Customer Reviews

Delius: Sea Drift/Songs of Farewell/Songs of Sunset

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There is a rather unkind Tee shirt often sold at music festival in the summer, a shirt with the statement 'Dull, Duller, Delius'. Yes, Frederick Delius did compose some rather ponderous music, but the three works here represented (among a throng of others including his opera 'A Village Romeo and Juliet') go a long way in testing that criticism.

'Sea Drift for baritone, chorus & orchestra is one of the unique works for soloist and massed forces. The settings of poems by Walt Whitman are bathed in Delius' water music and majestic manner of addressing the voice with orchestra and chorus. Byrn Terfel is the baritone of choice for this work and he is magnificent. Richard Hickox conducts the Bournemouth Sinfonietta and Bournemouth Symphony Chorus is a deeply moving performance. Terfel not only is in glorious vocal estate but also enunciates the texts clearly for maximum communication.

Included are two other choral 'Songs of Farewell, for double chorus & orchestra', here performed by Bournemouth Sinfonietta and Bournemouth Symphony Chorus, Southern Voices with Waynflete Singers, with Sally Burgess.

'Songs of Sunset, for mezzo-soprano, baritone, chorus & orchestra', with Sally Burgess and Bryn Terfel is once again based on Walt Whitman's poetry and while it is not as dramatic a work as 'Sea Drift' it is beautifully performed. In all this is a clearly fine recording. Grady Harp, July 06

This collection brings together some of Delius' more popular choral works:

Sea Drift - Written between 1903-1904 is a work for baritone, chorus, and orchestra. What beautiful work this is! The few opening minutues are just remarkable, perhaps ravishing is the word for it. The texts used in this composition are various excerpts from Walt Whitman's poem "Leaves of Grass" that talk about the sea. Delius set these texts with a lush, harmonic backdrop. The melodies are absolutely gorgeous. The piece follows the structure of verses and after the verse, the chorus comes in to answer that previous verse. It's become one of my favorite Delius compositions these past few months.

Songs of Farewell - Written in 1930 in the final phase of Delius' life, which he was paralyzed and blind for the last three years of his life and he died in 1934. "Songs of Farewell," written for double chorus and orchestra, is one of the finest achievements of Delius' entire career in my opinion. It manages to capture Delius in almost a restful, peaceful place. The texts are, like "Sea Drift," based on texts by Walt Whitman. The music again accompanies the chorus with a beautiful harmonic backdrop and counter melodies.

Songs of Sunset - Written in 1906 is a work for for soprano and baritone solo, mixed chorus and orchestra based on texts by Ernest Dowson. It is very beautiful piece, though, it's not one of my favorite Delius compositions. It has some very nice sections, especially with the chorus.

The performances from Bryn Terfel, the Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, and the Waynflete Singers are all superb. The conducting of Richard Hickox is second to none on this recording. Hickox, along with Mackerras, are among the finest Delius conductors of the last 30 years. Hickox really showed an affinity for this music and I'm forever grateful for his dedication to keeping Delius' music alive. The audio quality, unlike one reviewer said, is fantastic.

Anyone who thinks Delius is dull or boring is certainly missing out I think. He may not be as bombastic as a Bruckner or a Brahms, but anyone interested in hearing a composer who developed a highly original language of Impressionism should check him out. His music is much more about setting a mood and letting the listener come to his/her own conclusions.

Also checkout the following recordings:

Delius: The Walk to the Paradise Garden
Delius: Requiem/A Mass Of Life
Delius: Orchestral Works
The British Music Collection: Frederick Delius
Delius: Paris, the Song of a Great City; Double Concerto; Cello Concerto
Delius: Orchestral Works

In every way, this is an inspired performance of Sea Drift, Delius' great masterpiece. Bryn Terfel is exceptional, vocally and interpretively. The orchestra and chorus are equal partners with Terfel in piercing to the heart and soul of this powerful and emotional testament of bereavement. Have a box of Kleenex nearby. The Songs of Farewell and Songs of Sunset ably complete the disc. Sally Burgess, mezzo soprano, is a joy to hear and goes well with Terfel's robust baritone in the Songs of Sunset.

I first listened to the music of Delius (1862-1934) back in the late 1960s. Infuriating and hypnotic at once. I think it was an orchestral suite derived from his 'A Village Romeo and Juliet', and I tried to turn off the radio but simply could not. I heard sounds of Debussy, with sprinkles of Wagner, yet a unique voice, not far from that mind-numbing 'minimalist' music of more recent years. Delius' piece just got hold of the senses (no added stimulants required).

This CD offers, I think, a good impression of Delius' music - flowing, ethereal and distant - by way of three song cycles beautifully interpreted by Bryn Terfel and Sally Burgess, and the Bournemouth Orchestra and Chorus under Richard Hickox, in the expected brilliant sound of Chandos recordings.

'Sea Drift' (1903-04) and 'Songs of Sunset' ((1906-08) were composed at the height of Delius' creative powers; 'Songs of Farewell' (1930), near the end of his life in pain.

Another world, alluring, languid, dreaming. Yes, you can switch it off, pressing some button, but it won't be easy.

There isn't much music out there that achieves anything similar in terms of breathtaking, mesmerizing, aching beauty as do the three works on this disc. This is music that grips you from the opening notes and transports you to a world of dreamlike wonder, and although it could perhaps be complained that Delius achieves the effects at the expense of dynamism and forward momentum, the overall experience is one of pure magic. This Chandos release is also the disc to go to for these works - Beecham's Sea Drift and Songs of Sunset may be irreplaceable, but Hickox has the benefit of warm, well-balanced modern sound, which is certainly a boon in lushly opulent music like this. He (Hickox) has recorded Sea Drift before, but this time around the music flows far more freely, and sounds far more coherent than it did on his previous attempt.

In all three works he and the Bournemouth Chorus and Orchestra (with the Waynflete singers and the Southern voices) achieve some gorgeous atmospheres, moods and subtle shifts of color and temperature; the music is wonderfully paced and shimmers with the warmth of midsummer, faint whiffs of cool winter winds, wistful poignancy and tranquility, as well as wonderful shaping of the ebb and flow of the music and its dramatic climaxes.

Bryn Terfel's voice is marvelously suited to this music. His is a magnificent voice, of course, but he scores as many points by his characterization and range - and not the least his ability to interact with the (glorious) chorus to ravishing and riveting effect. The voice of Sally Burgess is almost ideally suited to this music as well, although the partnership with Terfel in Songs of Sunset might sometimes come close to being a little over the top. Maybe. They are in any case given a superb recording; the sound is warm and clear and very dynamic and this is a glorious disc, very strongly recommended.

I WISH THAT I HAD LISTENED TO SOME SELECTIONS BEFORE BUYING. I REALLY ENJOY DELIUS' MUSIC..BUT, THIS IS A POOR CD AS TO "HEARING" DELIUS' LOVELY MELODIES; INSTEAD, IT IS HIS WORKS BURIED BY SINGING.