Frederick Delius - Brigg Fair
for chamber orchestra Frederick Delius (1862-1934) composed his orchestral work Brigg Fair in 1907. Percy Grainger, the Australian composer and pianist, had made a setting of the Lincolnshire song 'Brigg Fair' for solo tenor and chorus, striking for its simplicity and also the use of chromatic harmony under the melody. When Delius first met Grainger in 1907, Grainger urged Delius to compose an orchestral work on the tune, and Delius responded with this work, subtitled ‘An English Rhapsody’. Delius’s work treats the tune to a series of variations, encompassing lilting rhythmic dances, funereal marches, gently pastoral moments and full grand statements. A peaceful introduction and several Romantic linking passages give the work its rhapsodic character, one of Delius’s most original and distinctive works. Instrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, percussion (triangle, bass drum, tubular bells), harp, strings (minimum 3.3.3.2.1) Available to hire or purchase from Aria Editions here Listen to the opening of a live performance here: Brigg Fair (3’55) |