Frederick Delius, photographed in 1907

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]

Apprentice works, 1887–1899

"Middle period" works, 1900–06

Mature works, 1907–24

Late works

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]

Dramatic works

Year(s) composed RT Title Genre First performance Comments Ref.
1888 I/1 Zanoni Incidental music [3]
1890–92 I/2 Irmelin Opera Oxford, 4 May 1953 Libretto: E. Graham, T. Round [3][6]
1893–95 I/3 The Magic Fountain Lyric drama Broadcast performance, BBC 1977 Libretto: Delius [3][6]
1895 I/4 Koanga Lyric drama Elberfeld, 30 March 1904 Libretto: Charles Francis Keary, after George Washington Cable [3][6]
1897 I/5 Folkeraadet Incidental music Christiania, October 1897 Play by Gunnar Heiberg [3][6]
1900–01 I/6 A Village Romeo and Juliet Lyric drama Berlin, 21 October 1907 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. [3][6]
1902 I/7 Margot la rouge Lyric drama Libretto: I. Rosenval [3][6]
1909–10 I/8 Fennimore and Gerda Opera Frankfurt am Main, October 1919 Libretto: Delius, after J.P. Jacobsen [3][6]
1920–23 I/9 Hassan Incidental music Darmstadt, 1 June 1923
Full version first performed in London, 30 September 1923 		Play by James Elroy Flecker [3]

Works for voices and orchestra

Year(s) composed RT Title Vocal forces First performance Comments Ref.
1898 II/1 Mitternachtslied Zarathustras (The Midnight Song of Zarathustra) Male chorus [3]
1903 II/2 Appalachia: Variations on a slave song Choir, baritone solo Elberfeld, 1904 [3][6]
1903–04 II/3 Sea Drift Choir, baritone solo Essen, 24 May 1906 [6][7]
1904–05 II/4 A Mass of Life Double choir, SATB soloists London, 7 June 1909 Part II was performed in Munich, in 1908 [6][7]
1906–07 II/5 Songs of Sunset Choir, Mezzo-soprano & baritone soloists London, 16 June 1911 [6][7]
1911 II/6 A Song of the High Hills Choir, tenor & soprano soloists London, 26 February 1920 Textless chorus [6][7]
1911 II/7 An Arabesque Choir and baritone soloist Newport, 1920 [6][7]
1914–16 II/8 Requiem Choir, soprano & baritone soloists London, 23 March 1922 [6][7]
1930 II/9 Songs of Farewell Choir London, 21 March 1932 [7]
1930–32 II/10 Idyll: Once I passed through a populous city Soprano & baritone soloists London, 3 October 1933 Music adapted from Margot la rouge; words from Walt Whitman; after the first performance, Delius expanded the work and renamed it Prelude and Idyll [7][8]

Works for solo voice and orchestra

Year(s) composed RT Title Vocal forces First performance Comments Ref.
1888 III/1 Paa Vidderne (Melodrama) Recitation Revised (1891) as orchestral suite [3]
1889 III/2 Sakuntala Tenor soloist [3]
1891 III/3 Maud (from Tennyson) Tenor soloist [3]
1897 III/4 Seven Danish Songs: 1. "Summer Nights (On the Sea Shore)"; 2. "Red Roses (Through Long, Long Years)"; 3. "Wine Roses"; 4. "Let Springtime Come, Then" (Den Lenz laβ kommen); 5. "Irmelin Rose"; 6. "In the Seraglio Garden"; 7. "Silken Shoes" Solo voice (unspecified) Paris, 1901 [3][5][9]
1907 III/5 Cynara Choir, Baritone soloist London, 18 October 1929 Left incomplete, finished in 1929 [7]
1925 III/6 A Late Lark Solo voice (unspecified) [7]

