These performances of five works by Delius under Thomas Beecham, his friend and foremost champion, are incomparable for their authenticity and the beauty of their sound. The music has all the hallmarks of Delius's style: the calm, lyrical serenity; the shimmering, colorful, often lush orchestration; the evocation of nature, not through imitative sound effects, but rather through its peaceful, languid atmosphere. "The Walk to the Paradise Garden," from
A Village Romeo and Juliet, a lovely, pastoral, impressionist piece, was recorded in 1927 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a group of freelance musicians; the rest, recorded in 1936, features the London Philharmonic, formed by Beecham in 1932. The playing throughout is beguilingly beautiful, and no wonder: the woodwinds include some of the greatest English players of the time, notably oboist Léon Goossens and clarinetist Reginald Kell. Their solos shed a special, delicate luster over "In a Summer Garden" and the Intermezzo from the opera
Fennimore and Gerda, assembled from the prelude and two scenes by Eric Fenby, Delius's selfless, indispensable secretary, and performed here for the first time. "Over the Hills and Far Away," a youthful work clearly influenced by Wagner, is simple, wistful, and episodic. The disc's most substantial piece is "Sea Drift," for baritone, chorus, and orchestra, set to a long poem by Walt Whitman (the text, alas, is not included). Colorful, atmospheric, somewhat discursive, with many changes of mood and texture, it rises to several dramatic climaxes, but ends in resignation. Brownlee's voice is a bit dry, but he sings with much understanding; the chorus is excellent.
--Edith Eisler
