The Delius Society Journal Spring 2006, Number 139 The Delius Society (Registered Charity No. 298662) President Dr Lionel Carley BA PhD Vice Presidents Sir Andrew Davis CBE Mark Elder CBE Vernon Handley CBE, MA, FRCM Richard Hickox CBE, FRCO Lyndon Jenkins Richard Kitching Tasmin Little FGSM ARCM (Hons) Hon D.Litt DipGSM David Lloyd-Jones BA FGSM Hon DMus Julian Lloyd Webber FRCM Sir Charles Mackerras CBE Robert Threlfall Website: http://www.delius.org.uk ISSN-0306-0373 1 Chairman Roger J. Buckley Treasurer and Membership Secretary Stewart Winstanley Windmill Ridge, 82 Highgate Road, Walsall, WS1 3JA Tel: 01922 633115 Email: [email protected] Secretary Ann Dixon 21 Woodlands Drive, Brooklands, Sale, Cheshire, M33 3PQ Tel: 0161 282 3654 Email: [email protected] Journal Editor Martin Lee-Browne Chester House, Fairford, Gloucestershire GL7 4AD Tel: 01285 711417 Email: [email protected] Front cover: Maine Cliffs (1883) Winslow Homer (USA 1836-1910) (Collection of the Brooklyn Museum, New York) Back cover: Sir Thomas Beecham (and friend?) c.1924 2 CONTENTS Chairman’s Notes .............................................................................................. 5 Editorial .............................................................................................................. 7 OBITUARIES Ron Kirkman ..................................................................................................... 9 Michael le Harivel ............................................................................................. 10 Eric Fenby – 100th Anniversary ....................................................................... 11 DELIUS PRIZE .................................................................................................. 13 ARTICLES SEA DRIFT A Preface – Wilfred Mellers ......................................................................... 18 Walt Whitman & Leaves of Grass by Kelsey Thornton .............................. 20 Some Thoughts on the Publications of Sea Drift by Robert Threlfall ....... 30 A Musical Analysis by Paul Guinery ........................................................... 38 Origins & First Performances by Martin Lee-Browne .............................. 52 Richard Hickox talks to the Editor on conducting Sea Drift ................... 81 A History of the Performances on Record by Stephen Lloyd ................... 85 Elegy – The Birth of a Ballet by Alex Hamilton-Brown ..................................... 102 MEETING REPORTS London, 20 September 2005 – Tony Lindsey .................................................. 106 London, 18 October 2005 – Stephen Lloyd .................................................... 109 Philadelphia Branch, 23 October 2005 – Emanuel Garcia ............................. 112 London Branch, 8 December 2005 – Tony Summers ...................................... 113 London Branch, 23 February 2006 – Lyndon Jenkins .................................... 118 West of England, 18 March 2006 – Tony Lindsey ............................................ 120 CONCERTS & EXHIBITIONS Piano music at Bath .......................................................................................... 124 Appalachia at Sheffield ...................................................................................... 125 Delius & Munch at The Royal Academy ........................................................... 127 Frederick Delius OM? ....................................................................................... 130 3 The Delius Song Masterclass ........................................................................... 132 Ode to Frederick Delius by Norman Jones ....................................................... 135 Two Aquarelles in Sweden ............................................................................... 136 AGM NOTICE ................................................................................................... 137 BOOK & CD REVIEWS While Spring and Summer Sang ......................................................................... 138 New World Symphonies ...................................................................................... 142 Delius’s Piano Concerto ....................................................................................... 143 LETTERS Dr Jurgen Schaarwechter – The bass oboe ............................................... 146 Tony Summers – The timpani part in The Song of the High Hills ............. 147 Tony Noakes – A Life with Sea Drift .......................................................... 148 Michael Jackson – Delius and Ornithology .............................................. 150 MISCELLANY (including Delian Wants) ............................................................ 