Frederick DELIUS (1862-1934)
A Delius Collection of Rare Historic Recordings
Performers include Sir John Barbirolli, Sir Eugène Goossens, Constant Lambert,
Isobel Baillie and Heddle Nash.
rec. 1929-55 ADD Mono
Track-listing at end of review
DANACORD DACOCD717 [76:07]
The Danish label Danacord extends its commitment to Delius by combing the
historic market for choice examples of non-Beecham recordings. The programme
contains a good balance of material, and one is glad to see a couple of Argo
LPs in particular.
Constant Lambert recorded some Delius in the early 1940s. He accompanied Moiseiwitsch
in the Piano Concerto and his performance of this and La Calinda, which
opens this Danacord disc, can be found on Testament SBT1014. Sidney Beer was
always rather sneered at for being a moneyed dilettante but his Irmelin
Prelude holds up pretty well, helped by the superstars of the ad-hoc National
Symphony Orchestra – just listen to the luxury-casting winds and the strings
who seem to have modelled their luscious portamenti on MGM Studio orchestras
from the sound of it; maybe a smattering of café fiddlers helped too. Recorded
in 1941, this was issued on the last 78 side of Moura Lympany’s recording
of Liszt’s First Piano Concerto conducted by Royalton Kisch – but not issued
until May 1948 - so I suspect most will be unfamiliar with it. I’d never come
across it.
Another rarity is the 1955 Argo of the Caprice and Elegy played by Anthony
Pini, then Beecham’s cello principal in the RPO, and his regular sonata partner
Wilfrid Parry. The Beatrice Harrison recording is still much better known,
from a historic perspective, and rightly so as it was written for her, but
Pini was an outstanding player and this is a very persuasive performance indeed.
Another outstanding player led Boyd Neel’s string orchestra – namely Frederick
Grinke. Danacord has disinterred the 1938 Decca of the Air and Dance;
they also recorded, three months earlier, the Two Aquarelles, but the
Danacord selection committee has gone instead for Barbirolli’s 1948 recording
instead – a good compromise – and added A Song of Summer, a fine performance
from 1950, again with the Hallé. Henry Holst and Gerald Moore recorded the
Légende in 1942 for Walter Legge. It’s also on Testament SBT1014. Holst
was in the throes of a large number of sessions as a member of the Philharmonia
Quartet at the time. It’s probable that Albert Sammons was still contracted
to Decca at the time, as he was the more obvious choice to record it.
Vocal Argo comes from soprano Joan Stuart and Gordon Watson, who recorded
The Violet and Sweet Venevil in 1955. The preceding year she
had sung Irmelin excerpts with Beecham, which clearly did her no harm.
There’s a trio of stellar vocal talents on 78; Heddle Nash’s ardent 1934 To
the Queen of My Heart is here (it’s been re-released on CD). He also recorded
Love’s Philosophy but cleverly Danacord has gone instead for Isobel
Baillie’s 1945 Columbia 78. Maggie Teyte’s 1937 Decca of Indian Love Song
is here too and very valuably so.
Evlyn Howard-Jones’s 1929 Columbia of the Three Preludes for Piano
has been reissued on Dutton CDAX8006, which also had the Five Pieces, and
the Dance for Harpsichord. Orchestrally we find Anthony Collins’s On
Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring – which is not included in the Belart
collection devoted to his Delius recordings with the LSO (461 7582). Eugène
Goossens’s The Walk to the Paradise Garden comes from Cincinnati sessions
in 1946, issued on a rather rough sounding RCA Victor, but containing considerable
communicative inspiration.
In fact there’s a great deal to interest and stimulate in this selection.
I also commend the biographical notes and in particular the gap-filling approach
to rarer material.
Jonathan Woolf
see also reviews by John
France and Rob
Barnett
A great deal to interest and stimulate.
Track-listing
La Calinda [3:29]
Hallé Orchestra/Constant Lambert
Recorded 30 July 1941: HMV C3273
Irmelin Prelude [5:03]
National Symphony Orchestra/Sidney Beer
8 June 1944: Decca K1834
Caprice & 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 & 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 & 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