l[ET!{SLETTER

of the

DELIUS SOCIETY

Presidents Er ic Fenby,O.B.E.

Hon. Treasurer: G. H. Parf i t t .

Ed-itors John \rrhi te .

l i lo. 15. AUTLrl0[ , 1972,

Contents

Ed itorial .

Forthcoming Events.

Sarbirolli I s Last Recordi-ng. Lyndon Jenkins.

Mid.lands Branch Report, R. B. Kitching.

fhe lelius tr'estival , L972 Jacksonvil-Le , Florj-da.

rrA Village Romeo and Jul-iett' in Washington.

EprTgRrAr

I a.m sure the entire membership will wish to join me in congratulating curPresid ent on h-i-s election to the Honorary Committee of lvlanagement of the RoyalPhilhamonic Society. This is a considerable honour which coulC not have beenbetter merited. and. I do not Coubt that the news r+ill be received with thegreatest pleasure and satisfact ion by us al l .

That there has been no Summer edit ion of the Newsletter is entirely dueto the dilatoriness of the Ed.itor and not to any lack of rnaterial; the fullquota of Newsl"etters should, however, appear during the forthcoming year. Mean-while, I should like to thank ail tnose who ha''re supplied me with information,articles and cuttj-ngs, and who have to wait such an inordinate time to receivea written acknowl-edgernent of ny gratefulness f or their contributions. !/e areal l deeply indebted to ther,r for their ded.ication to the Delius cause and withouttheir help I should. have no Newsletter to edit ,

The resignation of our Secretary, ivl lss Estel-}e PalmLey, both from thesecretaryship and from the committee, on the 6th July, is a severe blow to theSocietyr although not a surprise to those of us who have known of the strainund.er which she has been r,-rorking in recent years. During the past twelvernonths especially, she has been far frorn i,,rell , and. her private burdens are suchthat i t was inevitable that eventual. ly i t would be impossible for irer to continuein off ice, The members of this Socicty owe an immense debt to her for heruntirj-ng devotion to itts rrrork and for thc unstinting time and energy she d.evote.clto her correspond.ence and indeecl to every aspect of the Societyrs activi t ies.We wish her a well earned. rcst from al l these labours and- at least sone leisurein which to l- isten to performances of her favourite composer in quiet andtranquili ty.

Secretarial work will be shared arnongst theComra:i-ttee for the tirne being ancl wil} clo what itset by Estel fe in the past.

remaining members of thecan to naintain the standard.

*

Dr. Roland. Gibson has askecl me to express his heartfelt thanks to Charles3a.rnard. for having put on such a delightful out of town Dinner. Withcharacterist ic modesty he requ.ested rne to addc rtalthough I made a l i t t le speechabout ny prelirninary activi ties in l96L as f ound er mernber, that is now wel-l inthe past . . . e. . c the real founclcrs arc the menbers of the Commit tee, a Commit teebLessed. wi th a superb Secretary"o

The tr ibute to Miss Palmley wil l be endorsed by us al l . I cannot speakfor the remainder of the Conrnittee but woul-d say that the early days of theSociety hold a very special place among;st rny memori-es and that I shall nevercease to be grateful to Roland for bringing the Society into being and forseeing it through its initial and. most cruc:tral- stages.

)f

I

I have received a letter from lfiss Efeanor Inglefield, who infonns methat she is a niece of Delius r alrd in which she says that, when visiting theopening of the Newlyn Art Gallery, she was interested to see tta very loveIypicture entitled. rDelius I s l::meJint .rr She continues: ?rI feel that memberswho night be on holiday in the Penzance area would be interested. to go and. seeit. The art ist is Miss Ithel l Colquhoun of MousehoLe.tf I f any of ourmembers know of the picturer or should see it in the future, perhaps they would.write to me wlth their im'oressions and comments.

+( .)+ )c * )F ,F .,f

I should mention an error in Newsletter 14, page )-r, The recordingd.ates tAugus t 5th-8th , 1969 | agains t tIXfl Studio No.l, Abbey Road, London(ln a Summer Garden, etc) should have read. tAugrrst 6th-Bth, 1964t. fapologise for not spotting this typographical error before the Newsletterwent to print.

***-*r t+*)F

Mr. John Bishop, the Ner.rsletter Ed.itor of the Peter Warlock Society hassent me a copy of the Societyts new brochure, a handsome and. inforrnative book-let of twelve pages. Particulars are included of books , record.ings andpublished. musj.c and anyone interested shouJd. write to Mr. Sishop, who is alsoa member of the Delius Society, and. whose address is L4, Barlby Road , Lond.on,W.10 GAR.

Ihere is neither room nor need for comment here on the relationshipbetween Philip Heseltine and Delius s Sir Thomas Beecham I s remarks in his bookon De1ius have always seemed to me to show that he disliked Hesel-tine anywayand. was therefore lncapable of giving a just assessnent. That there wasindebtedness on both sides seems clear and Heselt inefs book on Delius and hismany fine arxan€ements and vocal and niano scores of the choral works andconcertos are of pe:manent value and an essential part of the Deliu.s heritage.

-) f )e**)e**

Contributions to the Newsletterr and any correspondence in corurectionwith i ts contents, should be sent to the Editor, L9 Maple Avenue, Maidstone,Kent.

)F+f)e*r(+F)f

Postscript - I have received a. letter from lv1iss I thell Colquhorrn inform-ing me that the painting: rDelius t lrrnel-i-n I will be on exhibitlon as partof a t one man I show consis ting of pa5-ntings , collages and d rawings , at DceterMuseum and Art Gallery, Queen Street, Exeter, from September 26th to October21st. Miss Colquhoun has had her works exhibited widely in Eritain and onthe Continent.

