Frederick Delius

[J]

I see the entire concert posted on YouTube and will definitely give it a listen.  There's not many new recordings of Delius nowadays.  What we truly need is a comprehensive and definitive biography.

[Roasted Swan]

I see the entire concert posted on YouTube and will definitely give it a listen.  There's not many new recordings of Delius nowadays.  What we truly need is a comprehensive and definitive biography.

I hadn't seen there was a video.  My understanding (I might well be wrong) is that the CD performance is in effect a studio recording made alongside those same concert performances that are online.  Also, the online video features this slightly odd concept of the "Choir of the Earth" where singers from around the world sent in their individual performances of choral lines which have then been stitched onto this existing performance.  What you hear on the CD's does NOT include this Choir of the Earth and I'm not sure you hear much of an "extra" chorus on this video either - but I've just dipped in so perfhaps its elsewhere in the piece....?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg0aA0or6RU

[Scion7]

What we truly need is a comprehensive and definitive biography.

books on delius
M. Chop: Frederick Delius (Berlin, 1907)
H. Haym: Delius, A Mass of Life: Introduction to the Words and Music (Leipzig and Vienna, 1913; Eng. trans., 1925)
P. Heseltine: Frederick Delius (London, 1923, 2/1952/R)
R.H. Hull: Delius (London, 1928)
C. Delius: Frederick Delius: Memories of my Brother (London, 1935)
E. Fenby: Delius as I Knew him (London, 1936, 2/1948/R, 3/1966, 4/1981)
N.T. Hunt: Frederick Delius: a Concert-Goer's Introduction to the Life and Music of a Great Composer (Brighton, c1945)
A. Hutchings: Delius (London, 1948)
A.K. Holland: The Songs of Delius (London, 1951) [articles repr. from MO, lx (1936–7)]
T. Beecham: Frederick Delius (London, 1959, 2/1975)
A. Bottomley, ed.: Frederick Delius 1862–1962 (Bradford, 1962) [programme book for the Delius Centenary Festival]
Frederick Delius: Centenary Festival Exhibition (Bradford and London, 1962)
G. Jahoda: The Road to Samarkand: Frederick Delius and his Music (New York, 1969)
M. Walker and S. Upton: Frederick Delius: a Discography (London, 1969) [Delius Society Newsletter, no.24]
E. Fenby: Delius (London, 1971)
L. Carley and R. Threlfall: Delius and America (London, 1972) [exhibition catalogue]
A. Jefferson: Delius (London, 1972)
R. Lowe: Frederick Delius 1862–1934: a Catalogue of the Music Archive of the Delius Trust, London (London, 1974, 2/1986)
L. Carley: Delius: the Paris Years (London, 1975)
C. Palmer: Delius: Portrait of a Cosmopolitan (London, 1976)
C. Redwood, ed.: A Delius Companion (London, 1976, 2/1980)
F. Tomlinson: Warlock and Delius (London, 1976)
L. Carley and R. Threlfall: Delius: a Life in Pictures (London, 1977, 2/1984)
R. Threlfall: Frederick Delius (1862–1934): a Catalogue of the Compositions (London, 1977)
D. Redwood: Flecker and Delius: the Making of 'Hassan' (London, 1978)
A. Eggum and S. Biørnstad, eds.: Frederick Delius og Edvard Munch (Oslo, 1979) [exhibition catalogue; Eng. and Nor. text]
R. Lowe: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Letters in the Delius Collection of the Grainger Museum (London, 1981)
S. Banfield, ed.: The Fourth Delius Festival: 8–14 March 1982 (Keele, 1982) [programme book]
L. Carley: Delius: a Life in Letters, i: 1862–1908 (London, 1983; Cambridge, MA, 1984), ii: 1909–1934 (London and Brookfield, VT, 1988)
J.B. Smith: Frederick Delius and Edvard Munch: their Friendship and their Correspondence (Rickmansworth, 1983)
Delius 1862–1934, compiled by The Delius Trust (London, 1984, 2/1992, 3/1998) [50th anniversary brochure]
M. Cahill: Delius in Danville (Danville, VA, 1986)
R. Threlfall: Frederick Delius: a Supplementary Catalogue (London, 1986)
R. Threlfall: Frederick Delius, Complete Works: Editorial Report (London, 1990)
L. Carley: Grieg and Delius: a Chronicle of their Friendship in Letters (London, 1993)
R. Threlfall: Delius: a Musical Notebook (London, 1993)
R. Threlfall: Delius' Musical Apprenticeship (London, 1994)
D.C. Gillespie: The Search for Thomas F. Ward, Teacher of Frederick Delius (Gainesville, FL, 1996)
S. Lloyd, ed.: Fenby on Delius (London, 1996)
L. Carley, ed.: Frederick Delius: Music, Art and Literature (Aldershot, 1998)
B. Smith: Delius and Warlock: a Friendship Revealed (Oxford, 1999)

