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CD Review
The RPO Legacy, Volume 2 - The HMV Recordings 1946-52
Frederick Delius
- A Song before Sunrise
- Hassan – Excerpts
- Dance Rhapsodies #1 & 2
- Brigg Fair
- On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring
- Summer Night on the River
- Irmelin Prélude
- Danish and Norwegian Songs
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Thomas Beecham
Dutton Laboratories CDLX7028 77m ADD
Few composers were so dear to Sir Thomas Beecham as his much loved compatriot, Frederick Delius. The composer's unique flowing style fascinated Beecham and his many recordings testify the constant love that he poured into these magical scores. This CD is valuable indeed as it refurbishes a large number of recordings that have been unavailable for years as later versions in stereo superseded them.
However it is apparent that these earlier mono versions are informed with a high voltage that is curiously lacking from the later recordings. The two Dance Rhapsodies are brimful with unabashed orchestral magic and the 2nd is marvelous in its poetic content. The same could be said of Brigg Fair, which is outstanding in its unerring sense of pace and description.
The short pieces are also winningly with done with 'Cuckoo' and 'Summer night on the river' probably unsurpassed. There are also rarities in the shape of excerpts from collections of Danish and Norwegian Songs which receive their première recording here.
The playing of the RPO is something special and under their master they give there all in the fantastic imagery that is Delius. Photographs with Eric Fenby set the seal on this authoritative issue.
Copyright © 1999, Gerald Fenech