)F++*-K)e**

-2

FORTHCOMING EVM{TS

Saturd.ay 21 s t ( time and. venue to be arranged. )October Jul ian Lloyd. Webber (celIo) and John Forster (piano)

Programme to incLude the Delius Cello Sonata and BlissrsCelLo Concerto plus some cel lo and piano pieces byFaure.

Mond ay , ZJrd. Wigrnore ilal I ( time no t given )0ctober Recital by ftdth Allsebrook (Soprano) with Murray BrownTicliets are ( piano ) which will includ e five songs by Delius 3 -f ,1.00, 80p, "The Bird Is Tale'r, "[hi l ight Fancies t ' , "Sweet Venevi l" ,50p and JOp. rrThe Nightingale" and I'fo the Queen of my Heartt'.

( f t sending me this information, Mr. Giles Easterbookcomnents that ltlss Allsebrook 'thas great sympathyfor these songs, and sings them beautl ful ly").

Thursday, ZJrd Holborn Library, Tal-k by Dr. Lionel Carley - ftAnNovemberr American Journeytr being an iflustrated. account of aat 7 ,1O p.Illr research and l-ecture trip undertaken on behalf of the

Delius Tmst earlier this year,

Thursdayr I}th Holborn Library. Illustrated talk by Lynd.on JenkinsJarruary L97t rfsome obse:srations on recorded. Deliusf'.at 7 .1O p. n.

Tuesd.ay , Z)rd. ( Tirne and venue to be arranged.) .January, 1973 Presentation of the new recording ttA Village Romeo and.

JulietI by Mered.ith ]avies ( cond.uctor) and. ChristopherBishop (recording producer). This is to be und-ertakenin association with EMI Records and will be o'oen to thegeneral public.

Wed.nesday, 24th Carl ls1e l{arket Hall at 7.t0 p.rrtrJanuary, 1971

Tkttrrsd.ay, 25th Newcastle City Ilall at 7.45 p.ill.January, 1971

Friday ) ?6t1n London Quecn tr l izabeth l lal l at 7 .45 p.rr lrJanuary, L971

Northern Sinfonia Orchestra conducted by ChristopherSearnan with Pj-erre Fournier ( tceI}o) and Hazel Holt(soprano) " Thr- is concert ineludes the fol lowingworks: -

Vivaldi; Concerto in G minor for the DresdenOrches tra.

1

Delius: Four o1d. Engllsh love lyr ics:Spring the sweet spring;So white, so sof t r so sweet is she;Fair daf fodi ls;I t was a lover and his Jass .

Schumann: Concerto in A minor for cell-o andorchestra.

Schoenberg: Vcrklarte Nacht.

A note in the advert isement states: rrAn interestingextra attraction in this programme is a group of songsby Delius which have been orchestrated by Layton Ring,

Mr, G. Layton Ring of Northurnberland is amember of ouT Society.

Fr iday, 21rd" 1, The Bol tons, S.W"10 at 7,10 p.n,Febnrary , 1971 An eveni.ng of pi-ano ro11 recorrlings of Percy Grainger

playing works by Delius. Limited. aecomodation (fOpersons) and entry by ticket onfy.

Wednesday, 21st Holborn Library at 7.10 p.D.March, 1971 Piano recital by Robert Threlfall "Delius and his

fr iend.stf .

4-

BARBIRCLLIIS LAST RECOfiDING by Lyndon Jenkj-ns.

A coi-ncidence tinged with melancholy for Delians that our erstwhileVice-Presid.entts last record.ed performance should be of music by Delius.No more than a eoincid.ence though because in recent years Sir John Barbirolliseemed to have be6pn to record this music in earnest; and, with two a]l-Deliusd.iscs already cornpleted and other pieces on a rnj-xed. disc, who knows what rnighthave followed had he lived.?

During the intenral of his Society talk on Barbirolli last January,Malcolm bialker and I noted" three interesting things: one, that Sir Johnrecord.ed hardly any major Delius whil-e Sir Thomas Beecham was alive; what hedid d.o the ldy11 and" rA Song of Sumrnerr - Beecharn d-id.ntt touch; two, thateven after the latterrs death i t was e long t irne before Barbirol l i?s De1iusbegan to appear - as if the ghos t of everyone I s greates t rival- j,n th:Ls musichad" taken a long tine to lay; third.ly, a great paradox - why did Sarbirolli,whose relat ions with Beecham were scarcely ever less than strained, useBeecharnrs ed.i ted score for his recorCing of rAppalachiar?

E\ren if the record. sleeve had not carried. the words '?Edited and. Revised.Beecha.mtrthere can be no d.oubt that i t 1s the version that Seecham preparedand the Delius Trust published which is used. here; every other bar proclaimsit. 0f course Barbirol l i by no means st icks slavishly to Beechamfs idea ofhow the pieee should be donei one would hardly expect that from a eompleteprofessional l ike Sir Johno So the question which interested me whilewriting this review has been: is the end prod.uct any nearer the standard ofthe Beecham perfornances than other post-Beecham d.iscs have been? PersonallyrI think the answer i.s yes.

This performance is r ' tost notably ful l of lovely detai ls of phrasing;there is consid.erable presence in the more atmospherie secti-ons, the playingis of a high standard throughcut, the chorus excellent, the recordinggenerally good.. 0f course there are things one can criticise: the openingparagraphs seem to sprawl and lack a sense of direction; some of the playingis very prosaic indeed.e e.g. the last variat ion on side one; and in some ofthe 5/B sections the rhythrn occasional ly begins. to plod; the barltone soloistis allowed to adopt an unsuitable hectoring tone whieh I for one find unpleasant.But these are relat ively minor faults" On the technical slde, though thetone of the brass is generally nagnificent, the horns are bachlrardly placedand d.o not teIl nearly as much as they shoulcl; ind eed the whole thing is ratherquiet ly recorded, ancl a l i t t lc lacking in bess (although the double-bassesthemselves are rernarkably clcar) but the overalL impression is of well-cushionedsourrd. with much separate detail- that comes over clearly.

