Delius: Orchestral Works [Original recording remastered]

Frederick Delius (Composer), Thomas Beecham (Conductor), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Thomas Beecham
• Composer: Frederick Delius
• Audio CD (April 10, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00005AVMK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,111 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beecham's Autumnal Delius, March 30, 2002

By 

Thomas F. Bertonneau (Oswego, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Delius: Orchestral Works (Audio CD)

With no composer was Sir Thomas Beecham more closely associated than with Frederick Delius: Beecham made his first 78RPM documentation of Delius in the middle 1920s just after the invention of the electrical process; he recorded Delius throughout the period of electrical stylus engraving, continued to do so in the "hi-fi" years of the monophonic long-playing record, and made what were probably the first stereo recordings of Delius in the late 1950s and early 1960s, for EMI. The EMI stereo recordings have rarely, if ever, been out of the catalogue. They appeared initially in the United States in the late 1960s on the Seraphim label, on two LPs. EMI reissued them as a two-CD boxed set in the middle 1980s, and the current, semi-budget edition compiles the best of the older two-CD anthology, reworking the balances just a bit, and making them available at a lower price than previously. The highlight of the program is the wonderful, autumnal performance of "Brigg Fair: An English Rhapsody," a work that Beecham committed to platters three times (in 1928, 1947, and, as here, in 1958). While the music of Delius does not absolutely demand stereo, it certainly benefits from it; the subtleties of orchestral color, the impression of depth so important to an evocation of landscape, the related representation of distance (as noted by Christopher Palmer in his study of the composer) - all of these become more vivid, and more vitally contribute to the living whole, in stereo. Let it be said that however accomplished conductors of later generations have been in their dedication to Delius, none has ever surpassed Beecham: the gentle rocking of the flute and harp in the opening bars of "Brigg Fair" sounds like the rolling countryside itself in warm pastels; the peroration in brass toward the end of the same work blazes for a moment before the music subsides back into its original quietness. The timing (15.51) is comparable with that of Beecham's pioneering 1928 performance (available on Naxos) and shows that the lambent atmosphere is not dependent on a retardation of the pace. The two "sketches," "On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring" and "Summer Night on the River," here receive their definitive recordings. (Only Barbirolli, also on EMI, comes close.) Beecham brings to life the two other miniatures, "A Song before Sunrise" and "Summer Evening," with the same deft magic; in the less characteristic "Dance Rhapsody No. 2" he knows how to mark the rhythms and does a more effective job than Eric Fenby did on a now deleted Unicorn CD. This is a splendid CD for those curious about Delius who might want an introduction to the autumnal realm. I can detect little difference in sound between this disc and its previous CD re-mastering for the boxed set. The original recordings represented the state of the art for their time and have always sounded as warm as Sir Thomas must have intended them to be.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT TRANSFERS , BUT THIS GLASS IS ONLY HALF-FULL, February 1, 2008

By 

Mark E. Farrington (East Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Delius: Orchestral Works (Audio CD)

EMI's GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY series has been mostly a boon to dyed-in-the-wool collectors...but not in this case. In the late 1980s, EMI released a two-disc set, BEECHAM CONDUCTS DELIUS: THE COMPLETE STEREO RECORDINGS. (see my review of this for a fuller picture of the Beecham-Delius recordings) Then in 2001, this single disc was released - seemingly "Volume One" of new transfers of these recordings. (In this same series, Klemperer gets a 2-disc set for his Wagner excerpts; but apparently these Delius "ditties" only "rate" a single disc.) In any case, as of 2008 (seven years later), "Volume Two" has not appeared, and there is no sign that it ever WILL appear. This means that purchasers of this disc are left stranded without the stereo MARCHE CAPRICE, SONGS OF SUNSET, and the 2nd through 4th movements of the FLORIDA SUITE. (The stereo OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY is also left out, but it is perhaps the lesser of Beecham's three commercial recordings of this work.)

Sir Thomas Beecham's tireless championing of his friend, Frederick Delius, is preserved in a series of recordings, made over a thirty year period (1927 to 1957). The endless fascination of this body of work lies in its marriage of old-world musical craftsmanship to a sheer poetic intuition which only the crustiest of curmudgeons could dismiss.

Beecham's commercially released Delius can be divided into three broad categories: the pre-war 78s (1927-38); the post-war mono 78s & LPs (1945-56); and these stereo sessions of 1956-57. (You COULD divide the first category into "pre-London Phil" and "London Phil", but skip it.) Some of these works were recorded up to three times, i.e., in all three "eras".

Delius's "amanuensis", the late Eric Fenby, always preferred Beecham's pre-war 78s for their greater freshness of feeling, and, often enough, it is true that "earlier is better". But with Beecham's Delius, the question is "HOW MUCH earlier?"

Now, there is no denying the unique qualities of the pre-war discs. (For instance, the 1927 FIRST CUKOO IN SPRING blows the post-war mono version out of the water, in every way but recorded sound.) Still, yours truly finds most of the post-war "monos" as fresh in feeling as the pre-war 78s - with the added advantages of superior sound AND an often greater understanding of pacing. In these instances, I actually prefer them:

(1) The 1946 (vs. the 1929) BRIGG FAIR. Admittedly, Delius himself knew and loved the earlier record (which must make it "authoritative"), and in his benchmark review of Beecham's Delius recordings in WHILE SPRING AND SUMMER SANG, Lyndon Jenkins also prefers the 1929, hands down. Indeed, the 1929 is a more overtly Romantic - even "perfumed" - performance. And SOMM's amazing transfer proves this recording to be far more, sonically speaking, than the "mere relic" described by Jenkins (who almost certainly referred to another transfer). But with all due respect to Mr. Jenkins, the 1946 coalesces even better; it makes the same emotional points, while seeming to emerge from a more contemplative "quiet". I dare to think I am on solid Delian ground, here: Eric Fenby, more than once, described the music of Delius as emerging from, and fading back into, silence. The stereo BRIGG FAIR attempts to replicate this approach, but with less energy. A new listener would find it superb, but once the earlier ones are experienced, there is no going back (er, um, "forward").

