Delius

Village Romeo and Juliet
Irmelin Prelude
On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring
Fennimore and Gerda Intermezzo
Song of Summer
Aquarelles
Idyll: Once I passed through a populous city
with Sylvia Fisher, Jess Walters

Hallé Orchestra
Sir John Barbirolli (conductor)

A Song before sunrise
New Symphony Orchestra
Sir John Barbirolli (conductor)

Some of the greatest joys of Sir John's music-making are his performances of British music. His Elgar, Delius, and Vaughan-Williams have a passion and and tenderness which can be said to define the spirit of the music.

In 1994 EMI issued a double CD of Sir John's Delius recordings. Fine as that set is, a double CD does not have enough room for all Sir John's Delius. This society disc completes the issue on CD of Sir John's Delius stereo recordings and rounds things off with some superbly re-mastered recordings originally issued on 78s. As usual, the impressive sound quality coaxed out of the earlier recordings by Michael Dutton makes the listener doubt the printed information. As always, Sir John and the Hallé make glorious music together.

CDSJB 1005