Delius: Koanga; The Song of the High Hills

Delius: Koanga; The Song of the High Hills

Delius: Koanga; The Song of the High Hills

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CD Details

Performer: Eugene Holmes
Composer: Frederick Delius
Conductor: Charles Groves
Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Performer: Claudia Lindsey
Performer: Doreen Walker
Performer: Elaine Barry
Performer: Eleanor Capp
Performer: Miriam Bowen
Performer: Pamela Warrick Smith
Performer: Valerie Hill
Performer: Keith Erwen
Performer: Peter Bingham
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2005-07-12
Music Label: EMI Import
Soundtracks:

Koanga - Act I
Koanga - Act Ii
Koanga - Act Iii
The Song Of The High Hills

Music reviews of Delius: Koanga; The Song of the High Hills

Music Review: Pure Magic
Rating: 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.

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