The perfozmance of tBrigg Fr, ir t which completes the disc isr I bel ievetonly a partial success. It begins r'rell enough but much that follows failsto rnaintain the earLier promise. The rhytkrm of the opening variations j-s

well sustained but the dreamy nocturne does not make its full effect; thesubsequent more robust passages sound well enough but a highfy idiosyncratictempo is adopted. for the solemn chorale-like tune in brass and strlngs with

5

which many will be rxrhappy. Only an average perforrnance then - and morersthe pity since r 3s rnany people feel that the fast Beecham recording offBrigg Fairf is not I complete successr we could do with a realty f i rst-ratestero versi-on. But where will it come from?

I have heard. pleas before for conductors to "use the Beecharo scores"to play Delius, Well no conductor wlshes his perforroances to be mere copiestquite apart from the fact that the Seecham scores needed Beecharn to reallybring them off; to use his scores even to the letter is by no means automaticgr:arantee of e Beecham perfornance wou.Ld it were that easy! But the verysuccess of the recording of tAppalachr-La I seems to me powerful advocaey f or theremaj-ning Maestri to follow Sir Johnts example. If he couJd do it, why notthey?

IVIIDi,AI{DS BRANCH RIBORT.

0n the Jrd December, J-971 Lyndon Jenkins presented a most interestingselection of historical Delius record"s. The progralnne was as follows: -

Beecham and the Old R.P,O.

0n hearing the first cuekoo in Spring (tgZl) - this record.ing was in Deliusfown col lect ion.

Violin Sonata No. I (tgZg) played by May Harrison and Arnold Ba:c Lyndon said.this is the only recording of Bax on thepiano.

Cello Sonata (tgZe) played by Beatrice Harrj-son and llarold Craxton.

Inte:mezzo from Fennimore and Gerda Qg$) Beecham frorn Volume 2 of theDelius Society.

In a Sr:nmer Garden played. by the Lond.on Symphony Orchestra conducted by GeoffreyToye This record was in Del- ius I col lect j-onand Mr. Fenby recounts in "Delius as I knewhint' that it was the last musie he heard.

-6

Serenad.e from Hassan - Lionel Tertis (Viofa) and. George Reeves.Song before Sunrise (1949) Beechan and. the Royal Philharmonic

(an American record)

thrilight Fancies (tgq ) ntsie Suddaby and the R.P.O. conducted by Seechan.

To the Queen of my heart ) (I91D Heddle Nash and Gerald Moore fromLovets Philosophy ) Vclune I of the Delius Society.

Vioiin Concerto Albert Sanmons, with Liverpool Philharmonic condueted. bySargent.

It should be explained. that, in the case of, the longer worksr extractsonly were played. It was fascinating to hear the works played by the originalperformers and we hope Lyndon will offer us another selection from his archivesat a future d.ate.

-x-***J(*)r

0n the Monday following a visit by four branch members to the AnnualGeneral Meeting and" 'fKoangatr wo had the final meeting of the season at theTrotman abode.

This was a Peter Warlock Merry-go-d-own consist ing of letters, extractsfrorn Cecl] Grayf s biography of the eonposcr and an excerpt fron D.H. Lawrence I s'Women in Love'f cmelly caricaturing Warlock; the readings gave a]L thosepresent an opportunity of part icipatingr end, between these, there weremusical interludes consisting in the roaj,n of songs sung by Clive Berorose( a nomber of the War'lock Socie ty) and Margaret Trotman. Jerry Rowe andDick Kitching also played extracts fron the Capriol Suite in piano duetundeterued. by comments such as "0h, not that again!f l

Delius figured quite pronincntly, the musical items including "On CraigDd-urf which was the 15 year-old Heseltine I s introd.uction to Delius. There wereal-so extracts from the correspond.ence 'oetween Dclius and. Heseltine includ.ingtwo concerning an enquiry by llcseltine whether Delius thought Lawrcnce couldgo to live at Solana Grove; Delius quashed this, suggesting that Californiawould suit Lawrence nuch better

The evening ended. in a somewhat ribald. nanner with Clive Bemrose singing

'?eter Warlock I s Fancy" with. the audience joining in the chorus.

R. B. K.

**.-* l+)e*J(

7

THE 1972 DELIUS FESTIVAL 0F JACKSO1WILLE.

JarruarT Zjrd, - Febmary 4th, L97 2, J acksonville , Florida.

Ulembers will undoubtedly be interested" in the following extracts from theFestival brochure, especial ly in view of Dr. Carleyts talk to the Soeiety tobe given on itlovember 25rd,. The brochure beglns, appropriately, with a tributeto the late Hugh Ald.ermanc-

"The J-972 Del- ius Festival is d.ed-icated to the nenory of thelate Mr. Hugh Aldernnan whose d.evotion to the musie of Fred.erickDeJius knew no bor,urd.so Mr, Ald-erman, a found.er rnember and.former lresident of the Delius Associat lon of Florida, gaver"ursparingly of himself in his leadership of that organisation,and. his unceasing decl icat ion to the cause of Deliusr utusieshal1 forever serve as a beacon of inspirat ion to others.r t

The 1972 Delius Cornposition Award"s included Performance Awards to Societymembers, Mr. A.J. Noakes arrd Mr. Crafton Harris, to whom we offer sincerecongratulations: -

FRTZE sHaiku - A Song Cycle for Soprano, Viola and Harpsichord., by Marilyn

J. Zif f rin, Bradford, New Harnpshire.

HONORABIE I{ENTI Ol[rContinuum for Orchestra ( lV Special Agent .OO?), by Gregory Kosteek,

Greenvi l le, North Carol ina.Three Symphonic Sketches in the Spanish Sty1e for Fu}1 Orchestra,

by Dr. Leopold. C, Bergerac, Newton Centre, Massachusetts.Progression (fgtf) tor Orchestra, by Maurice Wright, Durham, North

Carol ina.fhree Games for Wood.vrind Q,p-intet, by Willian L. Hooper, New Orleans t

Louisiana.Etudes for Brass Quintet, by Dr. James Riley, \dichita, Kansas.

