This is a very, very welcom reissue indeed. Delius's operatic masterpiece has never had the number of stage performances it deserves, for a variety of reasons, none of them musical. The translation into English by his wife, Jelka, was poor, for a start (now much improved in this recorded version which Tom Hammond made for Sadler's Wells). Then, too often bad stage design broke the magic of the music; and not the least reason is that Delius scored the opera for a very large orchestra necessitating the engagement of a first-class (and therefore expensive) cast who can project their voices over it. None of these things need be a problem for the gramophone or, for that matter, broadcasting. The only trouble with the latter is that you can hear the work only very occasionally, whereas here you have a recording to delight you for so long as the records last.
You will see, then, why I welcome this reissue so warmly, for it was the only modern recording and has been deleted for too long. HMV have now got the six sides on to four, partly by leaving out a talk by Eric Fenby (who has written the booklet) and contracting the remaining five sides, without any awkward turns; it has therefore been re-processed, using (importantly) DMM and is now also on HMV's bargain lable. The 1972 recording comes up marvellously—not quite so clearly focused or so brightly lit as a modern recording—but perfectly acceptable—and a new recording might well have other faults, so let us be most grateful for this excellent reissue.
The names of the cast speak for themselves, with the leading roles sung by Elizabeth Harwood and Robert Tear (sounding fresher and more youthful in 1972), with John Shirley-Quirk as The Dark Fiddler. But if you look further you will find a number of names of singers who have since become more famous. The very small part of the Slim Girl, for example, is sung by Sarah Walker and the Third Bargee by Ian Partridge! I also noticed the names of Benjamin Luxon, Wendy Eathorne, Stephen Varcoe, Felicity Palmer, Martyn Hill and John Noble. The opera has been cast from strength, in fact. Meredith Davies gets idiomatic playing from the RPO, which is a delight throughout. The scene that moved me most was without doubt the opening of the final one, with the bargees' voices heard in the distance along the river as they gradually bring nearer their hay-laden barge in which the 'village Romeo and Juliet' will lie in each others' arms while they sink to their death. The atmosphere here is perfectly judged and I must pay tribute to ''The two Christophers'' (as Boult used to call them)—Bishop and Parker—for their admirable sense of stage.
I am now happy to leave all these details with you and to advise you, if you need advice, to snap up this precious pair of records before they are again deleted.'