Review by Mark Elder – Delius: A Mass of Life

For Nietzsche, it does not always have to be Strauss and Mahler. The British Frederick Delius also drew great inspiration from the book “Thus Spoke Zarathustra.” In his large, ambitious work, the expansive and wide-ranging Mass of Life, which premiered in Munich in 1908, Zarathustra's texts are captured in music: the exuberance of chants, the dance-like buoyancy in many variations, the seductive instrumental colors, and the mystical contemplation. , beguiling currents of strings, expressive intensities, dramatic surges, signals of fanfare. And choruses, sometimes with one voice, sometimes polyphonically, sometimes as clouds of background sound. In addition to expressive solo parts. The concentrated power of this music is captured in this recording from Bergen, Norway. Everything is fine, constant suction is created. It's unfortunate that the audio recording is sometimes very dry, and sometimes a bit boring. More radiation would be possible.

Delius: mass of life

Gemma Summerfield (soprano), Claudia Hackl (alto), Bror Magnus Tudenis (tenor), Roderick Williams (baritone), Edward Gregg Corr, Collegium Museum Choir, Bergen Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra, Mark Elder (conductor)
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Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

The Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester is one of the oldest philharmonic orchestras in Europe. It was founded in 1765 under the name “Det Musicalske Selskab”, which later became “Musikselskabet Harmonien”. The orchestra consists of about a hundred musicians from… Continue