This CD presents an excellent range of rare historic Delius
recordings played by a diverse range of conductors, orchestras
and performers. I hold my hand up and admit that I am not a
big fan of ‘historical’ CDs, preferring something
newly minted with near-perfect sound quality. However, I do
recognise the importance of retaining earlier performances in
the catalogue for reference purposes. And very often one of
these ‘blasts from the past’ can hit the spot. Several
pieces in this compilation meet this expectation.
The first thing to notice about this collection is that Sir
Thomas Beecham is not represented. To be fair, many of that
conductor’s recordings of Delius are easily available
on Naxos, Somm and Sony. For example, there are at least half
a dozen currently available recordings of Beecham conducting
On hearing the first Cuckoo in Spring. So it is good
to explore other artists’ work which languishes in the
archives.
There is a great diversity of music on this CD varying from
such well-known numbers as La Calinda, A Song of Summer
and the above mentioned First Cuckoo. But this is only
part of the programme. There are some relative rarities here
too. For example the songs ‘The Violet’ and ‘Sweet
Venevil’ with the soprano Joan Stuart and the pianist
Gordon Watson are not a regular feature of CDs or recitals.
Evlyn Howard-Jones who was Delius’s favourite interpreter
of his Piano Concerto plays an excellent version of the rarely
heard Three Preludes for piano. This recording is the oldest
on this CD dating from 1929. Equally unusual is the Légende
for violin and piano performed by the Danish violinist Henry
Holst accompanied by Gerald Moore in 1942. It was the first
recording of this piece.
I am not too sure how satisfying Maggie Teyte’s rendition
of ‘Indian Love Song’ or Isobel Baillie singing
‘Love’s Philosophy’ will be to modern ears.
However, one has to allow for changes in style of singing English
song and the limitations of the recordings. However I was impressed
by Heddle Nash’s rendition of ‘To the Queen of my
Heart’ dating from 1934. Anthony Pini and Wilfred Parry
present an interesting version of the rarely heard ‘Caprice
and Elegy’. This was another of Fenby’s collaborations
with the composer and was written for the English cellist Beatrice
Harrison. It is a work that is perhaps a little darker than
the usual Delius fare.
The big orchestral pieces include a particularly beautiful version
of The Walk to the Paradise Gardens with Eugene Goossens
conducting the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra dating from 1946.
It is one of the best I have ever heard. Anthony Collins’
reading of On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is an
old favourite: I guess it is the same version as used on the
old Decca Eclipse LP. This was my introduction to Delius and
remains for me a definitive performance. The Hallé under
Sir John Barbirolli give a landmark performance of A Song
of Summer. This piece which was completed with the aid of
Eric Fenby was inspired by memories of the Yorkshire coast.
It is a near-perfect account of this impressionistic work. Equally
attractive are the Two Aquarelles which are deliciously
sensuous arrangements for string orchestra of the part-songs
‘To be sung of a summer night’. The first, in particular,
is one of the most moving pieces that the composer wrote.
The opening piece on this CD is Constant Lambert and the Hallé
Orchestra with a wartime recording of La Calinda. It
is a pleasure and a joy to hear.
Finally I was not convinced by Sidney Beer’s reading of
the Irmelin Prelude with the National Symphony Orchestra.
For me it is a little to sharply focused and hard-edged.
The presentation of this CD is excellent, the liner notes are
first-rate and the quality of the sound, bearing in mind the
limitations of historical recordings is very good indeed.
This is an outstanding disc that will be an important and essential
addition to the collections of all Delius cognoscenti. Whatever’s
one’s thoughts are about ‘historical recordings’
this is a valuable document reflecting a number of fine artists.
John France
see also review by Rob
Barnett
Full Track List
La Calinda [3:29]
Hallé Orchestra/Constant Lambert
30 July 1941: HMV C3273
Irmelin Prelude [5:03]
National Symphony Orchestra/Sidney Beer
8 June 1944: Decca K1834
Caprice and Elegy [6:43]
Anthony Pini, cello - Wilfrid Parry, piano
1955: Argo RG47
Air and Dance [4:33]
The Boyd Neel String Orchestra
20 October 1938: Decca X147
The Violet [2:32]
Joan Stuart, soprano - Gordon Watson, piano
1955: Argo RG46
Sweet Venevil [2:54]
Joan Stuart, soprano - Gordon Watson, piano
1955: Argo RG46
On hearing the first Cuckoo in Spring [6:18]
London Symphony Orchestra/Anthony Collins
23 and 25 February 1953: Decca LXT2788
Indian Love Song [3:12]
Maggie Teyte, soprano - Rita Mackay, piano
Decca LXT6126
To the Queen of my Heart [3:07]
Heddle Nash, tenor - Gerald Moore, piano
7 December 1934: Columbia SDX7
Love's philosophy [1:48]
Isobel Baillie, soprano - Gerald Moore, piano
31 May 1945: Columbia DB2178
Two Aquarelles (arr. Fenby) [3:49]
Hallé Orchestra/Sir John Barbirolli
1 April 1948: HMV C3864
Three Preludes for piano [3:34]
Evlyn Howard-Jones, piano
4 April 1929: Columbia 5444
The Walk to the Paradise Garden [9:23]
[A Village Romeo and Juliet (arr. Beecham)]
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra/Eugène Goossens
14 February 1946: RCA Victor 11-9493
Légende for violin and piano [8:40]
Henry Holst, violin - Gerald Moore, piano
7 August 1942: Columbia DX1094
A Song of Summer [11:02]
Hallé Orchestra/Sir John Barbirolli
2 February 1950: HMV DB9609/70
Performers include Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Eugène Goossens,
Constant Lambert, Isobel Baillie and Heddle Nash. 
