Customer Reviews

Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet / Sea Drift

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This excellent 2-disc set is a reissue of historical recordings made by Sir Thomas Beecham. Rather than describe the opera I'll concentrate on performance.

The liner notes start with a truism: "Sir Thomas Beecham has long been acknowledged as the conductor who...held the key to the true beauty and meaning of Delius' music." One need only listen to other interpreters, even Eric Fenby (Delius' aide in later years) to reach that conclusion. The light and air that Sir Thomas breathes into these works is simply absent from others.

However, he had a head start - he knew Delius; he had magnificent orchestras; wealth enough to do as he pleased so he was not forced to toe a political or artistic line. He could champion music uncluttered by the mechanics of making a living (for most of his life, anyway).

Delius is largely known for his portrayal of Nature in Her many moods. But he also wrote six operas of which "A Village Romeo and Juliet" is the fourth (I believe). If nothing else, it yielded his famous interlude: A Walk to the Paradise Garden. I first heard the entire work in a recording by Meredith Davies and it left me a little cold. I put that down to Delius not being an operatic composer. Later came this recording as a reissue from 78rpm records and here at last radiated the living quality and luminescence of Beecham.

In spite of their age, these transfers are good enough to bring this opera to life. Background hiss is minimal (these were among the very last of HMV's top priced 78s) and a slight veiling of the sound hangs there. But their quality matches that of LPs from around then and just after. I'm curious as to why Sir Thomas did not insist the recording was made on tape - it was there and he holds the distinction of making the very first orchestral recording on tape some ten years before.

Tragically, Beecham lived to record only a handful of Deilus' works in stereo and some on mono tape. But a good few of his late 78s are of the same quality as this set - "Song of the High Hills" for example.

Lastly, the set contains a great bonus, a hitherto unpublished (tape) recording of "Sea Drift," made by the BBC in 1952.