Delius Orchestral & Vocal Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Frederick Delius
Label: Sir Thomas Beecham Trust
Magazine Review Date: 11/1990
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 76
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: BEECHAM3
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Sea Drift |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer John Brownlee, Baritone London Philharmonic Orchestra London Select Choir Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
| Summer Night on the River |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer London Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
| In a Summer Garden |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer London Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
| Brigg Fair (An English Rhapsody) |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer Symphony Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
| On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
| (A) Village Romeo and Juliet, Movement: Interlude The Walk to the Paradise Garden |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer Royal Philharmonic Society Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
| Koanga, Movement: La Calinda (choral dance) |
Frederick Delius, Composer
Frederick Delius, Composer London Philharmonic Orchestra Thomas Beecham, Conductor |
Author:
This, frankly, strikes me as a much better selection of Beecham's pre-war Delius than the Beecham Trust's previous issue, which won a Gramophone Award this year in the Historical (non-vocal) category ((CD) BEECHAM2, 6/89). Here all the items, save for a charmingly played ''La calinda'' come from the composer's full maturity, anl each performance is superlative. Again, Anthony Griffith's excellent transfers for a 1976 World Records LP collection have been used, and generally they sound pretty good here, though occasionally remastering has this time brought a slightly over-bright quality.
There are those who have found John Brownlee's singing in Sea Drift to be loud and insensitive. Sometimes, it is true, he seems to take insufficient heed of the words, so that at the poignant moment when Whitman's tragic story causes the soloist to exclaim ''O I am very sick and sorrowful'' you don't quite get the impression of a soul (albeit that of a seagull) grieving for a lost partner. But this score can be a somewhat depressing experience if a mood of self-pity is allowed to dominate, and there is something to be said for Brownlee's dry-eyed, stoical stance. Certainly his clear, accurate, bright tone is in itself pleasing, and generally I prefer his interpretation to that of the somewhat insecure and lachrymose Bruce Boyce in Beecham's other published, 1954, Philips recording (nla) of the work. The London Select Choir is very good, and Beecham inspires playing of extraordinary sensitivity and poetry from the LPO.
Similar qualities are to be found in the LPO's playing of In a Summer Garden. This exquisite work is perfectly paced by Beecham, and the performance is an object lesson to some of today's conductors in the way that pulse and line are maintained throughout, while at the same time detail is lovingly and evocatively observed. Summer Night on the River is the most complex and elusive of Delius's short pieces, but here, as always, Beecham's insight and evocative power are masterly.
Beecham's 1928 recording of Brigg Fair was the first of three versions, all quite different from each other. Those familiar with the last, stereo recording (EMI (CD) CDS7 47509-8, 6/87), will be surprised at the extra fire and tautness of Beecham's conducting in 1928, so that one is aware of the work more as a set of variations than as a 'rhapSody'—and that's a perfectly valid perspective. The two remaining short pieces are played by the orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society (nothing to do with Beecham's post-war RPO). Generally it was not a particularly accomplished body, but Sir Thomas gets remarkably good playing, and the recordings sound very well for their date: the three 1920s recordings in this collection were frequently played to the stricken composer in his last years.
This modestly-priced disc is a gem, and I hope that the Sir Thomas Beecham Trust will soon complete a reissue of all Beecham's early Delius recordings.'
There are those who have found John Brownlee's singing in Sea Drift to be loud and insensitive. Sometimes, it is true, he seems to take insufficient heed of the words, so that at the poignant moment when Whitman's tragic story causes the soloist to exclaim ''O I am very sick and sorrowful'' you don't quite get the impression of a soul (albeit that of a seagull) grieving for a lost partner. But this score can be a somewhat depressing experience if a mood of self-pity is allowed to dominate, and there is something to be said for Brownlee's dry-eyed, stoical stance. Certainly his clear, accurate, bright tone is in itself pleasing, and generally I prefer his interpretation to that of the somewhat insecure and lachrymose Bruce Boyce in Beecham's other published, 1954, Philips recording (nla) of the work. The London Select Choir is very good, and Beecham inspires playing of extraordinary sensitivity and poetry from the LPO.
Similar qualities are to be found in the LPO's playing of In a Summer Garden. This exquisite work is perfectly paced by Beecham, and the performance is an object lesson to some of today's conductors in the way that pulse and line are maintained throughout, while at the same time detail is lovingly and evocatively observed. Summer Night on the River is the most complex and elusive of Delius's short pieces, but here, as always, Beecham's insight and evocative power are masterly.
Beecham's 1928 recording of Brigg Fair was the first of three versions, all quite different from each other. Those familiar with the last, stereo recording (EMI (CD) CDS7 47509-8, 6/87), will be surprised at the extra fire and tautness of Beecham's conducting in 1928, so that one is aware of the work more as a set of variations than as a 'rhapSody'—and that's a perfectly valid perspective. The two remaining short pieces are played by the orchestra of the Royal Philharmonic Society (nothing to do with Beecham's post-war RPO). Generally it was not a particularly accomplished body, but Sir Thomas gets remarkably good playing, and the recordings sound very well for their date: the three 1920s recordings in this collection were frequently played to the stricken composer in his last years.
This modestly-priced disc is a gem, and I hope that the Sir Thomas Beecham Trust will soon complete a reissue of all Beecham's early Delius recordings.'
Delius Orchestral & Vocal Works
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