Frederick DELIUS (1874-1934).
The Beecham Collection
Brigg Fair. Symphony Orchestra, recorded December 11 1928 & July
10 1929;
On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring and The Walk to the Paradise
Garden (from A Village Romeo and Juliet). Orchestra of the Royal
Philharmonic Society, rec. December 19-20 1927;
Sea Drift*. Dennis Noble, Manchester Beecham Opera Chorus, London
Symphony Orchestra, rec. November 11 1928;
North Country Sketches: 'Autumn'* and 'Winter Landscape'*;
Song before Sunrise*; A Dance Rhapsody (No 2)*. London Philharmonic
Orchestra, rec. October 16 1945. (* previously unissued)
SOMM-BEECHAM 10
[74.45]
Crotchet
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This latest instalment in the SOMM Beecham series includes some of Sir Thomas's
earliest Delius recordings and several test pressings that are being issued
here for the first time. Beecham only started to record the works of Delius
in the last six years of the composer's life.
The first two records to be issued were of The Walk to the Paradise
Garden and On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring with
an orchestra that was assembled for the Royal Philharmonic Society's concerts
and went under that name (not, of course, to be confused with the similarly
named orchestra that Beecham formed in 1946). These recordings were made
in the Fyvie Hall in the Regent Street Polytechnic, London on 19-20 December
1927.
The First Cuckoo had been a regular encore during Beecham's winter
tour with the London Symphony Orchestra in November and December 1926, and
he had recently programmed both works with that orchestra. (Beecham had not
conducted a Royal Philharmonic Society concert since 1918 but he was due
to do so in March 1928 when he would receive the Society's Gold Medal, and
he was to employ its orchestra for the penultimate concert of his 1929 Delius
Festival.)
Almost six months later, on 11 July with the LSO in the Central Hall,
Westminster, he attempted to record Brigg Fair, presumably
complete as four sides were taken, but this was not published for whatever
reason. But the next day, in the same hall with the Royal Philharmonic Society
Orchestra, Summer Night on the River was successfully captured on
disc. It is in some ways a pity that this was not included on the CD under
review, not only because it is the companion piece to The First Cuckoo
but because it would give some continuity to these early recordings. (The
first of four recordings Beecham made of this work, it has been issued on
Dutton CDLX 7011 and more recently on Naxos 8.110904.)
Next to be attempted was Sea Drift, on November 11 1928. This
is the earliest of four studio recordings, although not one which he ultimately
approved for release. The 120-strong Manchester Beecham Operatic Choir was
making its first visit to London for a Royal Albert Hall Armistice Day concert
with the London Symphony Orchestra at 3 p.m. that included Sea Drift
(an appropriate choice for the occasion) and Elgar's For the Fallen,
the LSO leader W. H. Reed taking over the conducting in many operatic solos
because Beecham had an injured hand. Although this was a Sunday, Sea Drift
was recorded that same day (presumably in the morning) in the
Portman Rooms, London, the LSO for contractual reasons being named the 'Symphony
Orchestra'. At that same venue, a month later and also on July 10 the following
year, Brigg Fair was successfully taken down with the 'Symphony
Orchestra'. Apart from some songs in which he accompanied Dora Labbette,
the only other Delius recording that Beecham made during the composer's life-time
was Paris, for the first of the three Delius Society volumes, though
Delius was never to hear the test pressings because, as Eric Fenby tells
us, they were held up by the French customs.
Brigg Fair comes first on this CD and makes a most suitable
opener. Beecham made three commercial recordings of this much-loved work
and this, the earliest version, has sounded its age in some transfers. Not
here. Compare the opening with either its LP re-issue in the World Records
boxed set SHB32 (one of the better transfers), its first CD appearance in
The Beecham Collection on BEECHAM 3, or in the new Naxos 'Delius Orchestral
Works Vol. 3' (8.110906), and one can hear that the SOMM engineer, Gary Moore,
has achieved wonders in opening out the sound, giving space around the notes
as it were to add a further dimension. The harp is crystal clear; the surface
noise is minimal but nothing has been lost. The occasional scuffs and familiar
78 thuds betray wear in the pressings used but the sound has a brightness
and a clarity that rivet the ear and give a real presence to the performance.
The Naxos version is anyway hors de combat because, as a comparison
of its opening bars with any other recording shows only too clearly, the
pitch is higher than it should be and consequently its playing time a minute
shorter. Delians have Beecham's 1928/9, 1946 and 1956/7 (stereo) versions
(Dutton CDLX7028 and EMI CDM5 67552-2) to choose between. This first version
moves forward with much more purpose, especially in the exposition of the
theme itself, and in the beautiful pastoral section that Beecham draws it
out more in the 1946 version, emphasising the three-against-four in the crotchet
triplets, and adding a minute-and-a-half to the work's overall timing. His
last version, that benefits from stereo sound, is almost as relaxed, making
up in beauty for what it lacks in drive. But for the extra excitement it
offers, no-one should be without the earliest version issued here which has
a real sense of discovery about it. (Michael Gray's Beecham: A Centenary
Discography indicates that as many as 11 'takes' were made of the first
side over three days. Early American pressings used the fifth 'take' while
later ones used the tenth which would seem to be the one used in all the
CD transfers.)