[Scion7]

Additionally,

The Music of Frederick Delius_Style, Form & Ethos-Jeremy Dibble (2021)
Delius & his Music-Martin Lee-Browne, Paul Guinery (2014)
Delius and Norway-Andrew Boyle (2017)
Delius and the Sound of Place-Daniel Grimley (2018)

[Irons]

J. Now you know!

[Scion7]

to quote "Chef John" of Food Wishes, "enjoy"

https://www.mediafire.com/file/07mfsh9k4dclzub/Delius_%2526_the_Orchestra-BBC_Discovering_Music.mp3/file

[J]

J. Now you know!

The early Chop and Hull books listed I was not aware of.  Still, for all that extensive literature, a "comprehensive and definitive biography" is not among it, - not even close, - and might never be done,though I would think sufficient documentation exists.  I mean something comparable to (say) Swafford's volume on Brahms, - that would be my own personal ideal.

If I was choosing just a few from these lists for the Delius lover, think I'd select Jahoda's  "Road to Samarkand", which makes no scholarly pretensions but tells an excellent story, Browne & Guinery's "Delius and his Music" which systematically covers all the compositions with insightful personal and social context for each one, and Fenby's "Delius as I Knew Him" for his intimate descriptions and reflections on the last period.

Then the Beecham, Hutchins, and Palmer works. 

[Irons]

The early Chop and Hull books listed I was not aware of.  Still, for all that extensive literature, a "comprehensive and definitive biography" is not among it, - not even close, - and might never be done,though I would think sufficient documentation exists.  I mean something comparable to (say) Swafford's volume on Brahms, - that would be my own personal ideal.

If I was choosing just a few from these lists for the Delius lover, think I'd select Jahoda's  "Road to Samarkand", which makes no scholarly pretensions but tells an excellent story, Browne & Guinery's "Delius and his Music" which systematically covers all the compositions with insightful personal and social context for each one, and Fenby's "Delius as I Knew Him" for his intimate descriptions and reflections on the last period.

Then the Beecham, Hutchins, and Palmer works. 

For this composer I would always reach for Fenby.

[calyptorhynchus]

I'm not normally a fan of Delius, but I was quite taken recently by his String Quartet.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

The Hurwitz is at it again...

His opinion of this new Delius recording of Hassan (one of my favorite works ever and I'm not being hyperbolic when I wrote that) is absolutely off-the-mark. Not only is this new recording dismal, but it contains the narration, which is absolutely annoying, obtrusive and really has no bearing on whether one will enjoy this music at all. The narration shouldn't have been included or, better yet, if Chandos wanted to include it, they should've put this recording out as a 2-CD set with one disc sans the narration and the other with it. That would've made it more accessible and less of a hinderance for the listener. But, the reality for me is simple: this new Chandos recording DOES NOT replace the Vernon Handley on EMI. In fact, I think it's a ludicrous statement to say it does. There is absolutely NO MAGIC in this new recording. There is no atmosphere whatsoever.

So my verdict is AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Buy the Handley instead.

[Karl Henning]

Interesting.

[Roasted Swan]

The Hurwitz is at it again...