151 EVENTS 2006 ..................................................................................................... 155 � A Grainger Memory ......................................................................................... 19 A Meeting with Delius ..................................................................................... 123 Gramophone Celebrities – Sir Thomas Beecham ........................................... 160 � 4 CHAIRMAN’S NOTES 2006 is an exceptionally busy year for The Delius Society. Our AGM weekend at the beginning of July coincides with the opening of Bradford’s Delius Festival, which our Vice President Tasmin Little, the Festival’s Director, has called ‘Delius Inspired’. The major events of the Festival, continuing until the following weekend, are to be relayed on BBC Radio 3, and introduced by Paul Guinery, who is a Society Member, and a contributor to this and the previous issue of the Journal. A programme of concerts, recitals, talks, discussions and other events has been devised that will be of the greatest interest to members. Delius Festivals are rare, so try not to miss this one! The Festival is part of a larger programme named ‘Illuminate’, a year- long series of exhibitions, concerts, films, children’s activities and other events. Inaugurated in October 2005 and supported by £1.75 million of lottery money, as well as the organisations Yorkshire Culture and Yorkshire Forward, ‘Illuminate’ is based in five cities: Bradford, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York. Its stated aim is to ‘to show the world that Yorkshire’s key cities are places where artists thrive and new creative talent is treasured.’ One would like to imagine that Delius himself would have approved heartily. Nearly fifty members of the Society have booked with me for the AGM weekend. I am extending the deadline for applications to 30th April, so please, if you have been hesitating, do so no longer! Book your accommodation with the Victoria Hotel (01274 728706) quoting The Delius Society. Complete the application form that came with the January Newsletter, sending it to me with a cheque for £10 per person (deposit) and a self-addressed envelope. If you have mislaid the form, please ask me for another copy. Finally, book your concert tickets (Bradford Theatres Box Office, 01274432000). Your Committee hopes for a large delegation of members on what should be a most enjoyable and memorable weekend. As the Journal goes to press, we have received confirmation from Jean Merle d’Aubigné, owner of the former Delius house, that the Society visit to Grez-sur-Loing can go ahead on the weekend of 16/17 September. We are extremely grateful to Jean, who is planning a programme of activities as well as a reception and lunch in his garden. Please mark your diaries now and look out for further information at the AGM and in the July Newsletter. Then, in November (on a date to be announced), the third Delius Prize 5 competition will be held at the Royal Academy of Music in London. The Society’s evening meetings continue in London, the Midlands and the West of England, and never cease to surprise and delight those who attend with their variety, erudition and sheer entertainment value. All of this activity denotes a Society that is enterprising and vigorous; yet there is a very real problem: the Committee needs new blood. Three of its members have announced their intention not to stand again in 2007 (assuming they are re-elected this year). Whatever your doubts or indecisions, if you feel even an inkling that you would like to help to run this great Society, please approach one of us for a chat. Roger Buckley � Winslow Homer (1836-1910) – Three Boys on the Seashore (Art Institute of Chicago) 6 EDITORIAL The kind comments made since the appearance of DSJ 138 about its focus on The Song of the High Hills have been a pleasurable embarrassment. This issue is ‘about’ Sea Drift —and, in the absence of brickbats so far, I intend to continue the idea indefinitely. One of the reasons for that is the totally selfish one that is it a great deal easier to persuade possible contributors to write a piece about some specific aspect of a particular work, rather than having a conversation which risks going something like this: Editor: “Would you write an article for the Journal?” Potential Victim: “What about?” Editor: “Well, anything really - as long as it’s to do with Delius, of course – what would you like to write about?” PV: “Well, I’m not sure — have you any particular ideas?” Editor: “Not really — I just have to fill 120-plus pages every six months with stuff which I hope Members may possibly find interesting or amusing. Do give it some thought — lots of it”. PV: “W-e-l-l…..No, on reflection, I don’t think I can help. Sorry!”. So far, though,