Delius: To be sung of a summer night on the water, Nos. 1 & 2

During the 1960s, Louis Halsey, together with the Elizabethan Singers and The Louis Halsey Singers made a number of recordings of British choral music for Decca. Three LPs devoted to the music of Parry, Elgar, Stanford and Delius and of folk song settings by a range of British composers, are here collected on this 2CD set, all of this material released on CD for the first time. Though his magnificent choral piece Jerusalem eclipses much of his other work, the beautiful Songs of Farewell, written during the last three years of his life must be counted among the masterpieces of English choral music. Diana McVeagh describes the Elgar choral songs as ‘elaborate, expansive, and gorgeous as sheer sound’ and so they are in these wonderful performances. All but one of Delius’s partsongs were recorded for the original LP and the disc of folk songs arranged by Tippett, Williamson, Grainger, Vaughan Williams, Holst and other front-rank British composers is charming and amusing. Original LP notes (including a very persuasive one by Louis Halsey himself) are reprinted in the booklet.

The best-loved and most popular works by Frederick Delius, performed by the world’s leading artists, in an accessible format at budget price as part of the ESSENTIAL CLASSICS series.

Frederick Delius (1862-1934) was born in Bradford of parents who had been born in Germany. His father was a successful wool merchant and although he allowed his son to study music he did not regard it as a career option. On leaving school he therefore joined the wool company but he proved unreliable; he did, however, visit Norway and Paris on the firm’s business and met life-long friends. In 1884 he was allowed to go to Florida as an orange grower. This gave him freedom from family pressures – he neglected the oranges but studied music and was greatly influenced by the music of the plantation negroes. He developed one of the most individual and easily recognisable harmonic and melodic styles of composition. He was strongly supported by the eminent conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, who gave numerous performances of his work and clearly established an appreciation for it amongst its listeners. Some critics have remarked that whilst his formula for composition was artistically successful it was so but within a strictly defined and narrow emotional and expressive range – certainly this is borne out by the popularity of the shorter works which form the vast majority of this collection, especially the exquisite sensuous idylls catching the lights, sounds, perhaps even the smells of the English countryside.

His last ten years were blighted by illness and in 1928 Eric Fenby became his amanuensis thereby enabling the composer to complete a number of works including A Song of Summer.

He died virtually a recluse in Grez-sur-Loing and, as French law forbade his burial in his garden, his remains were removed from Grez’s cemetery after a year and moved to Limpsfield in Surrey.

Having been born and spent his young years in Bradford, Delius grew up with the sound of choral song and he composed Partsongs with great ease.

The early ones have German texts (with English translations) and the gem is the beautiful “On Craig Ddu” -- one of Delius’s early choral masterpieces.

John Ireland too, made a significant contribution to the genre and he shares with Delius the gift of lyricism and colour. Heraclitus, Twilight Night and Immortality being among his most delightful.

The Birmingham Conservatoire Choir under Choral Director Paul Spicer sings them beautifully and with great verve.