PERF'ORMANCE AhARDS;Icon: Igor Stravinsky for Orchestra, by Geoffrey Gibbsl Kingstont

Rhod.e Island..Signs of the Times for Male Chorus, Piano and Percussion, by Jerry

Skelley, Boxl- ing Green, Oh-io .I t lhe Spir i t of Airrr and trAlonetr from APRit IvlOON Song Cycle set to

Seven Poems of tr' ialter d"e Ja Mare for Med.ium Voice and Fiano, byCrafton Harris, London, England.

rrComrad"es'f fron THnJl5 SCNGS I97A-7L for Med.ium Voice and Piano,by A. J. l troakes , Edgeware, Middlesex, England.

Elery for Sister Ki l ian for Piano, by Gera1d S. Gelatt, MiddletowntPennsylvania.

SPECIAL MENTTOIIT:Ded.ication f or Bass Vocal Solo wi th Organ, by 'u/allace DePue , Bowling

Green, Ohio.Spir i t Songs ( l -"" In the Beginni f lg"r 2."And Ye Shal l Be Fi l led") tor

SATB Chorus with Brass quintet and Flute Trio, by John W. WorsttGrand ,ilapid s , Mi chj-gan.

Three Arabesqrr.es for Flute and Fiano, by Alvin Epstein, Dallas, Texas.)F**t :*)+-)+

B

S?ECIAI EVUITS

Saturday, January 22Hayd.on Burns Fublic Library Aud.itorium

Saturd"ay, Janua::y 29Jacksonvil_le UniversityDelius lIoi;se open to public

Saturd.ay, ,Ianuary 29

J ,00 p. r r .

I 'The Yearl ing", feature f i ln based on Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings r novel.largely fihned in Florid.a, t'The Yearllng'f incorporates 1n its backgror,indscore selections from the music of DeJius. This f iho is beingpresented through the courtesy of Mr, Jack Strouss of Fi lms, Inc.,At lanta, Georgia

Sund.ay, January 2tRecorded concert of Delius l , lusic, Dr. Ralphcomrncntator, (Radi_o)

tr{ednesd ay, January 26Recorded. concert of De1ius nrusi-c, Dr. Ralphconmen.ba tor. ( Rad io )

8.00 pin.Andrews progxam

8.00 p. f i I .Andrews prograJn

10.00 &.r l l . to 1.00 D.In.

l -2.00 noon

8.00 p,rD.Andrews progran

8.00 p.m.And.revls program

T?"^ +- i* , . : ) -9us Lrr-p lii uh box l-uncl:. to So1ano Grove and St. Augus tine , Tieke tsGl.>O) shoul-d be purchased by Friday, January 28, through College ofFine Arts at Jacksonr,'i l le University. Bus leaves from JacksonvilleTf n ' i r r^

-^ . i -1. . .ufrrvvrDJ. U.) / o

SunCay, Jemuary ,rO

RecorCcd. co:icer.b of Detius mu_sic, Dr. Ralphf:ormrertator" ( naaio)

Tuesday, Fr--b'u,,-y i- g. l j &.rrr.Fh;r l l - :-s Fou:al lc; ' intervieus special FestivaL guests: Dr.Lione1 K.Carley; A: :c i r iv isb of the Del ius Tnrst , London, England, Mr. StewartI' 'Ialvil 1 e , Archivj-s t of the Percy Grainger Library Society, tr{hitePLi '":-ns j ' l i l .Y. r I ' I . ls. I l l la Grainger, widow of percy Crainger. (naaio)

l ' Iednesday^ -Ecr: , lar ; r Z l .OO p.n.Ja,cks or. v'i _'l- l. e l,Tnivers i tyDelius Fiouse oirer.l to nublic

'friednesdi-r,y, Ilefl;i1r.1r 2

to , .00 p.m., 4. I5 p. f l i . to 5, l j p. [ i .

] ieccrd,eC co; lcar: t of l : l . i * r rnusic, Dr. Ralphcorii l i .Jntatcr . (F.;i l- io)

Thursde.y, Febrr-rary 1Ar1in6'bon Rotaiy Club (rr l ington Lxpressway, I lol iday Inn)I 'The coinposer Frede:: ick Do.l iusrr - talk by Jeff Driggers,

J(

9

SUNDAY

Jeff Sriggers, LecturerAndrea Pettit, I{arpistRalph And.rews, tr'lutist

PROGzu}4Variations on an 01d &rglish funeLecture: rrThe Compos er Fred.erick Delius t'To Delius l,'lith Love: Fantasy on A Sr.unner Garden Theme,

for F1ute with Harp (or Piano)

lnterrnissionIvllnuet and Scene from OrpheusPiece En Fo::ne De HabaneraI[lnuet from LrArlelsienneSicili enneEntr I act

TUESDAY JanuaryJACKSONVI LI,E SY}IPHO}Iy ORCI{ESTRAXJacksonville Civi,c Aud.itorium

B. r0 prrn.Michael Rabin, Violinist

!ROGRAI'{ttDaybreak - Dancef' from Florida SuiteViolin Concerto, E Minor

Intermiss ionSymphonie Fantastique

+(' Open to ticket holders only,

PROGRAMME.

