Of the works performed here by the Royal Scottish National\nOrchestra under the prominent Delius interpreter Sir Andrew Davis,\nthe first three (Paris, the Piano Concerto, and Idylle de\nprintemps) offer a fascinating insight into the early years of the\ndevelopment of Delius as a composer, when he was slowly and\npainstakingly honing his craft, and assuming the characteristic\npersonal voice that is evident in more mature works such as Brigg\nFair.

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Paris, sub-titled ‘The Song of a Great City’, is strongly\ninspired by the composer’s many years of living and working in\nParis. With large-scale orchestral forces, Delius paints opulent\npictures of a city that he obviously loved. The slow opening\nportrays the still darkness falling over Paris; then the music\nchanges pace and takes us through the teeming and intoxicating\nnightlife of the city, with impressions of exuberant dance music\ncoming from the many cafés and music-halls. The opening material\nreturns, culminating in the sounds of the awakening streets.

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Until recently Delius’s Piano Concerto has been know exclusively\nin its final, one-movement form, which was first performed in\nLondon in 1907. The version recorded here, however, represents the\ncomposer’s earlier thoughts, from 1897. Performed by Howard\nShelley, the work is brimming with full-bodied romanticism while\nshowing the influences of Grieg and Liszt throughout.

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The airy mood of Idylle de printemps points to later depictions\nof nature in Delius’s music, as in Brigg Fair, which Delius\ncategorised as ‘An English Rhapsody’. Cecil Gray, the Scottish\nmusic critic and composer, described the opening of Brigg Fair as\n‘evoking the atmosphere of an early summer morning in the English\ncountryside’. The work is based on a folk-tune which came to light\nin a competition instigated by Percy Grainger in 1905 to find ‘the\nbest unpublished old Lincolnshire folk song or plough song’.\nGrainger was immediately taken with the folk-tune, and having\narranged it himself for solo tenor and chorus, he approached Delius\nto write orchestral variations on it – urging him on as the only\ncomposer worthy of the task. Delius was soon persuaded, and Brigg\nFair became one of his best-loved works.

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