His opinion of this new Delius recording of Hassan (one of my favorite works ever and I'm not being hyperbolic when I wrote that) is absolutely off-the-mark. Not only is this new recording dismal, but it contains the narration, which is absolutely annoying, obtrusive and really has no bearing on whether one will enjoy this music at all. The narration shouldn't have been included or, better yet, if Chandos wanted to include it, they should've put this recording out as a 2-CD set with one disc sans the narration and the other with it. That would've made it more accessible and less of a hinderance for the listener. But, the reality for me is simple: this new Chandos recording DOES NOT replace the Vernon Handley on EMI. In fact, I think it's a ludicrous statement to say it does. There is absolutely NO MAGIC in this new recording. There is no atmosphere whatsoever.

So my verdict is AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Buy the Handley instead.

I agree with you.  The Chandos booklet includes the text of the narration so it is easy to follow the somewaht pantomime-like plot via the booklet alone.  I suppose in defence of the new Chandos recording it is 'live' so as a one-off quasi-theatrical event the narrating had some function.  But for the proverbial 'library' version I think there is no doubt Handley is better - more nuanced playing, more atmospheric recording, just better! 

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

I agree with you.  The Chandos booklet includes the text of the narration so it is easy to follow the somewaht pantomime-like plot via the booklet alone.  I suppose in defence of the new Chandos recording it is 'live' so as a one-off quasi-theatrical event the narrating had some function.  But for the proverbial 'library' version I think there is no doubt Handley is better - more nuanced playing, more atmospheric recording, just better! 

Yeah, this was a one-off concert and I certainly understand that within this particular context it might've been a more enjoyable experience, but on record, it just doesn't work for me. Hassan contains what I feel is some of his most hushed, atmospheric music and the Chandos recording quality, which in this particular case turns it into a spotlit nightmare where there is no air or breathe in the music whatsoever.

My hope is that someone like Mark Elder gets around to recording it sans the narration. His recent recording of A Mass of Life was excellent (plus, he's done Delius in the past which I can only describe as very good). Aside from Elder, I'm sad to say this, but there doesn't seem to be much future for Delius on record (and even less in the concert hall).

[Roasted Swan]

Yeah, this was a one-off concert and I certainly understand that within this particular context it might've been a more enjoyable experience, but on record, it just doesn't work for me. Hassan contains what I feel is some of his most hushed, atmospheric music and the Chandos recording quality, which in this particular case turns it into a spotlit nightmare where there is no air or breathe in the music whatsoever.

My hope is that someone like Mark Elder gets around to recording it sans the narration. His recent recording of A Mass of Life was excellent (plus, he's done Delius in the past which I can only describe as very good). Aside from Elder, I'm sad to say this, but there doesn't seem to be much future for Delius on record (and even less in the concert hall).

Again I agree.  Delius really is a composer who needs a performing tradition both in terms of interpreters/conductors and performers.  His is not a style that it is easy to quickly pick up or assimilate.  That is can be done was proved by Elder with the excellent Bergen orchestra who clearly bought into Elder's insight.  The loss of conductors from Andrew Davis to Handley or Mackerras or Del Mar or Lloyd Jones let alone Hickox or Groves leaves a huge hole. Bo Holten's "Masterworks" series was very good but he doesn't seem to have pursued that (on disc at least) since it was completed.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Again I agree.  Delius really is a composer who needs a performing tradition both in terms of interpreters/conductors and performers.  His is not a style that it is easy to quickly pick up or assimilate.  That is can be done was proved by Elder with the excellent Bergen orchestra who clearly bought into Elder's insight.  The loss of conductors from Andrew Davis to Handley or Mackerras or Del Mar or Lloyd Jones let alone Hickox or Groves leaves a huge hole. Bo Holten's "Masterworks" series was very good but he doesn't seem to have pursued that (on disc at least) since it was completed.

Absolutely. So many of the great Delius champions are long gone. Bo Holten's Dacapo series is quite good, indeed, and it's kind of a shame he never got around to Hassan, but, more surprisingly, he didn't record Songs of Farewell (he did Songs of Sunset) and it seemed that Holten was more a choral guy in general. Anyway, we're lucky to have we have I suppose for now, but I do have hopes for Elder and Hassan. Perhaps I could send him a message and see what happens. Likely nothing, but it's worth a shot.

