The musical compositions of Frederick Delius (1862–1934) cover numerous genres, in a style that developed from the early influences of composers such as Edvard Grieg and Richard Wagner into a voice that was uniquely Delius's. He began serious composition at a relatively advanced age (his earliest songs date to his early twenties), and his music was largely unknown and unperformed until the early 20th century. It was a further ten years before his work was generally accepted in concert halls, and then more often in Europe than in his home country, England. Ill-health caused him to give up composition in the early 1920s and he was silent for several years, before the services of a devoted amanuensis, Eric Fenby, enabled Delius to resume composing in 1928. The Delius-Fenby combination led to several notable late works.[1]
Chronological list of principal works
The "principal" works are those identified as such by Eric Fenby.[2] A division of Delius's work into phases such as "apprentice" and "middle period" has been suggested by many commentators, notably Anthony Payne in "Delius's Stylistic Development" (1962).[1]
1930: Songs of Farewell (setting of poems by Walt Whitman)
List of works by genre
A definitive catalogue of the works of Delius was produced by Robert Threlfall in 1977, and a supplement to it in 1986.[4] It is abbreviated as RT. The Threlfall sectioning is a categorization where works are assigned nominal numbers according to a roman-numeric genre numbering scheme. For example, A Village Romeo and Juliet is, according to Threlfall's counting, the sixth piece of dramatic work Delius composed. Thus, the piece is in Section I, number 6, so is designated RT I/6.[5]
Libretto: Delius, after Gottfried Keller. The orchestral interlude between Scenes 5 and 6, "The Walk to the Paradise Garden", is often performed and recorded separately.
Also arranged for string orchestra by Eric Fenby in 1932, titled Two Aquarelles.
[7]
1923
IV/6
The splendour falls on castle walls (from Tennyson)
Chorus, unaccompanied
London, 17 June 1924
[7]
Songs with piano accompaniment
Year(s) composed
RT
Title
Comments
Ref.
undated
V/1
"When other lips shall speak"
Unpublished
[5]
undated
V/4
"Der Fichtenbaum" (The Spruce Tree)
Unpublished
[5]
1885
V/2
"Over the mountains high"
Unpublished
[5]
1885
V/3
"Zwei braune Augen" (Two Brown Eyes)
Unpublished
[5]
1888
V/5
Five Songs from the Norwegian: 1. "Slumber Song" (Bjørnsen); 2. "The Nightingale" (Wellhaven); 3. "Summer's Eve" (Paulsen); 4. "Longing" (Kjerulf); 5. "Sunset" (Munck)
[6][7]
1888
V/6
"Hochgebirgsleben" (High Mountain Life)
Unpublished
[5]
1888
V/7
"O schneller mein Ross" ( O faster, my Ross)
Unpublished
[5]
1889
V/8
"Chanson (de) Fortunio"
Unpublished
[5]
1889–90
V/9
Seven Songs from the Norwegian: 1. "Cradle Song" (Ibsen); 2. "The Homeward Journey" (Vinje); 3. "Twilight Fancies" (Bjørnsen); 4. "Sweet Venevil" (Bjørnsen); 5. "Minstrel" (Ibsen); 6. "Love concealed" (Bjørnsen); 7. "The Birds Story" (Ibsen)
[6][7]
1890
V/10
"Skogen gir susende langsom besked" (Softly the Forest)
Unpublished
[5]
1890–91
V/11
Songs to words by Heine: 1. "Mit deinen blauen Augen" (With your blue eyes); 2. "Ein schöner Stern geht auf in meiner Nacht" (A shining star appears in my night); 3. "Hör' ich das Liedchen klingen" (I hear the sound of singing); 4. "Aus deinen Augen fliessen meine Leider" (From your eyes flows my song)
Unpublished
[5]
1891
V/12
Three English songs [Shelley]: 1. "Indian Love Song"; 2. "Love's Philosophy" 3. "To the Queen of my Heart"
[6][7]
1891
V/13
"Lyse Naetter"
Unpublished
