Impressionism · Composers linked to impressionism
1862 – 1934
Bradford, England → Grez-sur-Loing, France
Life
Frederick Delius was born in Bradford on January 29, 1862, the son of a German wool merchant who wanted to see him in the family business. With just over twenty years old he left for Florida to run an orange plantation, and there, among the African American workers' songs, he decided he would be a composer. He later studied in Leipzig, where he was encouraged by Grieg.
Since 1897 he lived in Grez-sur-Loing, near Fontainebleau. His music, made of floating chromatic harmonies and contemplative sound landscapes, is the great English version of impressionism. In his last years, blind and paralyzed, he continued to compose thanks to his young assistant Eric Fenby, who took his works to the dictation. He died in Grez on June 10, 1934.
Featured works
- A Village Romeo and Juliet, opera, «The Walk to the Paradise Garden» (1900-1901)
- Appalachia (1902)
- Sea Drift, for baritone, chorus and orchestra (1903-1904)
- A Mass of Life (1904–1905)
- Brig Fair (1907)
- In a Summer Garden (1908)
- Summer Night on the River (1911)
- On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring (1912)