Works for unaccompanied voices

Year(s) composed RT Title Vocal forces/accompaniment First performance Comments Ref.
before 1887 IV/1 Six German part-songs: 1. "Lorelei" (H. Heine); 2. "Oh! Sonnenschein" (Oh! Sunshine); 3. "Durch den Wald" (By the Forest) [von Schreck]; 4. "Ave Maria"; 5. "Sonnenscheinlied" (Sunshine Song) [Bjornsen]; 6. "Fruhlingsanbruch" [Bjornsen] Choir, unaccompanied [3][5]
1907 IV/2 On Craig Ddu Soprano, alto, 2 tenor, 2 bass, piano Blackpool, 1907 [6][7]
1908 IV/3 Wanderer's Song 2 tenor, 2 bass, piano [6][7]
1908 IV/4 Midsummer Song 2 soprano, 2 alto, 2 tenor, 2 bass, piano Whitley Bay, December 1910 [6][7]
1917 IV/5 Two Songs to be sung of a summer night on the water Soprano, alto, 2 tenor, 2 basses, unaccompanied London, 28 June 1920 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" [7]
1919 V/31 "Avant que tu ne t'en ailles" (Morning Star) [7]

Works for orchestra alone

Year(s) composed RT Title First performance Comments Ref.
1887 VI/1 Florida Suite Leipzig, 1888 Revised 1889 [3]
1888 VI/2 Hiawatha (tone poem) [3]
1888 VI/3 Rhapsodic Variations Incomplete [3]
1888 VI/4 Three pieces for string orchestra [5]
1889 VI/5 Idylle de Printemps [3]
1889–90 VI/6 Orchestral suite (Petite Suite No. 1)
  1. Marche
  2. Berceuse
  3. Scherzo
  4. Duo
  5. Theme with variations
 London, 18 November 1946 [3][5]
1889 (approx.) VI/6a Suite of 3 Characteristic pieces
  1. La Quadroöne (Rhadsodie Floridienne)
  2. Scherzo
  3. Marche Caprice
 [5]
1889 (approx) VI/6b Marche Française [5]
1890 VI/7 Three small tone-poems:
  1. Summer Evening
  2. Winter Night (Sleigh Ride)
  3. Spring Morning
 London, 2 January 1949 [3]
1890 (approx.) VI/8 A l'Amore [5]
1890 VI/9 Orchestral Suite (Petite Suite No. 2)
  1. Allegro ma non troppo
  2. Con moto
  3. Allegretto
 [3][5]
1890–92 VI/10 Paa Vidderne (On the Mountains) - symphonic poem Christiania, Norway, 10 October 1891 [3]
c. 1891 Mazurka Incomplete sketch [5]
1895–97 VI/11 Over the hills and far away (fantasy overture) London, 30 May 1899 [3][6]
1896 VI/12 Appalachia: an American rhapsody Orchestral version, later adapted for solo and chorus [3]
1899 VI/13 La Ronde se déroule (The Dance Goes On) London, 30 May 1899 Revised, 1901, as "Lebenstanz" (Life's Dance) [3]
1899 VI/14 Paris: The Song of a Great City Elberfeld, 1901 [3][6]
1901 VI/15 Lebenstanz (Life's Dance) Düsseldorf, February 1904 Further revised, 1912 [3][6]
1907 VI/16 Brigg Fair Basel, 1907 [3][6]
1908 VI/17 In a Summer Garden London, 11 December 1909 Delius conducted the first performance [3][6]
1908 VI/18 Dance Rhapsody (No. 1) Hereford (Three Choirs Festival) 8 September 1909 Delius conducted the first performance [3][6]
1911–12 VI/19 Two pieces for small orchestra:
  1. On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
  2. Summer Night on the River
 Leipzig, 2 October 1913 [3][6]
1912 VI/15 Life's Dance (final version) Berlin, 15 November 1912. Revised from 1901 [3]
1913–14 VI/20 North Country Sketches London, 10 May 1915 [3][6]
1915 VI/21 Air and Dance London, Aeolian Hall, 16 October 1929[10] [3]
1916 VI/22 Dance Rhapsody (No. 2) [3]
1917 VI/23 Eventyr (Once Upon a Time) London. 11 January 1919 [3]
1918 VI/24 A Song before Sunrise [3]
1918 VI/25 Poem of Life and Love Incomplete, lost [3]
1929-30 VI/26 A Song of Summer London, 17 September 1932 [3]
1931 VI/27 Irmelin prelude [3]
1931 VI/28 Fantastic Dance London, 12 January 1934 [3]
undated On the moors (Impressions of Nature) Incomplete sketch [5]
undated Sunday morning on the moors Incomplete sketch [5]
undated Mountain poem Incomplete sketch [5]