January twenty-thirdJACKSONVII.TE ART MUSEUM

4l5A Boulevard Center Drive8.00 prro.

Lecture Concert

WEDNESDAY January twenty-sixthTiiE WOliar'lr S Cj.UB 0F JACKoOIffIlIfi

850 Rlversid.e AvenueL2.5O p.rn.

Lecture Concert

Lionel K. Carley (Archivist of the Delius fmst, london), LecturerEllen Frank, Sopranol{ark Street, PianistRalph And.rews, FlutistNancy Scott, Pianist

Lecture: rfTracking Down DeliusAvant que tu ne tfen aillesThe Nightingale Has a Lyre ofOne More Day, My John

PROGRAM

in Paris and Grez-Sur-Loingil

Gold

10

Anonlmous

Wi]liam Hoskins

GluekRavelSizetFaureIbert

twenty-fifth

Wil1is Page,Cond.uctor.

DeliusMend elssohn

Berlioz

Deli-usDeliusGrainger

THURSDAY January twenty-seventhTHE FLORTDA JUNIOR CCIIEGE AT JACKSON\TILLE,

SOUTH CA]WUS11901 Beach Sou1evard. - Main Aud.itorium

12.15 p. f l r .L ecture

Ralph Stang (Concert and oratorio soloist, faculty mernber College ofWhite P1ains, N.Y. ) , Lecturer.

PROGRAI\TrrDef ius: fhe Solitary Singer -

His l4usic for Voice and lli-s Choice of Texts,

SATURIAY ST. CE'ILIA I\ruSIc CLIIB

January twenty-ninth

Art Center, 22 Marine Street St. Augustine4.00 p.m.

Concert Reception

David Middleton, Viol inistEffymae Fostert Pianist

FR'GRAIISonata for Violin and Piano DeLiusReception in honor of Dr. Lionel K. Carley (Archivist of the Delius

lrust, Lond.on) I Stewart Manville (Archivist of the Percy GraingerLibrary Soc:-ety, White Plains, N.Y. ) , and. Mrs. ElIa Grainger.

SUMAY January thirtiethUNI TARIAN-UNIVJRSALI ST CIIURCII

7 405 Arlington ExpresswayAaron Krosnick, Viol inistMary Lou l lesley Krosnick, PianistRalph Andrews, FlutistRev. Charles McGeheeProgram to be announced.

CUIViI'MR GAAERY OF AM'829 Riverside Avenue

,.00 P. i l l .Ralph Stangl Baritone Jacksonville Universityila:rrey Seholl , Pianis t Stud ent String Ql:artet

(lviartr Davidson, Stephanie Hack, Lind.a Hr.rd,John Moye)

PROGRAMI

A Reiverrs Neck-Verse Graingerltrords by Algernon Charles Swinburne

IIWi}low, Willow Grainger

From Settings of Songs & Tunes from Willia^ur Chappellrs01d English Popular Muslc

fhe Pretty Maid. lvlilkinr Her CowFrom British Folk-lvlusic Settings

Dafydd. Y Garreg Wen (DaviA of the tih:Lte Rock)trJelsh traditional- song

The Hr:nter and. His CareerFrom Chappellf s 01d. English

J"fl*r Ivhrsic

I I IEt Syn (.q. vision) , Op. 33a, No.6 Grieg

trilord.s by Aa. 0. VinjeVed. Rund arne ( Re turn to ii.r.ind arne ) , @. 11b , No . 1

Words by Aa. 0. VinieOg Jeg Vil Ha Mig en Hjertenskjaer (Ana f Should ]ike to Have A

Sweetheart) , Op. 60, No. 5Words by Vilhelm Krag

Eros , 0p. 70 , No .1Words by Otto Benzon

IVErhebt eure Herzen, Meine Bmd.er Delius

From A Mass 0f Life. Text by Nietzsche fromAlso Sprach Zarathustra

V(From Deliust two albums of No::wgian Songs for Nina Grieg)

Spillernaend. (ltre Minstrel) neliusWords by Ibsen

VenevilWords by Bjornson

Ved. Rwrdarne (Return to Rund.arne)Word s by Aa. 0. Vin j e

Prins ess enWord.s by Bjornson

En Fuglevise (fne Sird.st Story)Words by Ibsen

I ntermis si on

\rJ0n Wenlock Edge Vaughan Williams

Poems d.rawn from A.E.Housmanrs A Shropshire LadOn Wenlock EdgeFron far, from eve and morningIs my tean ploughing?0h, when I wes in love with youBredon Hil lClun

TUESDAY February lst[I{E FLORIDA JUNTOR COLTME AT JACKSON\ILIE

NOilf'I.i CAryIPUS45OL Capper Road

10,45 &.r l l rL ec ture

Joseph G. Brennan ( lutfror and Professor,Phi losophy, Barnard College,Columbia University) , Lecturer

PIiOGRA}T

'rDelius and lJhitmanrr

-12

FebruarT second :WMNESDAY

JACi(SONVII,LE UNI'ERSITYLecture Concert

Del ius House on Campus open 1.OO p.m. to 5.OO p. i l . , +, t5 p. f i I . to5. I5. pr I I I .

Lecture Concert , Reci tal Hall , Phillips Fine Arts Build ing^ J . 00 p rrrl.Reception, Phi l l ips Fi-ne Arts 3ui ld-ing 4.00 p. i l .L ionel K, Car ley (Archiv ist of the Del ius Trust , London), LecturerJoy Kincart , Patri-cial MacDonald. , Fianj-s ts

F11CGRAI{

Spoon River GraingerT\,ro PreLud es

Lecture: "Delius Before Beecham: An i \ .ccount of the l lar l iest DefiusPerformances in Germany und.er Dr. Hans lla;rmil

TI{URSDAY February thirdJUNIOR F3IDAY IqI]SICALE

Frid.ay Musicale Auditorium 645 Oak Street4.00 p,m.