(2) The 1949 (vs. the 1928 & 1935) SUMMER NIGHT ON THE RIVER. This not only has more vivid sound, but more intense feeling; the woodwind execution is also superior. This is paramount, near the end, in those off-beat, pointillistic chords which, when more smoothly meshed into the overall texture, enhance this work's intended langorous, nocturnal ambiance. To my ears, the stereo version (yes, Beecham actually recorded this FOUR times) lacks the potent atmosphere of the mono 1949.

(3) The 1946 IRMELIN Prelude inhabits a perfect median between what Jenkins rightly calls the "swiftness" of the 1938 and the "more leisurely" pace of the 1956 stereo. This little Prelude, dictated to Fenby by the blind and paralyzed Delius, is based on themes from Acts I & III of the composer's youthful opera. (After Beecham's 1953 staging of IRMELIN, he tapped into Act II and fashioned the enchanting orchestral 'Scenes from Irmelin'. About 17 minutes long, and never commercially recorded, its only surviving Beecham performance is a 1954 air check, now available on a BBC disc. Should you encounter this, DO NOT PASS IT UP. "Slight" and youthful as it may be, no music captures lost innocence as powerfully as this.)

(The PRISTINE, SOMM and DUTTON transfers of the pre-war Columbia 78s are mostly superior to those on NAXOS; the DUTTON and SONY transfers of the post-war mono HMVs & Columbias, respectively, are also excellent.)

Apart from the exquisite FIRST CUKOO and the stunning DANCE RHAPSODY NO. 2, the stereo re-makes of the post-war "monos" tend to prove Fenby right: they come off as less convincing and "freshly feelinged". (Compare the stereo and the 1949 "monos" of both SUMMER EVENING and A SONG BEFORE SUNRISE.) However, Beecham recorded no commercial post-war "monos" of the FLORIDA Suite, SLEIGH RIDE, or the FENNIMORE & GERDA Intermezzo.

There are three Beecham recordings of the sultry DANCE RHAPSODY NO. 2, the first two of which he rejected: 1945 with the LPO; 1946 with the newly formed RPO (in fact, their very first recording together); and the 1956 RPO stereo. The 1946 was released in 1979, and Jenkins finds it "more spirited." It IS a winner, and quicker on its feet. Why Beecham rejected it is unclear : he may have felt that his new ensemble needed further time to "coalesce." But yours truly prefers the stereo for its deeper sensual "musk" - for lack of a better term - to say nothing of sound quality.

The FLORIDA Suite is a once-only recording for Sir Tommy (apart from his 1938 "La Calinda", the dance which forms the second half of FLORIDA's first movement and which also pops up in the opera KOANGA). Yes, FLORIDA is an early work; it lacks the contemplative content of, say, APPALACHIA and SEA DRIFT; and, at first, it may sound like Grieg-Goes-To-The-Tropics. Still, it IS the first major orchestral work of Delius, its tunes are memorable, and its orchestration translates into pure musical 'sunlight'. That is to say, this was Delius's first (and successful) attempt to capture the exotic and "far way", and you will almost certainly ENJOY it. (But again, to get the whole SUITE, you must track down the original 2-CD set referred to, above.)

With the FENNIMORE & GERDA Intermezzo, Jenkins prefers the 1936 for the improvisation-tinged solo oboe of Leon Goosens (which IS extraordinary), as well as Beecham's deft accompaniment (also extraordinary). But sonically and atmospherically, the stereo version is even more of an unfolding slice of Northern Twilight.

Finally, to end an admittedly lengthy review: SLEIGH RIDE (a/k/a "Winter Night"), originally a piano piece, was composed for a Christmas Eve party at which Delius and Grieg were present and must have truly 'made merry'. By all means, enjoy it : here is Beecham's only recording of this little "spirit lifter" which, incidentally, was the very last piece of music he conducted (as the encore to his final concert, in Portsmouth, on May 7, 1960).

If EMI ever releases a newly transferred "Volume 2" to compliment THIS disc, or if this set were redone as the "2-fer" it should have been in the first place, then either would be essential.

Until then...as a Delian, I consider this glass to be half-full.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inimitable, August 25, 2008

By 

David Saemann - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Delius: Orchestral Works (Audio CD)

This is a release of considerable historic importance. Sir Thomas Beecham was Delius's greatest champion, without whom this music might have languished without attention. Beecham conducting Delius was always a tour de force, never more so than here with his Royal Philharmonic, an orchestra whose attention to the subtleties of symphonic expression never has been surpassed. Unfortunately, only the first movement of the Florida Suite has been given, leading me to believe that the whole work is not to be given a full remastering. I have the Seraphim LP of the complete piece, and am convinced it is one of the unheralded masterpieces of the 19th Century--and Beecham's advocacy of it could not be improved upon. Luckily, there are fine digital versions of the work by Boughton, Lloyd-Jones, and Mackerras. As for the rest of the album, it is Beecham in clover. I have some favorite moments. The Dance Rhapsody No. 2 is inexpressively sprightly, and the Irmelin Prelude is even better than Barbirolli's fine version. Sleighride is appropriately wistful, and On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is effortlessly evocative. The sound engineering, from 1956-7, is generally effective in portraying the orchestra's textures, although I did notice one or two cases when the tuttis were compressed. If you've never heard Delius's music, or if you're looking for a good way to add to your Beecham holdings, this must be an essential disc.