Frederick Delius

[J]

BTW, that John Rutter/Cambridge Singers CD I referred to also contains a beautiful rendition of "Brigg Fair" (in the arrangement by Percy Grainger).

[Mirror Image]

Revisited Handley's performance of Hassan tonight and what a fantastic work! I would really love to hear David Lloyd-Jones conduct this work ("Hello? Can you hear me Naxos?"). Handley's is, again, all we have right now and his is a great performance but I can imagine a more modern performance with perhaps surround could give this work a much larger presence.

[Mirror Image]

Anybody have a favorite performance of Brigg Fair? I like Barbirolli's a lot, but there is some intonation problems in the trumpets towards the beginning of the work, but other than this, I would say it's quite a fine performance. I like Mackerras' a lot as well. Hickox is pretty decent.

[Mirror Image]

I've been thoroughly enjoying Bo Holten's Delius series on Danacord. Johan, cilgwyn, Leo K., have you guys heard any of these recordings?

[Mirror Image]

Wrote a review on Amazon of the Andrew Davis Appalachia, The Song of the High Hills recording on Chandos:

Andrew Davis is no stranger to Delius having released a recording of miscellaneous orchestral works under the Teldec label back in the 90s. Davis, along with Bo Holten and Lloyd-Jones, seem to be the only conductors performing right now that are interested in keeping the Delius' flame alive, so, with this in mind, giving this particular recording a three-star rating kind of leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth because so few new recordings of his music have been released, but there's a reason for the rating which I will detail now.

"Appalachia" has no shortage of great performances with Barbirolli/Halle and Hickox/LSO mainly being the performances I return to most often for this work, but I didn't feel much of a connection to the music from Andrew Davis in his performance. Perhaps he doesn't have a strong affinity for it? Who really knows, but I think his performance overall is quite superficial and lacks the depth of feeling I get from Barbirolli and Hickox. To be even more honest, there isn't a perfect performance of "Appalachia" just like there's no perfect performance of Stravinsky's "Le sacre du printemps." It's a matter of finding the right feeling for the work which I feel Davis hasn't done. Many of his interpretative statements seem to be rather declamatory when they should simply be trying to dig deeper and tap into the emotional essence of this music. For this performance, I give it two stars.

"The Song of the High Hills" fares much better I think mainly because I believe the musical language coincides with Davis' approach to conducting and getting clean textures out of orchestral density. This music is much more complex than "Appalachia," which relies on simpler harmonic and melodic ideas to get its' message across. What we get with "The Song of the High Hills" is mature Delius as the piece was written in 1911 (the same year his popular "Two Pieces for Small Orchestra" was written) whereas "Appalachia" was written around 1903. As I mentioned, "The Song of the High Hills" is much more complicated with its almost constant chord changes. Davis' performance goes much better this time around and I think one reason it does is because he knew how to navigate through this dense musical soundscape and delivers a clearer-headed performance. Another great performance is Eric Fenby with the Royal Philharmonic on the Unicorn label. That is a performance worth looking into.

I would only recommend this recording to die-hard Delians, but Delians will want to hear Davis' "The Song of the High Hills."

[Mirror Image]

Delius was a genius! The man could coax more emotion out of three notes than most composers could with 15.

[The new erato]

Delius was a genius! The man could coax more emotion out of three notes than most composers could with 15.

But Villa-Lobos taught us that more is better! Now I'm confused.

[Mirror Image]

But Villa-Lobos taught us that more is better! Now I'm confused.

Don't bring VL into this!

[Geo Dude]

As a result of the argument that occurred in the Bach Off thread I decided to get around to sampling some Delius on YouTube.  Specifically Sea Drift, A Song of Summer, and Florida Suite.  First thought:  This can't be MI's favorite composer, the music is tonal!   Second thought:  Nice stuff.  I'll put a couple of Delius discs on my next classical order.

[Mirror Image]

As a result of the argument that occurred in the Bach Off thread I decided to get around to sampling some Delius on YouTube.  Specifically Sea Drift, A Song of Summer, and Florida Suite.  First thought:  This can't be MI's favorite composer, the music is tonal!   Second thought:  Nice stuff.  I'll put a couple of Delius discs on my next classical order.