Lecture - Ooncert

Lionel K. Carley (Archivist of the Del-ius Trust, Lond-on) LecturerStewart Manvi l le (Arehivist of the Percy Grainger Library Society,

I t rh i te Plains, N.Y.) , Lectr . r rer :Al len Good., Pianist

PROGRAI4

Lecture: De1i-us ancl Grai-nger Correspondence (Dr. Carley)Toccata De1iusLectr. ire: Percy Graingerts t ' . tork on Behalf of Delius (Mr.Manvi l-1e)Introd.uction of Mrs, iJlla GrainserCountry Gard.ens Grainger

FRIDAY Febmary fourthtr.RIDAY iqUSI CAIE

Friday Musi-cal-e Auditoriurn - 645 Oak Street11.00 &.m.

Aaron Krosnick, Viol inistWalter Steinhaus, Violoncel l is tMary Lou Wesley Krosnick, Pianist

PROGRAI4

Sonata f or Viol ln and Piano i$o. 1 DeliusIntrod.uction of Mrs. EJla GraingerTr io for Piano, Vlol in and Violonce11o,

No. 2 , 0p .66 , C minor Mend el ss ohn

t1

FRIDAY Febnrary fourth

DETIUS COMPOSITION AWARD CONCERTJacksonvil-}e Civic Auditorir.rn Theatre

B. ,0 p rrr l .

Jacksonville University Orehestra Willia^m MeNeiland., Conductor

PROGRAMtrOonradesrr f rorn Three Songs 1970-ryI A. J . Noakes

Mark Scott, BaritoneBrenda Bryant, Pianist

Elery for Sister Ki l ian Gerald S. GelattBurge Searing, Pianist

rrfhe Spirit of Air't and rrAloneil from April Moon Crafton HarrisRoberta Merrill , Ytezzo-SopranoBrenda Bryant, Pianist

Signs of the Times Jerry SkelleyMenrs Chorus of Or.ricron Chi Chapter, PH Mu Alpha

Sj.nfonia FraternityJoseph McCuen, Cond.uctor

Haiku - A Song Cycle Marilyn J.ZiffrinEl1en Frank, SopranoLj-nda i{urd, Viol istHarvey Scholl, Harpslchord.ist

Intermissi.on

Summer Night On the River DeliusSerenad.e f or Strings Warlockfcon: fgor Stravinsky Geoffrey Gibbs0n Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring DeliusSpoon River Grainger

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t4

tA VILLAGE RO}IEO AND JULIETt in Washington.

I am very gratefi:-l to Dr. WiLlia,rr Randel, to ivlr. Edward A. FalascaoMr. John Coveney, Mr. Richard. Foose, Mr. L. Robert Charles and ltlr. MichaelManningr aII of whom sent newspaper cuttings. The full text of these w111be given in this and in the following issues: as in the case of the rKoangatreviews they are printed. in chronological ord.er. The reviews are preceed-ed.by the perfo::nance particulars in the Programmes-

op'nA HOUSEIKfi\iNroy cENTnE

OPEFA SOCIETY 0F \,'/ASIflNGT0)[Fifteenth Aru-iversary Season

Wed-nesday Evening, Apri l 26, 1972 at 8.00Friday Eveningr Apri l 28, 1972 at 8.00Sunday Afternoon, Apri l 30, 1972 at 2.00

AIUERICAN FRdMIENEA VILLAGE ROM!]O AI{D JULIET

By Frederick Defius

Music d.rama in six scenes in EnglishSased on Gott f r ied Kel lerrs novelBy arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. ,

publisher and. c opyright owner

Nlanzra r ichfa:mer . . . . . . . , .Marti, a rich farmer . . . ! . . . o .Salie sollr of Manzr &s a ch:ild- . . . . .Vrel i , Mart j- fs d.aughter, as a chi ld. o . . .Sal i l &s a man o . . . . . o . . . .

Vrgl ir &s a wornan o o . ! c o . . . .DarkFidd.]er. o . o c o , . c o c .

Pastry WomanWheel of Fortune WomanCheap Jewelry WomanDoll and. Puppet Man .Fruit lvlanKnick-KnackFirst WomanFirst ManSecond. ManThird WonianSecond. WomanWild Gir]Stoned. GirIPoor Horn P1ayerHunchbacked Basstr'irs t Barge ManSecond Barge ManThird Barge Man

Fiddle Player

oao.caoaaaaa

loctooDaaaea

Scenery, Filns and. Projections byRonald Chase

Oos tumes d.esigned by Theoni V.Ald redge

Chase Lighting by Nananne Porcher15-

William Metcal-fWill RoyColin DuffyJr:ne AngelaJohn StewartPatr ic ia WelIsJohn ReardonMonica ArtLzJanet KenneyMary Jane StephanoHoward. HenselLewis FreemarrDavid LongYvonne EasterGlen CunninghamCarver BlanchardSandra CryderAdriana AmeLiasHelga Bul}ockMary Jane StephanoHoward" HenselMonte JaffeWil l iam MetcalfLewis FreemanRobert ldi.1liamson

Cond.ucted by Paul Callaway

Directed. by Frank CorsaroProd.uction coneeived. bv

Frarrlc Corsaro and Rbnald

TFe [ashington Pos t. Thursd ?y." Apri] 27 th-r . 1972 "

Everythr" a perfolrnance seemswrapped up in the Opera Socie ty t s newes t venture , rf A Village Romeo and Julie t't ,by Frederick Delius.