[5]
1893
V/14
"Jeg horde en nyskaaren Seljeflojte" (I once had a newly cut willow pipe)
Unpublished
[5]
1893
V/15
"Nuages" (Clouds)
Unpublished
[5]
1895
V/16
Deux Melodies [Verlaine]: 1. "Il pleure dans mon coeur" (It cries in my heart); 2. "Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit" (The sky is over the roof)
Accompaniment later orchestrated
[7]
1895
V/17
"Pagen hojt paa Taarnet sad" (The page sat in the lofty tower)
Unpublished
[5]
1898
V/18
"Traum Rosen" (Dream Roses)
Unpublished
[5]
1898
V/19
Lieder nach Gedichten von Friedrich Nietzsche (Songs after poems by Fredrich Nietzsche): 1. "Nach neuen Meeren" (By New Seas); 2. "Der Wanderer" (The Wanderer); 3. "Der Einsame" (The Lonely One); 4. "Der Wanderer und sein Schatten" (The Wanderer and his Shadow)
[7]
1898
V/20
"Im Glück wir lachend gingen" (In bliss we walked with laughter)
[7]
1900
V/21
Two songs from the Danish: 1. "The Violet"; 2. "Autumn"
"The Violet" accompaniment orchestrated, 1908
[7]
1900
V/22
"Black Roses"
[6][7]
1901
V/23
"Jeg horer i Natten" (I hear in the night)
Unpublished
[5]
1902
V/24
"Summer Landscape"
Orchestral accompaniment 1903
[7]
1910
V/25
"The Nightingale has a Lyre of Gold"
[6][7]
1911
V/26
"La Lune blanche" (The white moon) (Verlaine poem)
Orchestral accompaniment 1911
[6][7]
1911
V/27
"Chanson d'Automne" (Song of Autumn) (Verlaine poem)
[6][7]
1913
V/28
"I-Brasil"
[6][7]
1913
V/29
Two songs for children: 1. "Little Birdie"; 2. "The Streamlet's Slumber Song"
[7]
1915–16
V/30
Four old English lyrics: 1. "It was a lover and his lass"; 2. "So white, so soft, so sweet is she"; 3. "Spring, the sweet Spring"; 4. "To Daffodils"
Five piano pieces: 1–2. Mazurka and Waltz for a Little Girl; 3. Waltz; 4. Lullaby for a Modern Baby; 5. Toccata
[7]
1923
IX/8
Three piano preludes: 1. Scherzando; 2. Quick; 3. Con moto
London 4 September 1924
[7]
undated
Presto leggiero for piano
Unpublished piano solo
[5]
References
^ abPayne, Anthony (Winter 1961–62). "Delius's Stylistic Development". Tempo (60). Cambridge University Press: 6–16. doi:10.1017/S0040298200055662. S2CID 145521419. (subscription required)
^Fenby, Eric (1971). The Great Composers: Delius. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-09296-3.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoapaqarasatauavawaxayazbaSadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Volume 5. London: Macmillan. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-333-23111-1.
^Frederick Delius website, Delius: Robert Threlfall, retrieved 23 January 2016
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamThrelfall, Robert (1977). "A Catalogue of the Works of Frederick Delius". The Thompsonian Institution. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajHeseltine, Philip (March 1915). "Some Notes on Delius and his Music". The Musical Times. 56 (865): 137–42. doi:10.2307/909510. JSTOR 909510.(subscription required)
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanaoapaqarSadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Volume 5. London: Macmillan. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-333-23111-1.
^Liner notes from A Mass of Life & Prelude and Idyll Naxos 8.572861-62
^imlsp.com, 7 Danish Songs (Delius, Frederick), retrieved 23 January 2016
^"Naxos". Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
^Harrison, May (Autumn 1985) [March 1945]. Lloyd, Stephen (ed.). "The Music of Delius". The Delius Society Journal (87): 37. (originally appeared in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association, vol. 71, 1944, pp. 43-48)