Frederick Delius

My dad had a small collection of LPs (which he gave me years ago) and CDs (which I mostly bought or made for him).  Since he passed I took what I wanted from the house, and assumed the rest would be donated to charity.

Well my sister, in her infinite wisdom, decided just before the house closed that she wanted a bunch of the CDs from the house -- but she didn't know which ones.  She didn't know the titles, she couldn't describe the covers, she didn't even know which musicians.  There were just "some CDs" which she really, really liked.  Put up a big stink.

So, after explaining to her that it was too late, most of them were gone, I offered to make copies of -- or assemble -- whatever she wanted.  I like doing this anyway, it's a great Xmas gift I can give her, and I'll keep copies of most of them for myself.  We discussed what KIND of music she thought they were, and I think I got a pretty good feel for what she wanted.

Accordingly I'm making her CD-Rs entitled:

• English Romanticism (Vaughan Williams, Bax, Delius, Butterworth, etc.)
  
• French Impressionism (Ravel, Debussy, Faure, Bizet, Saint-Saens, etc.)
  
• American Pastoral (Copland, Griffes, Grofe, Ives, etc.)
  
• English Fanfares (Walton, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Wood, etc.)
  

I started dubbing tracks from my own collection, as well as looking in iTunes, and quickly came to the conclusion there is WAYYY more Delius than I can use for the above.

When I sold my record collection last week, I was pretty sure I'd dubbed off all the LPs I wanted copies of.  Well, turns out there were two Delius LPs which haven't been reissued on CD, and contain a lot of great music.

So I recreated them, using the same tracks by other conductors -- for me + my sister.  Jesus they sound good.

What's amazing (to me anyway) is that using tracks recorded at vastly different times by vastly different orchestras (Ulster, English Northern Philharmonia, English Symphony Orchestra, etc.) sound very coherent on a CD together.  In fact, these are BETTER than the original LPs because I was able to fill them out to 79 minutes each with matching bonus tracks.

I've decided, on my compilation albums listed in bold above, to try to avoid the obvious inclusions: The Lark Ascending, Pavane for a Dead Princess, Royal Coronation March.  Instead, there is so much material available that I'm aiming to make each collection a never-ending surprise of unfamiliar yet appropriate music.

The first disc of the first comp (it will need to be at least two discs!) is done.  I utilized a bunch of composers I wasn't familiar with -- Finzi, Field, Coates, Parry, Bridge -- and unfamiliar tracks from composers I knew.  The resulting disc (which I need to listen back to this morning) came out just the way I'd hoped, coherent and consistent yet completely unexpected.  

This will be a fun project.

I'd better quit. I'm having WAYYY too much fun.

English Romanticism:
DISC ONE:
1. Sir William Walton (1902-1983) - Touch Her Lips,
and Part 2:13
2. Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (1883-1953) - Four
Orchestral Pieces: I. Pensive Twilight 6:49
3. Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014) - The Banks of
Green Willow 6:06
4. Albert Coates (1882-1953) - By The Sleepy Lagoon
3:58
5. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - English Folk
Song Suite: 2. Intermezzo: My Bonny Boy 3:21
6. Sir C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918) - An English
Suite: IV. Pastoral 2:26
7. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) - A Severn Rhapsody 6:15
Sir William Walton (1902-1983) - Variations on a
Theme by Hindemith
8. Tema: Andante con moto 1:47
9. Var.I: Vivace 1:47
10. Var.III: Larghetto 2:10
11. Var.VII: Lento molto 3:36
12. Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) - Chason de matin
Op. 15 No.2 3:43
13. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) - Dido and Aeneas:
"When I Am Laid in Earth" (Dido's Lament) 4:18
14. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) - The Fall of the Leaf,
Elegy for Orchestra 9:14
15. Frank Bridge (1879-1941 - There is a Willow Grows
Aslant a Brook 9:37
16. Sir C. Hubert H. Parry (1848-1918) - An English
Suite: V. Air 2:31
17. Frank Bridge (1879-1941) - Two Old English Songs:
III. Lament 4:52
18. Frank Bridge (1879-1941) - Two Entr'actes: I.
Rosemary 3:31
DISC TWO:
1. Arthur Butterworth (1923-2014) - Two English
Idylls 9:44
2. Sir Arnold Bax (1883-1953) - November Woods 18:37
Frederick Delius (1862-1934) - Two Aquarelles
3. 1. Lento, Ma Non Troppo 2:44
4. 2. Gaily, But Not Quick 2:12
5. Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) - Concerto for Clarinet and
String Orchestra, II. Adagio ma senza rigore 11:22
6. Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) - Sospiri, Op.70 4:49
7. Peter Warlock (1894-1930) - Serenade for Strings 7:42
Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) - Three Soliloquies
8. I. Grazioso 1:40
9. II. Adagio 1:34
10. III. Alegretto grazioso 1:19
Peter Warlock (1894-1930) - Capriol Suite
11. II. Pavane 2:10
12. III. Tordion 1:07
13. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - The Lark
Ascending 14:23

