Visiting Danville: Reflections on Delius in Danville and the Upcoming Delius Festival

by Michael R. Ridderbusch

Part 2: Sidebars (Recommended Books and Recordings; Eric Fenby Tribute)

Frederick Delius in Recordings

Recommended Works:
For those who wish to get acquainted with the Delius sound, the works in list one below offer some of the composer's shorter, more approachable works, though in every way characteristic of the mature Delius style. To explore further, try the bigger scaled works (25 to 30 minutes in length each) of list two.

LIST ONE

  • Brigg Fair
  • On Hearing the First Cuckoo In Spring
  • The Walk to the Paradise Garden
  • In a Summer Garden
  • Intermezzo and Serenade from Hassan
  • A Song of Summer
  • Irmelin Prelude
  • Intermezzo from Fennimore and Gerda
  • Two Aquarelles ("To be Sung of A Summer Night on the River")

    LIST TWO

  • Violin Concerto
  • Songs of Sunset
  • Sea Drift
  • Appalachia

    Recommended Interpreters:
    Many think Sir Thomas Beecham's recordings authoritative. Though I agree with this opinion, there are other conductors with much to offer. Foremost among these I cite Sir John Barbirolli and Eric Fenby. Others include Richard Hickox, Vernon Handley, and Charles Groves.

    Some Favorite Delius Recordings in My Collection:
    The following is not inclusive of all the best. The vinyl titles are now available in CD, but probably with different publishers and serial numbers.

  • Beecham Conducts Delius. Royal Philharmonic conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. (2 Compact Discs) (EMI; CDS 7 47509 8)
  • The Complete Part Songs. The Elysian Singers of London conducted by Matthew Greenall. (Compact Disc) (Continuum; CCD 1054)
  • Orchestral Works. Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields conducted by Neville Marriner. (Compact Disc) (London; 421 390-2)
  • Orchestral Works. Halle' Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. (2 Compact Discs) (EMI Classics; ZDMB 5 65119 2)
  • Sonatas for Violin and Piano. Ralph Holmes, Violin; Eric Fenby, Piano. (Vinyl; available on CD) (Unicorn; UNS 258)
  • The Song of the High Hills; First Orchestral Recordings of Songs. Felicity Lott, soprano; Sarah Walker, mezzo-soprano; Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor; Ambrosian Singers, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eric Fenby. (Vinyl; available on CD) (Unicorn-Kanchana; DKP 9029)
  • Violin Concerto; First Recordings of Suite, Legende. Ralph Holmes, Violin; Royal Philharmonic conducted by Vernon Handley. (Unicorn-Kanchana; DKP (CD) 9040)

    Sidebar--Frederick Delius in Books

    For those who have the interest to explore the subject of Delius further, we offer the following selective annotated bibliography.

  • Beecham, Thomas, Sir. Frederick Delius. British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was a friend to Delius and champion of his music (they even hiked together in Norway). In his biography factual detail, personal knowledge of the composer, completeness, and sober admiration are allied to a superb style, making it the best Delius biography I've read.

  • Cahill, Mary. Delius in Danville. A detailed and colorful account of Delius's Danville days. Fills a missing niche in the Delius story.

  • Carley, Lionel and Threlfall, Robert. Delius: a Life in Pictures. An attractive, nicely balanced combination of text and images conveying the essence of Delius's life and ideas, the people he knew, and the world in which he lived. Perfect book for introducing the composer, and for the expert who desires a visual history of the subject.

  • A Delius Companion. A rich, varied collection of writings by many distinguished musicians and friends of the composer, revealing Delius's opinions on music and life, his personality, etc., including many interesting biographcial anecdotes. Also includes critical and historical writings on the composer and his works. Where else could you read of his pet raven?

  • Delius, Frederick. Delius: a Life in Letters. A large work in two volumes. The letters are supplemented by editorial comment to tell the whole story. For the specialist or those who enjoy reading letters, which here reveal Delius a man of vigorous opinion and personality. Includes a fascinating variety of correspondents and subject matter.

    I had an opportunity to examine manuscript letters of Frederick Delius and the French composer Claude Debussy at the Library of Congress. The differences between them were striking: Debussy's manuscript was very small and extremely precise, whereas the hand of Delius was relaxed and free- flowing.

  • Fenby, Eric. Delius as I Knew Him. A classic and a must read. Eric Fenby acted as amanuensis (secretary) to assist Delius in completing some of his last compositions when the latter was confined to a wheelchair by syphilis for the last years of his life, blind and nearly paralyzed. Close contact with Delius and Fenby's keen observation and intelligence combine to convey a life-like image of Delius and the eccentric Delius household. At times unflattering to its subject. By turns touching, humorous, tragic, but constantly interesting.

