In a Summer Garden - Delius (1862-1934)

Born in Bradford to German parents, Frederick Delius soon discovered that the commercial interests of his family were unpalatable. After a two-year spell as an orange grower in Florida, he was helped by Edward Grieg in persuading his father to allow a musical career. After studying in Leipzig, he moved to Paris remaining in France for the rest of his life. Another eminent musician, Sir Thomas Beecham, was probably the most influential advocate of Delius' music in both England and America. Since that time Delius' work has become immensely unfashionable and, whilst not all of his work is of equal value, we have perhaps thrown out the baby with the bath water and in the process lost some delightful music. "In a Summer Garden", a beautifully evocative, extended rhapsody, was dedicated to the composer's wife, Jelka Rosen, with an inscription taken from Rosetti, "All are my blooms and all sweet blooms of love - To thee I gave while Spring and Summer Sang". May this charming music with its deft interplay of light and shade remind us of the delights of summer still to come.

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