Though it doesn’t really contain the big hits, this is a pretty solid collection. I like the violin concerto. I also like the “Two Pieces for Small Orchestra.”
The music is still a little safe for me, but it’s pleasant.
7/10
“Prelude” from Irmelin (6/10)
This prelude for one of Delius’ early operas doesn’t do much to make me want to listen to the rest of the opera. It sounds at turns idyllic and mournful but I don’t really hear drama. Maybe the opera is good, but listening to this prelude, all I hear is “high Romantic.”
“La Calinda” from Koanga (8/10)
As far as I can figure, this is the only part of this opera that has remained in the repertoire. It’s easy to see why it’s stayed popular. At the time, it was likely one of the earlier “Latin” pieces to appear in English music, and the melody is agreeable. I don’t like excerpts, but as they go, I guess this is pretty decent.
“A Walk to the Paradise Garden” from A Village Romeo and Juliet (7/10)
This has an immense, lush sound that conjures romance with just a little bit of tension. It’s not really my thing (and I generally hate excerpts) but I appreciate the craft even if I would prefer to listen to the whole opera to see how that is. (I don’t know that I actually want to listen to a Delius opera on the other hand…)
“Intermezzo” from Fennimore und Gerda (6/10)
This is pleasant enough, I guess. I have a hard time listening to these excerpted intermezzi as whole pieces.
Violin Concerto (8/10)
As you might expect the violin concerto is full of lush strings and alternatively searching and pining melodies from the violin. Like much late Romantic music it feels more often than not about expressing particular emotions than showing off particularly dexterity on the violin. That’s not to say there aren’t virtuoso parts, just that mood is central to this concerto, as it is to all of Delius’ work. It’s fairly easy to see why this isn’t one of the more famous violin concerti of the era.
That being said, Delius’ skill is aural “images” and this concerto doesn’t let you down in that regard. As with his best music, Delius paints a picture in your mind (or, in this case, a series of pictures) of a recently departed, idyllic past only every occasionally interrupted by the extreme emotions of his contemporary composers (and the war raging when he wrote this). Yes, he’s conservative, but he’s very good at what he does.
This concerto is the only reason to listen to this disc, as you can get the other highlights in many other places.
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring (7/10)
This piece is just oozing with Romantic lushness. It’s very pretty but it’s also so damn typical of the British music of its era. I feel like we’re supposed to be swept away by the image of a spring day on some estate in England somewhere; the rain has stopped, the sun is out and we don’t have any work to do because we’re the idle rich. So, in that sense, it’s effective. But should we really celebrate stuff that is so of a moment? I’d much prefer to listen to something that lets us know there’s an arms race on and that is fearful of the future.
Summer Night on the River (8/10)
This mood piece does an excellent job of conjuring a lazy float down a slow river at night in the summer, or walking by it. But unlike some of Delius’ other pieces, there is mystery here. And I like that.
Three Small Tone Poems: “Sleigh Ride” (9/10)
“Sleigh Ride” is Delius’ most famous piece of music, at least to my ears. I have heard it more times than I can count, and I can’t say the same for anything else of his I’ve heard. It’s justly famous as its opening is just about the jauntiest thing ever written. Look up “jaunty” on wikipedia and they should have an audio recording of the first 30 seconds. It’s one of Delius’ best pieces. It conveys the alternate feelings of joy and serenity that likely came from careening through the snow on a sleigh, something that still rather new for some people at this point I assume.