[André]

Disc 3 of the British Symphonic Collection box set ontains this disc, which I listened to a few days ago:



Paa Vidderne is presented in its original version, a suite of poems with reciter and orchestra lasting 30+ minutes. The narrator is Peter Hall. A much shortened version (12 minutes) without narration has been recorded by Beecham, which I also have. I compared the two and must say it makes more sense musically in the original. The music is clearly designed to accompany. It's a bit faceless when it's in the orchestral version alone, sans narration. Delius obviously intended the music to serve as accompaniment. The narrator is very eloquent here, a model of how such things should go.

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Disc 3 of the British Symphonic Collection box set ontains this disc, which I listened to a few days ago:



Paa Vidderne is presented in its original version, a suite of poems with reciter and orchestra lasting 30+ minutes. The narrator is Peter Hall. A much shortened version (12 minutes) without narration has been recorded by Beecham, which I also have. I compared the two and must say it makes more sense musically in the original. The music is clearly designed to accompany. It's a bit faceless when it's in the orchestral version alone, sans narration. Delius obviously intended the music to serve as accompaniment. The narrator is very eloquent here, a model of how such things should go.

Andrew Davis also recorded the orchestral version of Paa Vidderne for Chandos with quite good results. Too bad Davis never got around to Hassan. Of course, Hassan is quite a different animal compared to Paa Vidderne in that we're dealing with a larger work that stands alone without the narration, although it is fun to read the narrated sections on their own. In this sense, I've always thought of Hassan like Sibelius' The Tempest or Mendelssohn's Ein Sommernachstraum in that the music can be followed along without any particular guideposts. It's like an orchestral suite of sorts.

[VonStupp]

So my verdict is AVOID AT ALL COSTS! Buy the Handley instead.

I loathe zero-sum reviews. The idea that one recording cancels out all others does no one any favors.

What about a listener such as me, who enjoys Delius, but would like to hear Hassan as it was originally conceived as incidental music. I know I am in the minority, but storytelling is a worthy art as well, and one I greatly appreciate. Vocal inflection, characterization, and marrying music to the spoken word is an artful process, one which steps beyond reading. While I am not wild about the source material in Hassan, placing the music within its context aurally makes me appreciate Delius' music all the more than thinking it through in my headspace. This is mainly because of choices made by the performer, just as a soloist or conductor would in music.

Both you and Hurwitz do me an injustice by pronouncing the other recording as obsolete, or to avoid one over the other. I have the opportunity to enjoy both, so why wouldn't we celebrate such a thing; Handley's for Delius' music standing on its own, and the Chandos recording for its bringing together the conception of Hassan as stage-play incidental music. Let the listener dictate where the magic is happening; I certainly found it in Jamie Phillips' performance with the Britten Sinfonia.

This is why someone suggesting to avoid any recording outright, either you or Hurwitz, is more apt to lead me to listen and possibly enjoy said recordings more. Luckily I listened to the Chandos recording well before such pronouncements, where I can have both Handley & Phillips, and enjoy listening to both as separate, worthy entities. As you and Hurwitz often remind us, listen to what music moves you and leave behind what doesn't work for you; all the rest is nonsense. Even my diatribe here is more than likely worthless...

VS

[hopefullytrusting]

What about a listener such as me, who enjoys Delius, but would like to hear Hassan as it was originally conceived as incidental music. I know I am in the minority, but storytelling is a worthy art as well, and one I greatly appreciate. Vocal inflection, characterization, and marrying music to the spoken word is an artful process, one which steps beyond reading. While I am not wild about the source material in Hassan, placing the music within its context aurally makes me appreciate Delius' music all the more than thinking it through in my headspace. This is mainly because of choices made by the performer, just as a soloist or conductor would in music.

I wanted to highlight this, especially, as this is something I also strive to do. Taking this tact, placing the music back in its context, it what helped me come to appreciate Mozart. I don't think one can understate the importance of context, as it does, quite radically, change (transform) everything.