Like Brigg Fair, Beecham made three recordings of On Hearing
the First Cuckoo in Spring (1927, 1946/8 and 1956, Dutton and EMI
as above). There is little to choose between the two '78' versions. The middle
version is slightly more refined while the earlier one if anything seems
fresher with an ounce more character in the phrasing and playing. In Delius
as I knew him Eric Fenby describes listening to this 1927 recording at
Grez-sur-Loing in the presence of the composer: 'Sitting there opposite him
in the quiet of that great room, with no fidgeting neighbours or disturbing
faces to distract, one touched the very heart of Music in those exquisite
opening bars. Never had the sound of the strings nor Goossens' oboe-playing
seemed so magical !' he writes.
It is curious that Beecham made one recording only of The Walk to the
Paradise Garden (apart from the complete A Village Romeo and
Juliet set recorded in 1948) but, despite its age, it sounds well. It
is beautifully paced, and played with both tenderness and passion. It is
worth remembering that, besides countless performances of The Walk,
Beecham staged the opera in 1910 and 1920 at Covent Garden, in 1934 at the
Royal College of Music, and he conducted broadcasts at the BBC in 1932 and
1948.
The first of the rarities on this CD is the performance of Sea Drift
with Dennis Noble as soloist. (Over a month earlier he had sung it with
Beecham at the 1928 Leeds Festival, the performance to which Eric Fenby had
failed to gain admittance: 'My dear boy, if I only had known I would have
put you on the platform!' was Beecham's comment.) This had a private release
on an American Beecham Society LP, WHS-107, but here it has been splendidly
cleaned up, the sound brightened, and alternative 'takes' used to produce
the most satisfactory whole. Dennis Noble proves a fine interpreter. His
diction is superb and every word is audible. (Three years later he was to
introduce Belshazzar's Feast at Leeds.) It is not known why Beecham
did not approve this recording for release but it was quite likely a matter
of balance: the opening favours the strings too much so that the individual
woodwind lines are not clear, but it is a fine performance, making a worthy
addition to the Beecham's three other versions (John Brownlee 1936, Gordon
Clinton 1951 and Bruce Boyce in 1954). One wonders whether Delius had test
pressings of Noble's version to play at Grez.
In 1946 Beecham staged the second of his great Delius Festivals, this time
with his newly-formed Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. (Snatches from that Festival
have survived on private acetates deposited in the National Sound Archive.)
He took the opportunity to record in the studio a good number of works from
the Festival (among them The Song of the High Hills, Violin
Concerto, Paa Vidderne, Songs of Sunset), some before,
some after the pubic performance. Two movements from North Country
Sketches were recorded in October 1945 with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra (with The March of Spring left incomplete). At the same
session he attempted the rather enigmatic Dance Rhapsody No 2,
returning to it a year later with the RPO. In the end nothing from these
sessions was approved for release, but in 1979 the second attempt at Dance
Rhapsody No 2 was issued in the World Records set SHB54 (and re-issued
in 1998 on Dutton CDLX 7028). Now here for the first time we have that earlier
LPO version of Dance Rhapsody No 2, together with the two movements
from North Country Sketches and, recorded at the same time, A
Song before Sunrise (which, after a further attempt with the RPO in
December 1946, he finally captured to his satisfaction in April 1949 - issued
on Dutton).
These unpublished 'takes' provide a fascinating glimpse into Beecham's work
in the studio, how he moulded his interpretations, and the exacting standards
he set himself (as if the 11 attempts at Brigg Fair were not evidence
enough). He returned to North Country Sketches in February
1949 (the 78 set eventually being released on LP and later on CD - SONY
SMK58934). The two readings of Winter start at a similar tempo, but
this becomes more varied in the later version, bringing rather more atmosphere.
Much the same happens with the two versions of A Song before
Sunrise: they set off at a similar pace but in the later recording Beecham
finds more time to explore the middle section before the reprise of the opening.
At around five minutes' length (4' 51" and 5' 38" respectively) it was not
a work that would fit easily onto a single 78 side, although Barbirolli had
just managed it with his 1929 recording (re-issued on Dutton CDSJB1005).
Dance Rhapsody No 2, a work that Beecham performed very infrequently,
here sounds hurried, especially when compared against the more measured pace
of his second attempt, but it is most interesting to be able to make the
comparison of these two readings taken down a year apart, with neither of
which he was ultimately sufficiently satisfied to release.
The last four tracks on this CD are in essence 'collectors' items' and probably
of less interest to the general Delian (although one is nevertheless grateful
for having them). But the two recordings that make this issue specially important
are the freshly-minted Brigg Fair from 1929 and Dennis Noble's
strong delivery of Sea Drift. With the 1934 Leeds Festival
Arabesque and Songs of Sunset in the previous release in this
series, SOMM is coming up with real treasures. What next?
Stephen Lloyd