Given the firs t of three perf orrnances las t night in the Kenned.y Center0pera House, the fragrant score comes all wrapped in half-]ights for a fated.couple of teen-agers whose famil iesf feuds rnake i t impossible for them to l ivetheir love except in a. d.ream lrorfd..

As Paul Callaway conducted a score of exquisite, extraordinary beauty,even the orchestra pit of the Opera ilouse was covered with a fine serim tosustain every bit of i l lusion for those in the theatre "

As in last yearts f tKoangaft1

Frank Corsaro is again the stagepro jections by F.onald. Chase, andPorcher.

the Societyfs f i rst venture into Del ius,d.irector, r,iaking brill iant use of slid.es and.rrith sensitively devised lighting by }iananne

To sing Delius demands a special breed of vocaL art ist. The Opera Socletyhas done superbly in gathering together John Reardon rls the Dark Fid.d.ler,Patricia Wells and John Stewart as tilc lovers with an impossible drearn. Theyhave also put sone highly talentcd singers, with fine enunciation of the Sng1ishtext , into many lesser roles.

Already opera companies in St. Paul and Seattle have announced plans forincluding this frRomeo and Juliet" in their immed.iate futures, Capped byrad.iant music, i t is a magical opera, beatuiful ly real ized in the Societyrsprod.uction. A full review of the perf ormance will appear in all ed itions ofFridayr s \ trashington Post,

!he- Washington Daily News ( Crtv Edition) fhu"rday, April 27th, !972.

rVillgge Roneor di.grppginting by Nina Wde.

Washington opera l-oversI spoiled by two extraordinary opera perfornancesalready this season at the Kenned.y Center, Ariodante and Beatr i Cenei, were letd.own last night by the presentation C{. Village Rorneo and Juliet, the Americanprmier of the F:ederick Delius opera.

It was no fault of the cast, and. not so much that of the overall- productiontbut the nuch touted operla i tself leaves a great deal to be desired..

Is i t an opera real ly? 0r is i t a tone poeor set to nusicr or symphonicwork with the introduction of soloist and ehorus?

Surely the story is opera raaterial. I t is based on the Swiss wrlterGottfr ied. Kel lerrs story of l i fe in the Swiss countrysid e which he based on anewspaper art icle that eppeared in his l i fet irne. Kel lerrs reteI l lng the storyof two love rs r '-a1i and. Vreneli, is a touching and. dranatie tale of the two

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whose friendsktips and passion builds as their respective fathers hatred ofeach other Cevelops. fhe opera ends as 5a1i pulls the plug on the barge thelovers have boarded. to sail off together and the barge sinks.

Keller wrote the original libretto in German. Del-ius translated thelibretto his own way and actually wrote the opera around his own English text.

John Stewart .and vatricia liell-s performed their roles as Sali and Vreliwith great charm and al-so loveIy voices. John Reardon: &s the Dark Fiddler,was perhaps the strongest of the three leads"

The entire production takes place behind a see-thru serim and 1n frontof a screen. There are often two different picture ideas being played on thetwo d.if f erent s cre ens wi th a contrapwrtal f eeling that is of ten very eff ective .I felt fmstrated with the serim between me and the perforrnance. I neverrea11y felt the close contact that I enjoy with the cast.

-A Village and Romeo and Juliet will be performed at the Kennedy Centertomorrow evening and Srrnday afternoon.

TlLe EVening Bulletin Phil@1

Delius Opera has U. S. Premiereby Max de Schauensee Bulletin Music Critie Erneritus

WASIIINGTON t'A Village Romeo and Julietrr , Frederick De1ius I best and mos tfamous of hls five operas, was presented. last night for the first time inAmerica by the Opera Society of Vtrashington at KenneCy Center.

The opera whlch was first given in Berlln in 1907, has had few revivalssince that day. 0dd1y enough and despite this, i ts fame has been maintainedand" ]ast night this fame drevr people of the musical world from far and wide.

Ceeil Grey has said that tU Vi l lage Romeo" is "A symphonic poen with thcimplici t program made expl ici t upon the stage.I ' Expl ici t is hardly the properword. for last nightrs perforrnancer so masterful ly stage-direeted. by FrarrkCorsaro.

Ronald Chascfs projeetions and Nananne Forcherrs l ighting kept us in aworld. of shadows surround.ed by the nore evanescent facts of nature: itsgl int ing waters, i ts f ield of poppies, i ts grasses st irred. by the wind^, i tssky at dawn and twilight and. its l-eaves countless tapestries of Leaves.

It is impossibfel after last rui-ght, to accept this part icular opera in anatural ist ic approaeh. l l r . Chascts poetic evocations, such as the walk tothe Faradise Gardens &Te ideal ly wed.clecl to Deliust latc romantic style, 1tsimpressionism and i ts poetry.

I a$t a Delius enthusiast, but I was anazed at his sustaining power in tlr-isopera - a, power unsuspected. in his shorter pieces. There is a conti-nuousflowr a web of souhd-s that seizes the mind. and the ernotions.

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The effects obta^ined by Corsaro and Chase were not r:nlike those sorecentJ.y applauded in 'rTrista,nrr and tTelleas" at the Metropolitan last season.A ecrin added in giving the whole thing another dimension, a further escapef--

-^^1 i .t-.

I{usicaily, the evenj-ng was a}l one could. ask for. Paul Ca1lavay,Wastdngton t s faithful and talented conductor, erophasized the frequent strengthof the nusic.

Patri.cia Wells and John Stewart sang beautifully as the lovers, Sali andVreli, who like Roroeo a,nd Juliet, Tristan a,nd His Isolde, and Pelleas a,:ndMelisand.e, are unabl e to erist in the world. that su:round.s then. Mr. Stewartand M:iss lJells looked real1y young and appealing

To that stalwart, John Reardon, feLl a fascinating role of the Dark Fidd.l-ex.He sang with porrer and resourcefuLness and his acting is always marked byclistinction. Williarn Metcalf a,nd Will Roy were excellent as the two fatherswho are also belligerent farrnors, and the big cast was fj.Iled out wlth tafented1oca1 si.ngers. The English text could only be heard. in spots. 1lhen willpeople begin to real"j-ze that singing in English does not ensure even frequenti.ntet)-ig"ibility?

Music in this country owes nuch to this enterprising lilash-ington corlpanyfor naking it possible to hear such a poetically distinctive work presented insuperlative fashion.

The Evenine Star, W?shinston. Thurs4ay,, AF_iI 27th, 1972.

Roneo: Weak Score with J Fine Singe"sby Irving Lowens.

I'A Village Romeo and Julietr'r thc opera generally considered the best ofthe six composed by tr'red.erick nelius, finally rnade it across the Atlantic a littfernore than 5) years after it r,ras first seen in Ser1in.

Thanks to the 0pera Society of Washj.ngton, the American premiere of thepiece tobk place last night in the Kennedy Canter.

DESIITE the large cast, rrA Villa,ge Roneo" is really a three-characteropera, and the three principal parts r"rere brilliantly cast and beautifu-Lly sungby ?atricia !,ie11s (Vre1i, the "Village Juliet,") John Stewart (Sali, the "ViuagcRomeo") and John Reardon (the'Dark tr'iddlerrfi a mysterious, anbivalent characterwith no equivalent in the Romeo and Juliet tale).

The renaj-nd.er of the singtng r:r.nged froin excelfont to barely passable.

Not surprisingly, the saxoe preoduction techniques which gave the OperaSociefu a surprise snash hit in last scasonts rrKoanga't wete used in 'rA VillageRoEeo.I' These largely do away ro'i th orthodox scenery, for whic| a potpourliof moving pictures and still shots projccted on a double scrin (with the castfunctioning between the two scrins) is substituted. Props, too, are kept &ta ddnlmun '

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For these techniques, Ronald. Chase in largely responsible; thcy may bean important milestone in the history of opera as an art-forro. They are capableof generating extraordinarily beautifu-l effects and strong poetic inages, andthes e were not infrequently to be for^nd. in f 'A Village Romeorr .

But the Chase techniques are not without certain inherent limitatj-ons, and.these were, to my mind 1 particularly evj-d.ent in this production.

In a stinulating prograrn note, director !'rank Corsaro boldy hails the operaas Ita genuine maste::workrrr an oplnion he shares with other Delius enthusiasts.I lm afraid. the music j -n the piece does not sustain the c larn. 0f course, i thas i ts lovely rnomcnts, but for the nost part , the sccre is palc pastel . I tkcpt rcrnincling me of the paintings of i 'r-ivis de Chavannes.

I t is ironic ( and very illtminating) that f ar and away the f ines t rnusi cheard. yesterd.ay was the farnous "l/al-l< to the Parad.ise Garden.rr It was used inthis prod.uction es an inte r luCe betrrrcen the Last two scenes with stuming effect.Here is, quite tmly , "a genuine raasterworkrf ,

The trouble is that the 'r\^Ialkrr is not part of rfA Village Roneofr Deliuswrote it some five years after he conrpleted- the oper&. He used. thernese fromthe opera , but wove them into a cornple tely new tape s try of s ound. , much in thesaJne way that Wagner used themes fron the Ring for ir-Ls "siegfri-ed ldyllrt.

Del iusrs inst ict was sound, I th ink-. He dist i l led the essence of theopera into one brief, g)-oriously intense, wordlcss tone poen. The rest off rA Yillage Romeo|t does not breathc thc same exal ted. air,

PERHAPS the raost serious l imitat ion of the double scrim is i ts tendency toforce opcra, essential ly atthee-d.imensional ly form, into a two-dirnensionalstrait jacket.

In a curious reversal of rolc-s, opera str ives to attain a cj-nenatic state.Living characters move like inages on a movie screen I had to keep remindingmyself yesterd.ay that the singers on the stage were flesh-and.-b1ood human beingsand not merely shad.ows .

Somehow, the lack of depth and- breadth eools down the inherent ernotionalisrnof the lyric stage. f found no tears in rny eycs as I watched the twoimpassloned Jovers whose tr ials make up the plot of this opera,

P erhaps soile: of the trouble wa.s e certain cluns j-ness in the manner in whichthe techniques were used.. At t incs, back scrin project ions clashed with frontscrin project ions; inages noving on the scrims in dif ferent direct ions caused-me e certain anount of vcrtigo anC d.iscomfort; triple and. quadruple superim-posit j-on of inages was confusing.

BUI MORE of thc trouble , I &r0 cortvinced , was caus ed" by the generalf labbi-ness of the DeJius scorc and l ibret to.

I ag:ree with Delius biographer :\rthur Ilutchings, who wrote of thc cclebratcdd.rearn sequcnce in which Sali end Vlcli inagine themselves about to be rnaruiecl ina owiss village church: 'rThe bel-ls ring and the organ plays, vcrry glutinously

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and nastily, and the hymn sung by the villagers if one of the most sentimentalpieces of pious balderdash, grand Amen and all, that ever took its revenge upona man who had sneers handy for church composers". And the scene at the fairisn't on a much higher artistic level.

The orchestra under Paul Callaway played well and the pacing was natural;Theoni V. Aldredge's costumes were handsome; Nananne Porcher's lighting was(as ever) subtle and satisfying; Frank Corsaro's direction was capable.

"A Village Romeo" is repeated at 8 p.m. tomorrow and at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

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(To be continued in the next issue.)

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