• Department of .f..1usic University of Sheffield A QUE.ST FOR INNOCENCI!. • The Music of Frederick Delius - 1885-1900 Andrew J.Boyle Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy,September 1984. ST COPY AVAILA L Variable print quality Summary A Quest for Innocence The Music of Frederick Delius - 1885-1900 Andrew J-Boyle In this study9a close examination of all the music of Delius's first fifteen years of creative work is undertaken for the first time. The author's aim has been to assess the intrinsic qualities of Deliusts compositions in this period9while tracing through the works the stages by which his mature style emerged. Much ot the music examined is unpublished. The findings of this research add to the existing body of literature on the development of Delius's style in three principal ways: (1). It is shown thatpeven in his earliest works)the composer drew upon personal experiences which had made strong impressions on him as the primary source of his inspiration. Negro folk musicpheard in Florida, played a very significant role in his development. His impressions of mountain nature and sunsets are also important. (2). The influence of other composers is assessed. Although it is known that ChopinjWagner and Grieg contrib- uted to Delius's technique and style (he freely acknowledged his debt to them), the extent and importance of this influence in releasing and guiding his musical imagination is examined here for the first time. The less well known influence of Richard Strauss is also considered significant. (3). A large proportion of Delius's music in the 1890s was connected with the twin concepts of longing and innocence* It is with his merging of the two concepts into one around the turn of the century that the period of his finest work commences. CONTENTS List of Illustrations iii Preface v List of Unpublished Works viii 1. The Formative Years - 1885-1892 1 (1) The Individual Voice 2. The Formative Years - 1885-1692 95 (1I) Aspects of Delius's Language 3- Irmelin and Nature 155 4- The Magic Fountain and Passion 177 5- The Quest for Innocence 219 (I) The Magic Fountain and Koanpa 6. The Quest for Innocence 260 (II) A Village Romeo and Juliet 7. "Une note A luill - Aspects of Delius's 295 Emerging Style 8. "And then comes Springtime" 340 Appendix I. The love-duet from The Magic 348 Fountain)Act III Appendix II. Delius's Compositions - 1880-1900 355 Bibliography 361 Illustrations Front and back covers. Head of Delius by Jelka Delius, early 1900s (Coll.Lionel Carley). Plates between pages 176 and 177: Plate 1. On the St.John's river,Florida,in the 1380s. "In Florida •••• " -Quoted by Eric Fenby in Delius as I Knew Him (London,l936),p.l64. Plate 2. Leipzig,l387. Nina and Edvard Grieg,Halvorsen, Delius and Sinding. "This English-American •••• " -Letter from Grieg to Frants Beyer,20 February 1888. Quoted by Lionel Carley and Robert Threlfall in Delius: A Life in Pictures (London,l977),p.l7. ''I tell you frankly •••• '' -Letter from Delius to Grieg, August 1833,ibid.,p.l7. Plate 1· Jotunheim Mountains,Norway. ''Delius is smitten •••• •• - Letter from Grieg to Frants Beyer, 25 December 1887. Ed.Bjarne Kortsen: Griezs brev til Frants Beyer (Bergen,l97J),p.71. Translated by the present author. "I should never think •••• " -Unpublished letter from Delius to Henry Clews,20 June 1918 (Delius Trust archive). Plate A. Aulestad,the home of Bj~rnson,~orway's national poet.(This photograph,which recently came to light at Troldhaugen,Grieg's home in Bergen,is reproduced here for the first time). Plate 5. Halfdan Jebe ''l hope very much •••• '' - Unpublished letter from Jebe to Delius,24 April 1905 (Delius Trust archive). Plate 6. Delius in the earden at Grez,l897· ''As soon as I come out •••• '' -Unpublished letter from Delius to Jelka Rosen,l October 1897 (Delius Trust archive) • • I Preface Over the next few years a complete edition of Delius's works is to be published. The initiative behind this venture has been taken by The Delius Trust, Londongin whose archives the bulk of the composer's surviving manuscripts and letters is preserved. With the publication of the Collected Edition (some thirty volumes are planned) a large. number of Delius compositions will become widely available for the first time; forowhile all his music dating from 1899 and later (his period of creative maturity) have been in print, many of the works of his years of development (1885-1900) have generally been ignored by Delius scholars. Until relatively recently it had been assumed by writers on Delius that the music of this early period did not merit serious consideration. A few important performances of key works in the composer's development have shown that this attitude is fairly wide of the mark. It is true that the mature Delius style emerged only around the turn of the cen- tury: earlier, his music is marred by structural weaknesses and harmonic derivativeness. But the premibres in the past few years of his