Florida Suite

Daybreak - Dance; By the River; Sunset - Near the Plantation; At Night

Background
Julius, German father of Frederick Delius and Bradford textile magnate, was bowing to the inevitable when in 1886 he was finally persuaded by Grieg to give up any hopes of making a businessman out of his son, and agreed to finance his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory. Already a last-ditch attempt to involve him in orange-growing in Florida had foundered. But Frederick's fascination with the music of his plantation workers and the excellent theory lessons he received from Jacksonville organist Thomas Ward simply confirmed his determination to compose music: both were hugely influential throughout the rest of his life. After Leipzig, Delius went to Paris where he met his wife-to-be, Jelka Rosen. In 1897 he set up house with her at Grez-sur-Loing, where, with the exception of the war years, Delius spent the rest of his days composing. His final years were dogged by ill health, blindness and paralysis, results of the syphilis he had contracted as a young man. Of necessity, he accepted the help of Yorkshire musician Eric Fenby who served as his amanuensis until his death in 1934.

Delius first made his name as a composer in Germany, though in England his success came more slowly. However, his music enjoyed a huge upsurge in popularity when Sir Thomas Beecham championed his cause. Though the Florida Suite received its first semi-private performance in 1887, it had to wait until 1937 to be published posthumously by Beecham and to receive its London premiere. This early work already showed signs of Delius' individual style: alluring melodic lines, an audacious harmonic palette, a wonderful command of the orchestra and the uncanny ability to portray an atmosphere.

Daybreak
The first movement, Daybreak unveils a delightfully impressionistic picture, piece by piece. A beautiful plaintive oboe melody barely seems to ruffle the shimmering stillness that begins the work. Arching flute arpeggios and the interplay of the other woodwinds herald a more lively (but still restrained) melody, punctuated by simulated bird song in the accompaniment. The strings introduce a more joyful mood which gradually becomes more openly expansive before a restatement of the second theme, eventually dying away. But the syncopated rhythm of the Dance takes its place, at first with delicate strings and tambourine. Little by little, the delights of La Calinda - a tune used also in the opera Koanga - are revealed. Delius treats us to a kaleidoscopic array of instrumental combinations which culminate in a full orchestral climax, the real climax of the movement, before returning to earlier thematic material and winding down to a most satisfying peaceful conclusion.

By the River
In By the River Delius evokes an idyllic picture with a serene barcarole set against a graceful rippling accompaniment. A flute counter-melody (almost a trade-mark in this early work) adds charm and variety, while the more reflective middle section for 'cellos with harp accompaniment provides a perfect contrast before the original theme returns.

Sunset - Near the Plantation
The third movement Sunset - Near the Plantation has much of the hedonistic sensuality that is such a hallmark of his later style. The warm orchestral colours of its first theme, its gentle rocking, rising to a voluptuous crescendo, vividly evokes the sultriness of a tropical evening. It gives way to a lilting Afro-American tune, seemingly naïve in its first incarnation, with gentle strings and off-beat triangle accompaniment, but rising by stages to a near frenzy and a climactic outburst with an orchestra of Wagnerian proportions. The sequel to this consummation is ecstatic peace and a decrescendo to the earlier tune, with playful embellishments from strings and woodwind en route to the quiescent final bars.

At Night
Obviously written to balance the first movement, At Night begins with the same oboe melody, but soon introduces a more solemn theme on the horns which is soon taken up and transformed by the strings in a sumptuous rhapsodic arrangement reminiscent of Grieg at his most Romantic. The exquisite tranquility of this movement remains unaltered when another lovely theme evocative of the first movement is introduced. Almost inevitably the horn theme returns to complete the movement in an extended coda, delicately orchestrated with pizzicato lower strings and woodwind.

Despite the huge emotional range of The Florida Suite it possesses the rare homogeneity found only in the works of the finest of composers.

© J. S. Whitehead, July 2002