Two English composers, Frederick Delius and Gustav Holst, were both born of German parentage, both dead in the same year of 1934, and with little else in common. We start with Delius, and in the years that Bill played as a trombonist in orchestras around the US, he doesn’t recall ever having performed a Delius symphony. Bill describes Delius as having an affinity with Benjamin Britten and we will listen to “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring” which evokes sounds of the Yorkshire Moors.
Two Very Different Worlds Delius and Holst
Playlist
Episode 1
Delius, Frederick: Florida Suite, Nocturne, II (excerpt)
Charles Abramovic, piano
Delius: Piano Music / Charles Abramovic
DTR 2001
1:22
Delius, Frederick: Koanga
“La Calinda”
Hallé Orchestra/John Barbirolli
Orchestral Works
EMI 65119
4:17
Delius, Frederick: Piano Concerto (excerpt)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Norman Del Mar; Philip Fowke, piano
The Delius Collection – Vol 2
Unicorn 2072
4:47
Delius, Frederick: A Village Romeo & Juliet
“The Walk To The Paradise Garden”
London Symphony Orchestra/John Barbirolli
Orchestral Works
EMI 65119
4:47
Delius, Frederick: “Sea Drift” (excerpt)
Bournemouth Symphony & Chorus/Richard Hickox; Bryn Terfel, baritone
Delius: Sea Drift, Songs Of Sunset, Etc / Hickox, Terfel
Chan 9214
8:34
Delius, Frederick: “Brigg Fair”
Hallé Orchestra/John Barbirolli
Orchestral Works
EMI 65119
18:20
Episode 2
Delius, Frederick: “On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring”
Hallé Orchestra/John Barbirolli
Orchestral Works
EMI 65119
7:23
Delius, Frederick: A Mass Of Life Part I
“O Du Mein Wille! und Erhebt Eure Herzen:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Bach Choir
David Hill; Janice Watson, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Andrew Kennedy, Alan Opie, soloists
Mass of Life (A) / Prelude and Idyll
Naxos 8.572861-62
7:14
Delius, Frederick: Over The Hills & Far Away
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham: English Music – Delius, German, Bantock, Bax, Lord Berners
EMI 47509-8
12:57
Delius, Frederick: Suite for Violin & Orchestra, I & II
BBC Concert Orchestra/David Lloyd-Jones; Philippe Graffin, violin
Delius: Hiawatha, Suite for Violin and Orchestra, Legende for Violin and Orchestra, Double Concerto for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra, Caprice and Elegy for Viola & Orchestra
BBC Collection
7:46
Delius, Frederick: A Song Of Summer
London Symphony Orchestra/John Barbirolli
Orchestral Works
EMI 65119
11:16
Episode 3
Holst, Gustav: Walt Whitman, Op. 7
Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta
Symphony, “The Cotswolds”
Naxos 8.572914
1:44
Holst, Gustav: Walt Whitman, Op. 7
Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta
Symphony, “The Cotswolds”
Naxos 8.572914
7:21
Holst, Gustav: Symphony in F major, Op. 8, The Cotswolds
I. Allegro con brio
II. Elegy: Molto adagio (In Memoriam William Morris)
Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta
Symphony, “The Cotswolds”
Naxos 8.572914
12:19
Holst, Gustav: A Somerset Rhapsody
Bournemouth Sinfonietta/Norman Del Mar
A Somerset Rhapsody • Brook Green Suite, The Wasps Overure And Aristophanic Suite
EMI 47812
9:40
Ketelbey, Albert: In a Persian Market (excerpt)
Ambrosian Chorus
Ketelbey: In A Persian Market, Etc / Faris, London Proms
Phil 400011
1:01
Holst, Gustav: Beni Mora
Second Dance
LSO/Holst
Holst Conducts Holst- The Planets, St Paul’s Suite, Etc
Pearl 9417
3:11
Holst, Gustav: Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda
Hymn to the Dawn & Hymn to the Waters
Osian Ellis & The Purcell Singers
Savitri And Choral Hymns
ARGO 6
4:54
Holst, Gustav: Japanese Suite
“Dance of the Marionette,” “Song of the Fisherman”
BBC Philharmonic/Andrew Davis
Holst: Orchestral Works, Volume 2
Chandos 5086
2:50
Holst, Gustav: “In the Bleak Midwinter”
Robert Shaw Chamber Singers/Robert Shaw
Songs Of Angels – Christmas Hymns And Carols, Robert Shaw
Telarc 80377
3:43
Episode 4
Holst, Gustav: The Planets, Op. 32 – Mars, The Bringer of War
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Colin Davis
The Planets
Phi 422403
:39
Holst, Gustav: First Suite in E-flat for Military Band I. Chaconne II. Intermezzo III. March
The Staff Band Of The Norwegian Armed Forces
Grainger, Schmitt & Holst: Works for Military Band
Simax 1208
10:43
Holst, Gustav: Six Choral Folk Songs, H. 136 (Op. 36b) IV. The Song of the Blacksmith
Bacchanalian Singers
Holst – The Collector’s Edition
EMI 40471
1:16
Holst, Gustav: Suite No. 2 in F for Military Band, Op. 28/2
IV. Fantasia On The Dargason
London Wind Orchestra/Denis Wick
Military Band Suites 1 & 2
AVS 6021
3:10
Holst, Gustav: The Planets, Op. 32 – Mars, The Bringer of War
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Colin Davis
The Planets
Phi 422403
6:59
Holst, Gustav: The Planets – II. Venus, The Bringer of Peace
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Planets
DG 429730
7:25
Holst, Gustav: The Planets – III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger (excerpt)
Gustav Holst Conducts The Planets
Holst: The Planets
GEMM 9417
:20
Holst, Gustav: The Planets – III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra/Andrew Davis
Holst: Orchestral Works, Volume 2
Chandos 5086
7:33
Holst, Gustav: The Planets – IV. Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Planets
DG 429730
7:33
Holst, Gustav: The Planets – IV. Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Planets
DG 429730
:23
Holst, Gustav: “I Vow to Thee, my Country”
Della Jones
At The Last Night Of The Proms
Philips 454172
3:44
Episode 5
Holst, Gustav: Brook Green Suite for Strings
English Chamber Orchestra/Imogen Holst
Imogen Holst Conducts Gustav Holst
Lyrita 223
:35
Holst, Gustav: The Planets, Op. 32, H. 125 – V. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
BBC Philharmonic/Andrew Davis
Holst: Orchestral Works, Volume 2
Chandos 5086
8:20
Holst, Gustav: The Planets – VI. Uranus, The Magician
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Planets
DG 429730
5:49
Holst, Gustav: Lyric Movement for Viola & Small Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra/Imogen Holst; Cecil Aronowitz, viola
Imogen Holst Conducts Gustav Holst
Lyrita 223
9:59
Holst, Gustav: Brook Green Suite for Strings
English Chamber Orchestra/Imogen Holst
Imogen Holst Conducts Gustav Holst
Lyrita 223
6:59
Holst, Gustav: Capriccio for Orchestra
English Chamber Orchestra/Imogen Holst
Imogen Holst Conducts Gustav Holst
Lyrita 223
6:04
Holst, Gustav: “Ave Maria”, Op. 9b
The Finzi Singers/Paul Spicer
Holst, Vaughan Williams: Choral Music /Spicer, Finzi Singers
Chan 9425
3:56