second opera The Magic Fountain (largely due to Robert Threlfallsmusical adviser to The Delius Trust) and of the melodrama Paa Vidderne and parts of the tone poem Hiawatha (instigated by the present writer) revealed that, despite their defects, some of the composer's early works lacked nothing in inspiration and imagination. Indeedpthere was a large amount of music which was worthy of performance dim on its own merits - not merely as a curiosity shedding light on Delius's mature style. In this study0a close examination of all of the music of Delius's first fifteen years of creative work is undertaken for the first time. The author's aim has been to assess the intrinsic qualities of Delius's compositions in this period, while tracing through the works the stages by which the mature style emerged. The findings of this research add to the existing body of literature on the development of Delius's style in three principal ways: V (1). It is shown thatpeven in his earliest works, the composer drew upon personal experiences which had made strong impressions on him as the primary source of his inspiration. Surprisingly, Negro folk music, heard in Florida, played a very significant role in his development. His impressions of mountain nature and sunsets are also import- ant. Idiomatic features of his music arising from his associations with these experiences; which are present throughout his output. were evident from his earliest comp- ositions. (2). The influence of other composers is assessed. Although it is known that Chopin, Wagner and Grieg contributed to Deliusts technique and style (he freely acknowledged his debt to them); the extent and importance of this influence in releasing and guiding his musical imagination is examined here for the first time. The less well known influence of Richard Strauss is also considered significant. (3). A large proportion of Delius's music in the 1890s was connected with the twin concepts of longing and innocence. It is with his merging of the two concepts into one around the turn of the century that the period of his finest work commences. The highly individual, idiosyncratic language in which Delius wrote his mature music is made much easier to under- stand by an appreciation of his years of development. A list of the unpublished works of the composer is given after this preface. All of the scores are contained in the archive of The Delius Trust. When these works are described in the textpor extracts quoted, the following information is provided: (i) the volume number of the Delius Trust archive which contains the work (Delius Trust is abbreviated to DT) (ii) the folio number of the extract. The archivist has numbered each pagepwith the recto being termed 'a' and the verso Ibl. vi The details of unpublished scores are as given in Rachel Lowe: Frederick Delius 1862-1934: A Catalogue of the Music Archive of the Delius Trust, London (London, 1974)- In the text this is abbreviated to RL. Two further abbrev- iations are utilized; RT Robert Threlfall: A Catalogue of the Compositions of Frederick Delius. Sources and References (Londont 1977) CLL/l Lionel Carley: Delius: A Life in Letters (Vol-1) (London. 1983). A second and final volume is under preparation. In accordance with Lionel Carley's practice, no attempt has been made to correct eccentricities of spelling and punct- uation in Deliusts letters. Where translations of song texts are quoted, the trans- lator is identified only when the given version of the poem is unpublished. Grateful acknowledgement of assistance with this thesis is extended to Professor Edward Garden (Head of Music Depart- mentyUniversity of Sheffield)pwho has supervised its prepar- ationpand provided necessary encouragement; to Lionel Carley (archivist to The Delius Trust)pwhose willingness to exchange ideas, and to provide access to materials, was of inestimable value; to the Delius Trustees)for permission to quote extens- ively from the music and correspondence in the Trust's archives; to Mr. and Mrs. A. Boylefwhose unfailing support was the best possible assistance; and to Lindis Hallanyfor the generous way in which she put her linguistic skills at the disposal of the author. vii List of Unpublished Works EA complete list of all Delius's compositions in the years 1880-1890 is given in Appendix III 1885 Over the mountains highpsong Zwei brgune Augen, song Zum Carnival Polka, piano solo (date? ) Loreleilpart-song (date? ) 1886 Der Fichtenbaum, song Ohl Sonnenschein. part-song (date? ) Durch den Wald, part-song (date? ) 1887 Sonnenscheinliedypart-song (date? ) FrUhlingsanbruch, part-song (date? ) Ave Maria, part-song 1888 Hiawathaptone poem Paa Vidderne)melodrama Hochgebirgslebenpsong Zanonioincidental music Suite for violin and orchestra Rhapsodische Variationen String Quartet 1889 Sakuntala, for tenor and orchestra Romance for violin and piano 1890 Petite Suite dtOrchestre L6gendes (Sagen)pfor piano and orchestra Four Heine Songs 1.