French Impressionism:
1. Georges Bizet (1838-1875) - L'Arlésienne Suite #1 - Adagietto 3:29
2. Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - The Fairy Garden 3:58
3. Vincent D'Indy (1851-1931) - Suite dans le style ancien: III. Sarabande.
Lent 4:14
4. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) - La mer: Trois esquessses 9:19
5. Léo Delibes (1836-1891) - Coppélia, Act III: La priére 3:46
6. Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) - Le Carnaval des Animaux: VII.
Aquarium 2:05
7. Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) - Pelléas et Mélisande: Sicilienne 3:57
8. Jules Massenet (1842-1912) - Thais - Meditation 4:52
9. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) - La cathédrale engloutie 6:05
10. Emmanual Chabrier (1841-1894) - Suite Pastorale: III. Sous-bois
4:39
11. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) - Nocturnes: 1. Nuages 7:44
12. Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) - Le tombeau de Couperin - 3. Menuet
4:53
13. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) - Jeux, L 126 18:48

American Pastorale:
1. Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) - Three Tone-Pictures: 1. The Lake at
Evening 3:45
2. Ferde Grofé (1892-1972) - Grand Canyon Suite: 2. Painted Desert 5:22
3. Morton Gould (1913-1996) - Fall River Legend Suite: 11. Hymnal Variations
5:19
4. Aaron Copland (1900-1990) - Rodeo (Four Dance Episodes): 2. Corral
Nocturne 4:19
5. Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) - The Kairn of Koridwen: Scene 1,
Introduction - Lento misterioso 1:47
6. Howard Hanson (1898-1981) - Fantasy Variations on a Theme of Youth 11:50
7. Charles Ives (1874-1954) - Symphony No.3 "Camp Meeting": 3. Communion
7:09
8. Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) - Roman Sketches: 4. Clouds 4:14
9. Howard Hanson (1896-1981) - Symphony No.6: 3. Adagio 4:59
Morton Gould (1913-1996) - Fall River Legend Suite
10. 7. Serenade 4:35
11. 8. Axe 1:58
12. Ferde Grofé (1892-1972) - Mississippi Suite: 3. Old Creole Days 2:39
13. Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) - Roman Sketches: 1. The White
Peacock 5:45
14. Howard Hanson (1896-1981) - Symphony No.4: IV. Lux Aeterna - Largo
pastorale 7:44

English Fanfares:
1. Sir William Walton (1902-1983) - Spitfire Prelude & Fugue 7:48
2. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - English Folk Song Suite: III. March - Folk
Songs from Somerset 3:49
3. Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) - Cockaigne Overture "In London Town" 14:58
4. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - The Wasps: March Past of the Kitchen
Utensils 3:06
Sir William Walton (1902-1983) - Variations on a Theme by Hindemith
5. Var.4: Moto perpetuo - Con slancio 0:49
6. Var.8: Vivacissimo 0:43
7. Var.9: Maestoso 0:39
8. Finale: Allegro molto 2:58
9. Coda: A tempo primo 2:43
10. Havergal Brian (1876-1972) - Fanfare from "The Cenci" 2:57
11. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) - The Wasps: I. Overture 9:27
12. Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) - English Dances: Vivace 1:45
13. Sir William Walton (1902-1983) - March for "A History of the English Speaking
Peoples" 4:48
14. Havergal Brian (1876-1972) - Six Orchestral Pieces from The Tigers: Lacryma 9:33
15. Sir Henry Wood (1869-1944) - Fantasia on British Sea Songs: The Saucy Arethusa
2:18
16. Sir William Walton (1902-1983) - Sinfonia Concertante: 3. Allegro molto 4:09
17. Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) - English Dances: Allegro risoluto 1:32
18. Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) - Empire March 4:18

Bohemian Rhapsodies:
1. Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) - Carnaval, Op. 92 8:48
2. Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) - Má Vlast: III. Šárka 9:43
Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) - Sinfonietta "Sokol Festival"
3. Allegretto - Allegro maestoso 2:21
4. Andante - Allegretto (The Castle, Brno) 6:06
5. Moderato (The Queen's Monastery, Brno) 5:51
6. Allegretto (The Street Leading to the Castle) 3:08
7. Andante con moto (The Town Hall, Brno) 7:09
8. Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) - Polonaise in E Flat, B 100
5:00
9. Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) - Má Vlast: VI. Blaník
14:04
10. Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) - 5 Prague Waltzes, B 99
8:39
11. Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) - Taras Bulba: I. The Death of
Andrei 8:51

I had brief thoughts of making a set of Scandinavian nationalists (Grieg, Sibelius, Nielsen), Italian colorists, Russian tone poems, etc etc etc but I've got to learn to draw the line somewhere.

I don't see any Warren Zevon in there. Or Zappa.