Excellent news, Geo Dude. He's one of my favorite composers certainly. I think it was foolish of me for me to say he was my absolute favorite. I think this was me getting caught up in my own enthusiasm. Don't get me wrong, I love Delius, but I love so many other composers as well.

By the way, yes, Delius' music is tonal but it is heavily chromatic.

[Mirror Image]

Let me also say that my personality appeals to so many different kinds of composers that it's hard for me to truly pinpoint who exactly is my number one favorite. It was Ravel then it was RVW then it was Bartok then it was Shostakovich then it was...well you get the idea. Now it's excruciatingly difficult for me to pick just 10 favorites.

[huntsman]

Today is Delius Day in my corner of Africa! 

The (incredibly inept) Post Office has finally spewed two of my many parcels from Europe onto my desk, some seven weeks after dispatch in Dundee. Much-awaited joy is about to unravel with these three debutantes...

Playlist in this order:









and finally, what has to be the tiniest box of 18 CDs ever...!






Remember those 'Good Ol' Days'?    They're here right now! 

[Moo Yai]

Today is Delius Day in my corner of Africa! 

The (incredibly inept) Post Office has finally spewed two of my many parcels from Europe onto my desk, some seven weeks after dispatch in Dundee. Much-awaited joy is about to unravel with these three debutantes...

Playlist in this order:









and finally, what has to be the tiniest box of 18 CDs ever...!






Remember those 'Good Ol' Days'?    They're here right now! 

I have been listening to that Decca box quite a bit the last few weeks - its awesome! I think you will enjoy it. I also recently bought the big EMI box and the VS Disc - happy listening! 

[huntsman]

I have listened to the Four Violin Sonatas, played by Tasmin Little and Piers Lane , and after all the hype and expectation, was strangely underwhelmed at first.

I don't know what I expected, but my socks were not blown off, though that may be just as well with the cold front that just blew in - literally.

I have listened several more times and have started to notice delicate detail which I missed earlier on; perhaps I was too inattentive, as I was working whilst listening. Ideally, I should probably sit in a huge wing-back with an expensive pair of cans on my head, but in practice this never happens and in truth, if the music is good enough, it will overcome the blur of activity that pervades my listening experiences.

I am confident that with more exposure this CD will grow on me, but time alone will tell how much growth there will be...

[J]

I have listened to the Four Violin Sonatas, played by Tasmin Little and Piers Lane , and after all the hype and expectation, was strangely underwhelmed at first.

I don't know what I expected, but my socks were not blown off, though that may be just as well with the cold front that just blew in - literally.

I have listened several more times and have started to notice delicate detail which I missed earlier on; perhaps I was too inattentive, as I was working whilst listening. Ideally, I should probably sit in a huge wing-back with an expensive pair of cans on my head, but in practice this never happens and in truth, if the music is good enough, it will overcome the blur of activity that pervades my listening experiences.

I am confident that with more exposure this CD will grow on me, but time alone will tell how much growth there will be...

Tasmin Little is a fine violinist to be sure, but praised as she is in Delius with almost complete unanimity by critics, I've always felt something missing in her recordings (the Concerto & Sonatas), which if I had to choose one word for would be "languor" (but in a positive sense, - I certainly don't mean "torpor", let alone "stupor" ).  Despite the wonderful virtuosity of her playing, I feel the music doesn't breathe quite the way I like it to, - it's too tightly strung, without the more gentle caress and restrained sunsuousness I would prefer (Holmes does better for me in all these works).

On a different note, I wonder if Johan or anyone else is familiar with Arthur Hutchings study of Delius and can give me some orientation as to its content and value.  I did finally read through Christopher Palmer's volume "Delius: Portrait of a Cosmopolitan",  which was full of incidental insights throughout - though much of the book was taken up with discussions of other composers' works in relation to Delius, and musicological analyses of only very subsidiary interest to me.

I still await the big, comprehensive, descriptive & interpretive "Life" of Delius by someone who could take stock of and bring into coherence all the previous work in some grand unifying narrative with the scope and sweep of Swafford's "Brahms" or Fischer's "Mahler" (to name two composer bios that have especially impressed me).  I judge Delius a most fascinating (and elusive) character, who merits something much more definitive than the multitudinous but dispersed treatments of his life and music offered up thus far.

It might never happen.

[J]

One aspect of Delius' life (and a momentous one) that has always been somewhat obscure to me is the precise relationship he maintained with Jelka, and specifically whether it was ever a passional (sexual) one.  It's quite well known that Delius was very much a libertine during his Paris years (from the late 1880's), which indulgence exposed him to syphilis (highly contagious and without effective treatment at that time) and eventually resulted in the paralysis and blindness of his later years.  But it was never clear in my mind at what point Delius became aware of his disease, and whether some long incubation period permits sexual relations without the danger of transmission. From recent reading, however, it's apparently certain that Delius (knowing his condition) steadfastly refused any sexual involvement with Jelka over the entire course of their relationship and marriage, despite her strongly expressed desire for a child.  Frequent weekend excursions back to Paris ostensibly to relieve himself after the couple had subsequently moved to nearby Grez did indicate his sensitivity had its limits (both towards Jelka and the partners obtained there) however.

[Parsifal]

I almost always find that biographical facts about the composer are more of a detriment than a help in appreciating the music.  Does speculation about how Delius contracted syphilis give insight into the music itself?  I recognize that there are cases where biographical details are significant (i.e., Shostakovich's 5th symphony was a reaction to threats from Soviet authorities and we can wonder to what extent it is "sincere" and to what extent it was "sarcastic") but generally I find myself uninterested in biographical details of the composer.

BTW, I found that Tasmine Little recording of the violin sonatas for all of $1.62.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

J, I just read your two posts.


I'm afraid I can't help you with the Hutchins - I haven't read it. I read Beecham, Fenby, Palmer, a volume in the Master Musicians series and many shorter things. I deplore, just as you do, the absence of one big serious study of Delius, where both his life and his music are shown in their interrelationship. As Delius's standing isn't too high, there won't be many budding biographers/musicologists out there, eagerly awaiting their chance to fill this lacuna. More's the pity.


As for Delius and Jelka - I think Delius, as the self-centered * (choose your own word) he was, chose to live with her for convenience. She supplied a safe and maternal atmosphere in which he could work. But his passions were reserved for other women. Jelka was the sort of woman who didn't mind suffering for 'her' genius. We may all be grateful for her sacrifice.

[huntsman]

Jolly well said!

[J]

Parsifal,

Many (even most) biographical facts, I would agree, likely hold no meaningful relevance for appreciating or understanding any given composers' art, including probably, in the case of Delius, his sexual habits.  Nonetheless, I would also contend that in virtually every case (excepting purely "academic" type composers or mere "technical" artists) there exists a thread of certain crucial events, experiences, relationships, etc. that very much impact the mode, development, and content of expression, - the awareness of which can significantly enhance one's appropriation of and identification with the music.  Relating to Delius, consider this passage written by English music critic Cecil Gray (reproduced in C. Palmer's study of Delius):

   "That which is known to mystics as "the state of illumination" is a kind of ecstatic revelation which may
    only last for a split second of time, but which he who has known it spends the rest of his life trying to
    re-capture.  Those who have experienced it always recognize the presence of the peculiar quality of
    that which appertains to it.  The music of Delius is an example, and I was immediately aware of it in
    the first work of his I heard.  I knew, too, the exact moment at which that experience must have occurred
    in Delius's life, and when I asked him if it were so and if I were right, he was surprised and admitted
    that I was.  The occasion was one summer night, when he was sitting out on the verandah of his house
    on his orange grove in Florida, and the sound came to him from the distance of the voices of the Negroes
    in the plantation, singing in chorus.  It is the rapture of this moment that Delius is perpetually trying
    to communicate in all his characteristic work."

That "state of illumination" Delius experienced in Florida, and the circumstances associated with it is referred to by other writers also, and amply confirmed by Delius on other occasions.  It seems to me that for someone
captured by Delius's music, some familiarity with that period of his life and what he experienced during that time might be very enriching to the encounter with his music (and one could say the same of certain later
formative episodes and experiences that impacted his art).