Sir Charles Mackerras: Delius The Walk to Paradise Garden (A Village Romeo and Juliet) (1906)
Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera
1990
John Barbirolli: Delius Late Swallows (arr. by Fenby)
Hallé Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
1957
John Barbirolli: "Intermezzo" and "Serenade" from 'Hassan' (arr. Beecham)
Serenade (tenor: Robert Tear)
('Hassan', drama (1922) by James Elroy Flecker )
Hallé Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by John Barbirolli
1970
Sarah Walker and Felicity Lott sing Delius
Playlist:
1. "Twilight Fancies" (1889, Seven Songs from the Norwegian ). English text by F. S. Copeland after the Norwegian Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
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| Fenby (left) and Yehudi Menuhin with a Delius score (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Eric Fenby.
1983.
The Princess look'd forth from her maiden bow'r.
The horn of a herd-boy rang up from below.
"Oh, cease from thy playing, and haunt me no more,
Nor fetter my fancy that freely would soar,
When the sun goes down."
The Princess look'd forth from her maiden bow'r.
But mute was the horn that had call'd from below.
"Oh, why art thou silent? Beguile me once more.
Give wings to my fancy that freely would soar,
When the sun goes down."
The Princess look'd forth from her maiden bow'r.
The call of the horn rose again from below.
She wept in the twilight and bitterly sighed:
"What is it I long for? God help me!" she cried.
And the sun went down.
2. "Wine Roses" (1897, in Seven Danish Songs). English text by Delius after the Danish after Jens Peter Jacobsen, 1847-1885.
Lift on high and clink the glasses,
Look how bright the Burgundy flashes
Like a ruby deepest red.
A faded day, a time gone by
Comes back again to my memory.
Now twilight is faling, the earth
has wended away
From the sun's warming rays.
Roses wild on the great highway,
Wine roses!
Where is our glowing summer night's dream?
Gone as a strain of music goes?
Wine roses!
3. "To Daffodils" (1915, by Robert Herrick (1591-1674). Orch. Eric Fenby. / Aux narcisses/ An die Narzissen
Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attain'd his noon.
Stay, stay
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the evensong,
And, having pray'd together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you,
We have as short a spring;
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die,
As your hours do, and dry
Away,
Like to the summer's rain,
Or as the pearls of morning's dew,
Ne'er to be found again.
4. "Le ciel est par-dessus le toit", 1895 (Songs to poems by Paul Verlaine 1844-1896)
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| Sketch of the composer Frederick Delius by Christian Krohg for a Norwegian newspaper, Verdens Gang, Christiana, Norway, 23 October 1897.http://homepage.mac.com/davidtall/journals/files/newsletter35-camden.pdf (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Felicity Lott, soprano.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Eric Fenby.
1983.
Le ciel est, par-dessus le toit,
Si bleu, si calme!
Un arbre, par-dessus le toit,
Berce sa palme.
La cloche, dans le ciel qu'on voit,
Doucement tinte.
Un oiseau sur l'arbre qu'on voit
Chante sa plainte.
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu! la vie est là,
Simple et tranquille.
Cette paisible rumeur-là
Vient de la ville.
Qu'as-tu fait, ô toi que voilà
Pleurant sans cesse,
Dis, qu'as-tu fait, toi que voilà,
De ta jeunesse?
5. "The Bird's Story", 1889 (English text by W. Grist after Henrik Ibsen) /Une histoire d'oiseau/ En Fuglevise
Anthony Rolfe-Johnson sings Delius
Playlist:
1. "La lune blanche" (1910, in Songs to poems by Paul Verlaine, 1844-1896).
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| English: Portrait of Frederick Delius (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Eric Fenby.
1983.
La lune blanche
luit dans les bois.
De chaque branche
part une voix
sous la ramée.
Ô bien aimée....
L'étang reflète,
profond miroir,
la silhouette
du saule noir
où le vent pleure.
Rêvons, c'est l'heure.
Un vaste et tendre
apaisement
semble descendre
du firmament
que l'astre irise.
C'est l'heure exquise!
2. "Il pleure dans mon cœur" (1895, in Songs to poems by Paul Verlaine, 1844-1896).
Il pleure dans mon cœur
Comme il pleut sur la ville ;
Quelle est cette langueur
Qui pénètre mon cœur ?
Ô bruit doux de la pluie,
Par terre et sur les toits!
Pour un cœur qui s'ennuie,
Ô le chant de la pluie !
Il pleure sans raison
Dans ce cœur qui s'écœure.
Quoi! nulle trahison ? ...
Ce deuil est sans raison.
C'est bien la pire peine,
De ne savoir pourquoi
Sans amour et sans haine
Mon cœur a tant de peine!
3. "I-Brasil" (1913; by William Sharp (1885-1905) under the pseudonym Fiona Macleod).
There's sorrow on the wind, my grief,
there's sorrow on the wind,
Old and grey! Old and grey!
I hear it whispering, calling,
where the last stars touch the sea,
where the cloud creeps down the hill,
and the leaf shakes on the tree.
There's sorrow on the wind
and it's calling low to me
"Come away! Come away! Come away!"
There's sorrow in the world, O wind,
there's sorrow in my heart
Night and day, Night and day.
So why should I not listen
to the song you sing to me?
The hill cloud falls away in rain,
the leaf whirls from the tree,
And peace may live in I-Brasîl
where the last stars touch the sea,
Far away, far away.
