The Instrumental Music of Frederick Delius

Extract

The programme of the first concert of Delius's works, at the old St. James's Hall in May, 1899, contains little of instrumental music that is outstanding. There are some rarely beautiful songs, there is a remarkable selection from the opera Koanga; but of the instrumental works only one remains which we sometimes hear still performed today. Over the Hills and Far Away is a characteristic and indeed beautiful piece, and were it to stand alone would arouse the interest and admiration of perceptive students; for us its interest is in part historical, as the earliest essay in Delius's mature style, in part aesthetic as something like an elaborated sketch for the greater works that were to follow during the ensuing twenty years. That same year, 1899, on the other hand, itself produced the first of the later masterpieces—Paris.