I
hadn't listened to Brigg Fair
for a long time and renewing my acquaintance
with it in this performance was a great
pleasure. Hickox coaxes beautifully
atmospheric playing from the Bournemouth
Symphony Orchestra strings at the beginning
and the end of the work, and the wind
playing, the principal flute in particular,
is no less distinguished. EMI helpfully
provides six index points, and this,
as well as the admirable booklet notes
by Lyndon Jenkins, help the listener
find his way around a short but – as
the title would suggest – rhapsodic
score. Of course Sir Thomas Beecham
tends to be seen as the benchmark in
Delius still, and his final recording
on EMI achieves greater power as well
as finer clarity of texture in the more
heavily scored passages. Barbirolli
is more overtly affectionate – another
inevitability – underlining the slight
feeling of emotional detachment noticeable
in the present performance, for all
its pristine control of mood and atmosphere.
This comes out only in detailed comparison,
however, and the performance is a beautiful
one which, on its own terms, will disappoint
no-one.
Paris
is an earlier work by some seven years,
though the composer substantially revised
it before publication in 1909. It marks
a similar stage in his development as
does the Enigma Variations for
Elgar, and indeed the two works are
roughly contemporary. The opening of
the work is highly evocative of the
awakening French capital, with wind
soloists imitating the street cries
which were so important a part of Delius'
memories of the city. There are many
marvellous passages in the main section
of the work, the composer demonstrating
his mastery of the large orchestra employed.
Richard Strauss is often cited as a
presence, which seems fair enough to
me: Delius frequently approaches that
composer in opulence. The work closes
in tranquillity after a return of the
opening material. Richard Hickox is
just as convincing in this piece as
in the later one, tender and more affectionate
in the outer sections than either Beecham
on Sony or Sir Charles Mackerras with
the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
on EMI in 1991.
One
of the pleasures of reviewing for MusicWeb
International is encountering music
one didn't already know. I was surprised
to find no other version of the Florida
Suite on my shelves, and the sudden
appearance of the melody of La Calinda
in the opening piece came as a surprise,
so I can only assume I have never heard
the work before. It is the Delius' earliest
completed orchestral essay whose only
performance in the composer's lifetime
was a private run-through in a beer
hall in Leipzig where the musicians
were paid in beer! Beecham it was who
revived the work, though in a slightly
bowdlerised form, in 1937, later preparing
a more authentic edition which is the
one used for performances today and
indeed for this recording. It is a most
satisfying work, highly atmospheric
yet simpler in aim and style than the
composer's later music, quite avoiding
the highly charged atmosphere (and scoring)
which can alienate some listeners. Once
again Richard Hickox and his superb
orchestra give a totally convincing
performance, wholly in sympathy with
the idiom.
This
is beautifully recorded and inexpensive
collection for those just starting out
on their Delius expedition as well as
the converted seeking alternative performances
and attracted by the programme.
William Hedley
see also
review by Rob Barnett
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Richard
Hickox 