Works for solo instrument(s) and orchestra

Year(s) composed RT Title First performance Comments Ref.
1888 VII/1 Suite for violin and orchestra [3]
1890 VII/2 Legendes (Sagen) for piano and orchestra [3]
1895 VII/3 Legende for violin and orchestra Later revised for violin and piano [3][6]
1897 VII/4 Piano Concerto in C minor Elberfeld, 1904 1st movement revised 1906 [3][6]
VII/4a Rhapsody for piano and orchestra [5]
1915 VII/5 Double Concerto for violin and violoncello London, 21 February 1920 [3]
1916 VII/6 Violin Concerto London, 30 January 1919 [3]
1921 VII/7 Cello Concerto Vienna, 30 January 1923 [3]
1930 VII/8 Caprice and Elegy for cello and chamber orchestra [3]
undated Second Piano Concerto Incomplete sketch [5]
undated Fantaisie for piano and orchestra Incomplete sketch [5]

Chamber music

Year(s) composed RT Title Instrumental forces First performance Comments Ref.
1888 VIII/1 First string quartet [7]
1889 VIII/2 Romance Violin, piano [7]
c. 1890 Vasantasena for violin and piano Violin and piano Incomplete sketch [5]
1892 VIII/3 Violin Sonata in B major Violin, piano Achille Rivarde with Harold Bauer, Paris 1893 (private performance)
 [7][11][12]
1893 VIII/4 Second string quartet [7]
1896 VIII/5 Romance Cello, piano [7]
1905–14 VIII/6 Violin Sonata No. 1 Violin, piano Manchester, 1915 [6][7]
1916 VIII/7 Cello Sonata Cello, piano London, 11 January 1919 [7]
1916 VIII/8 String quartet (1916) London, 1 February 1919 [7]
1923 VIII/9 Violin Sonata No. 2 Violin and piano London, 7 October 1924 [7]
c. 1923 Sonata for violin and piano in C Violin and piano Incomplete sketch [5]
1930 VIII/10 Violin Sonata No. 3 Violin and piano London, 6 November 1930 [7]

Piano solos

Year(s) composed RT Title First performance Comments Ref.
1885 IX/1 Zum Carnival written before first departure from Florida [5]
undated IX/2 Pensees mélodieuses (Melodious thoughts) [5]
undated IX/3 Norwegian Sleigh Ride [5]
undated IX/4 Badinage (Danse lente) [5]
undated IX/5 Two piano pieces: 1. Valse; 2. Reverie [5]
1919 IX/6 Dance for Harpsichord [7]
1922–23 IX/7 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

  1. ^ a b Payne, Anthony (Winter 1961–62). "Delius's Stylistic Development". Tempo (60). Cambridge University Press: 6–16. doi:10.1017/S0040298200055662. S2CID 145521419. (subscription required)
  2. ^ Fenby, Eric (1971). The Great Composers: Delius. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-09296-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Volume 5. London: Macmillan. p. 342. ISBN 978-0-333-23111-1.
  4. ^ Frederick Delius website, Delius: Robert Threlfall, retrieved 23 January 2016
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Threlfall, Robert (1977). "A Catalogue of the Works of Frederick Delius". The Thompsonian Institution. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj Heseltine, 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)
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Volume 5. London: Macmillan. p. 343. ISBN 978-0-333-23111-1.
  8. ^ Liner notes from A Mass of Life & Prelude and Idyll Naxos 8.572861-62
  9. ^ imlsp.com, 7 Danish Songs (Delius, Frederick), retrieved 23 January 2016
  10. ^ "Naxos". Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  11. ^ Tamino Classic Forum
  12. ^ 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)
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