Latest news with #Delius
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
A Mass of Life review – magical and ecstatic Proms performance of Delius's magnum opus
It is 37 years since A Mass of Life was last done at the Proms, and that 1988 outing was only the second complete Proms performance. The neglect is barely credible, and this outstanding occasion showed what audiences have been denied. If ever there was a piece ideally suited to the Royal Albert Hall it is Delius's voluptuous 1905 magnum opus, with its double chorus, vast and sensuous orchestration, and the ecstatic affirmations of its Nietzsche text. And no conductor is more ideally suited to bringing all this together than the lifelong Delius advocate Mark Elder. Why the disregard? Partly, perhaps, the enduring boldness of Nietzsche's atheist polemic Also Sprach Zarathustra, from which the text is culled. The main reason, though, is surely that Delius's defiantly individual aesthetic – 'a little intangible sometimes but always very beautiful', as Elgar, no less, put it so well – remains a hard sell to audiences who want their music to have more obvious structure and progression. And yet few big pieces have a more clearcut beginning, middle and end than A Mass of Life. The opening summons leaps magnificently off the page. The atmospheric stillness at the start of the second part, with its distant horn calls – played high in the Albert Hall gallery – is a magical piece of writing. And the final chorus is an emphatic summation, admirably marshalled here by Elder to avoid any hint of bombast. Undeniably, the work has weaker moments, in which Delius's music lingers less cogently. Yet few are without interest and none lacks artistry. The influence of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, philosophically as well as musically, is there. So is the echo of Delius's exposure to African American singing in his Florida years. The orchestration is always alive with subtle changes of timbre and phrasing. All this was sensitively realised by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Alison Teale's bass oboe providing a distinctive presence in the fine woodwind section. Among the vocal soloists, the baritone carries most of the weight, with Roderick Williams bringing clarity and taste to his marathon task. Jennifer Davis, Claudia Huckle and David Butt Philip showed they were not there to make up the numbers. The BBC Symphony Chorus and the London Philharmonic Choir never flagged. Surtitled translations of the German text were a good idea. But it was Elder who did most to make the case for A Mass of Life so conclusively. Why not a repeat in a year or two's time? Listen again on BBC Sounds until 12 October. The Proms continue until 13 September.
Courier-Mail
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Courier-Mail
Sir Delius adds intrigue to 2025 Doomben 10,000 day
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. A $A2.7m European purchase last seen racing in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe adds intrigue to Doomben 10,000 day. Sir Delius, known as Delius in his former racing career Europe, will step out for the first time Down Under when he carries 60kg in the Group 3 Chairman's Handicap (2000m) for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and his new owners. Purchased for a record-breaking 1.3 million guineas ($A2.7 million) at the Tattersalls Horses in Training Sale at Newmarket last October, Sir Delius won three of his six starts for French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Last seen finishing eighth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the son of champion galloper Frankel is the $2.50 favourite to make a winning Australian debut after having two trials in Sydney. Bott said the Queensland winter carnival shaped as the perfect springboard to give the four-year-old a foundation for a Cups tilt during the Melbourne spring carnival. Sir Delius is expected to enjoy the likely heavy track conditions he will encounter at Doomben. • Another Group 1 on cards for boom Stradbroke fancy 'By no means are you going to be seeing the best of him there on Saturday,' Bott told Racenet. 'But we would like to give him a run or two there through the winter, in the hope we can see him conditioned and ready for the spring carnival. 'He is up in Brisbane and will be trying to add to his CV, for sure. 'He looks well placed on Saturday, although he's obviously going to carry a bit of weight. 'We have got him there as forward as we can, he hasn't raced for a while, but we have got him as fit as he can be and he is there to be trying to be winning. 'I think he will enjoy a heavy track, he trialled on a heavy track and looks to have a bit of heavy track form. 'A dour test on Saturday isn't going to be an issue for him.' • Feature race win would Sure be emotional for Torque's grieving owner Regardless of the result on Saturday, Sir Delius will not back up into the Group 1 Doomben Cup the following Saturday. However a tilt at the $1.2m Q22 at Eagle Farm on Stradbroke Handicap day next month could be a possibility. Bott gave an indication of the style of racing to expect from Sir Delius at Doomben. 'I don't know if he will be a frontrunning type, but in saying that he's not a completely dour type either,' Bott said. 'He has actually shown quite a bit of natural speed in the trials we have seen. 'He appears to be sharper than some of the horses we have brought over here from Europe previously. 'He is not a horse with necessarily an explosive turn of foot or anything like that, he is a stayer in that regard. 'But, tactically, he can help himself out on Saturday.' Adrian Bott. Picture: Richard Dobson • Melbourne Cup-winning hoop shines at Ipswich … again The betting market has the Chairman's Handicap as a race in two, with Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young's galloper Immediacy the only other horse close to Sir Delius in betting. Immediacy, striving for three wins in a row after a pair of successes in Victoria, is the $3.50 second pick. Originally published as Doomben delight: $2.7m import Sir Delius to step out on Saturday for new trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott
