :)

Mirror Image

Let's compare some Cuckoo running times:

Beecham/RPO - 7:04
Handley/LPO - 6:13
Lloyd-Jones/RSNO - 5:52
Mackerras/WNO - 7:00
Barbirolli/Halle - 7:27
Del Mar/Bournemouth - 6:44
Wordsworth/LSO - 7:25

What's curious about the Handley time is it seems to be much slower than it actually is. Compared to Beecham and Mackerras, Handley shaved off a minute from the work. Lloyd-Jones is the fastest time. I wonder how long Delius thought this work should last? He seemed like he was hesitant about discussing his music a lot of the time.

cilgwyn

It sounds like Lloyd-Jones cuckoo was pretty keen on beating the other cuckoos to the old starting line!
Do you like any of his recordings of Delius,by the way?

Mirror Image

Quote from: cilgwyn on February 20, 2013, 08:23:50 AM
It sounds like Lloyd-Jones cuckoo was pretty keen on beating the other cuckoos to the old starting line!
Do you like any of his recordings of Delius,by the way?

I do like Lloyd-Jones' Delius recordings. Thanks to him we finally were able to hear the early symphonic poem Hiawatha, which received its world premiere under his baton. His Idylle de printemps is fantastic. His Florida Suite was quite good but he doesn't better Handley's, which is still my favorite performance of the work. I have not picked up his Dutton recording of the A Village Romeo & Juliet Suite yet, but I'm thinking about getting it with some of my birthday money.

What do you think about his performances?

cilgwyn

I must admit I haven't heard them & after the recent expenditure on these Beecham cds,I'm not planning on buying any just yet,I'm afraid! I must admit I wasn't that crazy about his Bax. I'm a Thomson fan,myself. I like the time he takes over Bax. Handley is too 'rushed'. Beecham didn't like Bax,but like Thomson in Bax,he knew how to let Delius's music uncoil with just enough spring in the tail to prevent the listener from becoming bored!
That Hiawatha disc might be worth putting on my 'shopping list'. By the way,the 'Village Romeo & Juliet' I'm listening to is the Mackerras. I remember watching the film on Channel 4,years ago. I was glued to it & I didn't even like Delius then!

Mirror Image

I can't say I'm particularly keen on Bax's music. I do, however, find his chamber works more rewarding than anything else in his large oeuvre.

Re: A Village Romeo & Juliet

I'm more fond of Meredith Davies' performance of this opera. Everything about that performance seems rightfully judged. I need refresh my memory of the Mackerras performance.

cilgwyn

What do you feel about Robert Tear? Some 'critics' seem to have a problem with his singing. I don't always like him,but he can be very good.

Mirror Image

I love the fact that there's still many people who adamantly dislike Delius' music. It makes me feel an even stronger connection to the music because I'm one of the people that does get it. Again, people have preconceived notions of Delius' music and they don't bother to listen. It's one thing to just dislike his music based on the judgement that the music just isn't your cup of tea, but to say you dislike his music without giving his music a chance or time to grow on you or just because it's the "hip" thing to do is just ignorant.

I'm so glad Delius' music spoke to me when I first heard it. He sounded like no other composer and no other composer sounded like him. An incredible master composer and one that may never get his due, but his innovations speak loud and clear.

cilgwyn

I've bought it! :) The earlier emi issue with the libretto! You only have to look at that cast list,don't you?!

Mirror Image

Quote from: cilgwyn on February 20, 2013, 09:37:32 AM
What do you feel about Robert Tear? Some 'critics' seem to have a problem with his singing. I don't always like him,but he can be very good.

His voice doesn't bother me at all, cilgwyn. He did an excellent job in Davies' A Village Romeo & Juliet performance. F*** the critics! They know nothing!

Mirror Image

Quote from: cilgwyn on February 20, 2013, 09:49:38 AM
I've bought it! :) The earlier emi issue with the libretto! You only have to look at that cast list,don't you?!

Fantastic, cilgwyn! It's an outstanding performance. I'll be curious to know your thoughts of it once you have heard it.

Mirror Image

#474
cilgwyn, you said you bought an original of Davies A Village Romeo & Juliet with libretto, where did you find it and could please provide a link if you bought it online. I've been looking into getting an original release myself.

There are two issues that I know about:

I own this one -



And there's this newer reissue -



cilgwyn

#475
Uh-oh! ??? ::) It's the earlier emi issue. The one you have. I'm afraid I assumed it included one,as they usually have one in the booklet. The new ones have these groovy,slimline cases,which take up less room;but no libretto. For example,the earlier releases of VW's Hugh the Drover,Pilgrims Progress & Sir John in Love;although the text in the booklet with 'Hugh the Drover' is so small you almost need a magnifying glass. Even the emi release of the Goodall 'Peter Grimes' scenes & abridged Rape of Lucretia has the text included! Mind you,I like the style & design of some of the old emi British composers series. So,it's not just that! And I'm familiar with the Amazon seller. They're usually good!
Isn't there a text with it? Or were you referring to the original Lp set? I threw out some old Lp sets of operas recently. They were ex library sets,allot of them,so I didn't want to leave them at a charity shop. But I kept some of the librettos. One definate plus point with the Lp format. Nice,big,readable booklets;often with lots of nice pictures! :D I just 'dug' them out &I've got the one for the Boult emi Pilgrims Progress set 'right here'.I used to sit there with them spread out on my lap when I was a youngster! Mind you the photos in the cd copy are allot sharper! I also have the booklet for the Lps of Kodaly's 'The Spinning Room'. Lavishly illustrated with big,colour,full page photographs. Wow! (I'd forgotten about that one.Nice music too,if memory serves me correctly!)
If I got hold of the Lp set of the emi Village Romeo & Juliet,I could dispose of the Lps & keep the nice,big booklet! ;D
Anyway,according to Amazon,my order is dispatching soon! :)
Elisabeth Harwood!
John Shirley-Quirk (one of my all time favourites)!
Benjamin Luxon....

What more could a Delius fan want! And I think I am,now!! ;D


Mirror Image

#476
cilgwyn, the earlier Davies issue does not contain the libretto. The newer reissue contains a CD-ROM that has the libretto I believe. It looks like Davies' A Village Romeo & Juliet has never been released on CD until 2005. A shame really because EMI could have done a good job with the booklet. :( Anyway, it's not a big deal really, at least you own Davies recording in some form. I'm trying to track down Groves' Koanga on CD in its original form. I already own the performance in the 150th Anniversary Edition box set, but I'd like to own an original.

Leo K.

This thread ranks among the best I've ever had the pleasure to participate in this online world. Great discussion here.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Leo K. on February 20, 2013, 03:17:27 PM
This thread ranks among the best I've ever had the pleasure to participate in this online world. Great discussion here.

I think I speak for Johan, myself, cilgwyn, and all the other participants that we're thrilled to have you here, Leo. :) You're amongst brothers here. Us Delians have to stick close together. We're a pretty rare breed here on GMG.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato