(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Rosen_-_Frederick_Delius.jpg)
Okay, here's a poll that will surely leave many a sour taste in their mouths unless they're a Delian like me ( ;) ). There are no stipulations for this poll.
My Top 5 Favorite Delius Works (in no particular):
Songs of Sunset
In a Summer Garden
Violin Concerto
Violin Sonata No. 3
The Song of the High Hills
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Allow me to tell you a little story of how I discovered Delius by pure accident. I remember about six years ago when I was first starting to get serious about classical music and I was looking up the composer Delibes in a Google search. Well, I must have misspelled Delibes and then Google asked me "Did you mean Delius?" I actually said aloud "Who in the world is Delius? He's not who I'm looking for!" Curiosity got the better of me and so I searched for Delius instead. The first work I heard of his was In a Summer Garden and from the first couple of measures I was completely in state of wonderment. I was hooked. From that point, I went through a lot of questioning and self-doubt about the composer and whether I truly liked his music until I reached the point of where I stopped caring about what the critics and even people on forums were saying about Delius' music. He's not everyone's cup of tea obviously, but I never understood the downright nastiness of some people who criticized his music. But, as with anything in life, you learn to ignore the naysayers and find people who share your passion. Thankfully, there are some people who like his music a great deal and it's always a pleasure to talk with them. At this point in time, I know all of the criticisms of the composer, but have really stopped caring about them as his music really tugs at my heart and soothes my soul and this is what is most important. Not many other composers have this kind of effect on me and, for this reason alone, I will continue to talk of why this composer is so important to me and my own life.
Okay...I think I'm done now. Have fun!
Poor Delius getting no love!
My tope five:
Brigg Fair
Fennimore and Gerda (Intermezzo)
The Walk to Paradise Garden
La Calinda
Violin Sonata #1 (and #3)
Quote from: springrite on October 27, 2015, 06:13:10 PM
Poor Delius getting no love!
My tope five:
Brigg Fair
Fennimore and Gerda (Intermezzo)
The Walk to Paradise Garden
La Calinda
Violin Sonata #1 (and #3)
I know, but I'm not a least bit surprised.
Delius is the second-best composer everwhose name ends in -elius.
Quote from: Brian on October 27, 2015, 07:54:00 PM
Delius is the second-best composer everwhose name ends in -elius.
Everyone else tying for first place? :o
Quote from: springrite on October 28, 2015, 08:59:06 AM
Everyone else tying for first place? :o
Did you read the fine print? ;)
Quote from: Brian on October 27, 2015, 07:54:00 PMDelius is the second-best composer everwhose name ends in -elius.
In a Summer Garden
Piano Concerto
Requiem
North Country Sketches
Paris
Quote from: vandermolen on October 29, 2015, 10:35:29 AM
In a Summer Garden
Piano Concerto
Requiem
North Country Sketches
Paris
Thanks for participating, Jeffrey. :) Excellent choices. Love all of those works.
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 29, 2015, 03:14:36 PM
Thanks for participating, Jeffrey. :) Excellent choices. Love all of those works.
Thanks John :)
Could have included the Violin Concerto too.
Quote from: vandermolen on October 29, 2015, 06:42:08 PM
Thanks John :)
Could have included the Violin Concerto too.
I chose the
Violin Concerto but could have easily picked the
Piano Concerto or the
Double Concerto. I haven't quite connected with the
Cello Concerto yet, but it has some lovely moments. Need to revisit that work soon.
Florida Suite
North Country Sketches
Appalachia
Eventyr
Life's Dance
Florida Suite
A Village Romeo and Juliet
Sea Drift
Over The Hills and Far Away
Mass of Life (part 2 esp.)
Oooooh this is difficult... Make that 6 or 7 ? ;D
Quote from: kyjo on September 28, 2017, 09:43:19 PM
Florida Suite
North Country Sketches
Appalachia
Eventyr
Life's Dance
I feel bad for not including one of Delius' choral works on my list - he was a master of choral writing IMO. I find the ending of
Appalachia when the chorus joins to be overwhelmingly beautiful. I'm very fond of his Requiem,
Songs of Sunset,
Sea Drift, as well as his a cappella
To be sung of a summer night on the water in addition to the five orchestral works I chose.
Florida Suite
Sea Drift
On the Mountains
Appalachia
Paris
Loving the replies guys --- great lists!
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on September 29, 2017, 03:18:24 PM
Florida Suite
Sea Drift
On the Mountains
Appalachia
Paris
On the Mountains...hmm...interesting choice. The best I can remember this is an earlier work. It has a Grieg kind of mood to it, correct? I'll have to dig a recording out as I know it's on something I own.
*I have a quite large Delius collection and I can only imagine the horror of trying to find it, especially if it's buried in some boxes. :-\
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 05, 2017, 06:51:56 PM
On the Mountains...hmm...interesting choice. The best I can remember this is an earlier work. It has a Grieg kind of mood to it, correct? I'll have to dig a recording out as I know it's on something I own.
Yep, it's an earlier work and not quite characteristic of his mature style - Grieg and Tchaikovsky are the primary influences. Not one of Delius' most compelling works IMO but still enjoyable stuff.
Quote from: kyjo on October 05, 2017, 07:01:03 PM
Yep, it's an earlier work and not quite characteristic of his mature style - Grieg and Tchaikovsky are the primary influences. Not one of Delius' most compelling works IMO but still enjoyable stuff.
Just as I had thought. Thanks for the feedback, Kyle. Nice to see you're a Delian as well. We've got to stick together on here. ;)
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 26, 2015, 06:45:42 PMMy Top 5 Favorite Delius Works (in no particular):
Songs of Sunset
In a Summer Garden
Violin Concerto
Violin Sonata No. 3
The Song of the High Hills
Believe it or not, I'm still quite content with this list. 8)
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 05, 2017, 07:02:44 PM
Just as I had thought. Thanks for the feedback, Kyle. Nice to see you're a Delian as well. We've got to stick together on here. ;)
Yep! Even though I usually can't listen to Delius in large doses, I've definitely come to appreciate the unique beauty of his music more and more. And yeah, us Delians are few and far between I suppose ;D
Quote from: kyjo on October 05, 2017, 07:07:53 PM
Yep! Even though I usually can't listen to Delius in large doses, I've definitely come to appreciate the unique beauty of his music more and more. And yeah, us Delians are few and far between I suppose ;D
For me, it was love on first hearing. I believe it was
In a Summer Garden that I first heard and I was completely mesmerized from the time the piece began until it ended. I never heard anything like it and I still haven't. I'm sure I would have discovered his music sooner or later, but one small accident on Google opened a whole sonic-world up to me that I couldn't have even fathomed.
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 05, 2017, 07:41:36 PM
For me, it was love on first hearing. I believe it was In a Summer Garden that I first heard and I was completely mesmerized from the time the piece began until it ended. I never heard anything like it and I still haven't. I'm sure I would have discovered his music sooner or later, but one small accident on Google opened a whole sonic-world up to me that I couldn't have even fathomed.
The work that really turned me on to Delius at first was his
Florida Suite - such a beautiful piece with some of the best melodies I've ever heard. I also was quite struck by his
North Country Sketches early on - one of his most vivid works. Since then, I've come to love many more of his works, especially
Appalachia, which I revisited recently and was utterly blown away by. Oh, and I see you've changed your avatar again, John. Surprise, surprise ;D
Quote from: kyjo on October 05, 2017, 10:13:11 PMThe work that really turned me on to Delius at first was his Florida Suite - such a beautiful piece with some of the best melodies I've ever heard. I also was quite struck by his North Country Sketches early on - one of his most vivid works. Since then, I've come to love many more of his works, especially Appalachia, which I revisited recently and was utterly blown away by. Oh, and I see you've changed your avatar again, John. Surprise, surprise ;D
Even thought I'm a hardcore Delian, I never have been a huge fan of the
Florida Suite, but I certainly understand the work's importance. It was a work that brought him a lot of attention, especially from Edvard Grieg who, after hearing the work in Leipzig, flew to England and convinced Delius' father that his true occupation in this life was to be a composer. So, in retrospect, it was very important to him not only professionally, but personally as well.
North Country Sketches could have easily made my list as well as
Appalachia.
Appalachia is a transitional work in Delius' oeuvre as he was moving closer and closer to that harmonically rich sound-world we know so well in his mature period. As for my Delius avatar, yep, I've got champion one of my musical heroes that I haven't paid much attention to in quite some time, but has always been in the back of my mind.
I'm not a huge Delius fan overall, however I have quite a soft spot for these select few works:
Appalachia: Variations on an Old Slave Song
Double Concerto for Violin and Cello
Florida Suite
North Country Sketches
Piano Concerto
Bonus choice: Violin Sonata in B major, op. posth.