Search - Eugene Holmes, Frederick Delius, Charles Groves :: Delius: Koanga; The Song of the High Hills

Young in Florida

R. W. Cooper | London | 06/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Koanga is the stunning first opera by Frederick Delius, beautifully recorded an astonishing 34 years ago by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir & Orchestra under Sir Charles Grove - you will greatly enjoy this atmospheric opera: if you do then press for a recording of 'The Magic Fountain' written a few years later



Roger Cooper"

Pure Magic

G.D. | Norway | 11/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Koanga, written between 1896 and 1897, was apparently among Delius' own favorite works, representing as it does a bond to his youth in Florida. Still, this is as far as I know the only available recording. In the prologue, the character Uncle Joe is persuaded, after a long day of work, to tell the story of Koanga by the planters' daughters (the opera is set in Mississippi), predictably followed by a scene shift to the earlier times of the story which concerns Koanga, a plantation slave, and the tragic story of him and his beloved Palmyra. Clichéd, maybe, but the music Delius provides us with for the transition is beyond magical. And indeed, the work as a whole is one of the most atmospheric works I have heard, gloriously orchestrated (including banjos) and even the ubiquitous `La Calinda' receives a new life in the choral version here. Delius affection for Wagner is obvious, but Delius is really his own man here already. Performances are splendid all around and sound quality excellent. The coupling is a recording of the tone-poem `A Song of the High Hills' - personally one of my absolutely favorite works, but admittedly perhaps not the best introduction to the composer if you are unfamiliar with Delius - the opera is, though. Strongly recommended."