    Regarding this period in Delius's life, the British composer C.W. Orr, in his essay "Frederick Delius: Some Personal Recollections", said: "That this man, blind and paralyzed, the face shrunken and withered, the body wasted to a pitiful mask, should have so far overcome these heartrending disabilities as to continue to compose, is surely one of the most heroic manifestations of a brave soul's defiance of Fate that the world has seen."

  • Jahoda, Gloria. The Road to Samarkand: Frederick Delius and His Music. This biography is of the genre that combines historical fact with fictional conjecture to create a biography that reads like a story book. Perhaps of value to young readers.

  • Warlock, Peter. Frederick Delius. Philip Heseltine, alias Peter Warlock, was a friend of Delius in his later years. Though later critical of Delius's music, this biography captures him in youthful, reverential tone, and reveals the breadth of his mind, venturing into music history, aesthetics, theory, etc. Interesting reading, good style.

    Sidebar--A Tribute to Eric Fenby

    When discussing the final details of my article with Gary Grant (of the Festival Organizing Committee), I learned from him that Eric Fenby had recently passed away (Feb. 18, at the age of 90). Instantly I'm reminded of the temerity of past intentions to send some sort of thank you letter to Fenby, in appreciation of the labors he endured in assisting Delius in compositional dictation, because some real musical gems resulted from their collaboration which would otherwise have never existed, namely "A Late Lark", "A Song of Summer", "Sonata No. 3 for Violin and Piano", "Songs of Farewell", "Caprice and Elegy", and the "Irmelin Prelude" (among other pieces). Unfortunately, the letter didn't go out. After the phone call, I contented myself with the gesture of listening to a few recordings and reading a few books.

    Eric Fenby was born in 1906. Musically gifted, he was appointed organist of Trinity Church in Scarborough at age 12. In 1928, compelled by the beauty of the music and the awful plight of the composer, Fenby offered Delius his assistance in completing his last works. Offer accepted, they worked in close collaboration at the Delius household in the picturesque French village of Grez- sur-Loing, Fenby devising a system for musical dictation. Much of the next 6 years were spent in creative endeavor, until Fenby was with Delius at the end in 1934. His relationship to Delius was chronicled in the Ken Russell film "Song of Summer". The film has been shown at Delius festivals and on public broadcasting stations in the U.S.

    After Delius's death, Eric Fenby settled in London, working for Sir Thomas Beecham on a variety of musical tasks. It was during this period in 1935 that he wrote "Delius as I Knew Him" (facilitated by three months of self-imposed isolation in Yorkshire). In 1936-39 he was employed by Boosey and Hawkes music publishers. After working for the British armed forces during the Second World War, he established the music department of the North Riding Training School. And after winning the Order of the British Empire for successful artistic direction of the 1962 Bradford Delius Festival, he assumed professorship at the Royal Academy of Music in London from 1964 until 1977.

    Eric Fenby made a definitive recorded statement of many of Delius's works in "The Fenby Legacy", as well as other recordings. He will be remembered with heartfelt gratitude for a lifetime of service devoted to the legacy of Frederick Delius, and the art of music as composer, conductor, teacher, and author.

    I can think of no better conclusion to this Fenby tribute, and to this article, than to quote from his book "Delius as I Knew Him". He recalls the moment of hearing the radio broadcast of Delius's death in Delius's home, after having endured with the helpless relic of a composer his final torturous moments:

    "That night we heard the B.B.C. announcement of his death, followed by that exquisite passage from the 'Walk to the Paradise Garden'. Looking out over the garden, as I listened to that music, I saw the world of music as he entered it, and the world of music, richer now by far through his legacy of loveliness, as he had left it. And I, being young and of that hard, cold, and materialistic post-war generation of those who know little or nothing of the world of which he had sung, but only of a world of shams and substitutes and devastations, felt a sense of finality, distinct from personal loss, as if with this man the very Spirit of Romance had died."

    And now compounding the loss from that distant moment of 1934 is the passing of one Eric Fenby, who represented a major link to the Delius legacy, and by extension, to the winged Spirit of that troubled yet vibrantly beautiful era preceding the First World War, the fin-de-siecle. However, and I'm quite sure Eric Fenby would have agreed, that "Spirit of Romance" lives on as captured in the music of Frederick Delius.

    If only I had written that letter.

    "Our days here are but one day."
    Frederick Delius, Requiem

    About the Author
    Michael R. Ridderbusch (1961- ) is a native of the Northwest United States and was educated at Western Washington University and the University of Washington, receiving degrees in music and librarianship. He's currently Assistant Curator at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University.
    e-mail: mridder@wvnvm.wvnet.edu

    Part 1 of this Article

    Delius in Danville Festival

    Back to the Delius Web Page