Neglected? I don't think any more so than in his lifetime, or anytime
since.  In the concert hall, possibly (who isn't?) but in our Brave New
World there's much more available on CD - including, I think, all the
operas - than ever before, and that is probably the best way to hear his
music anyway.

In truth, as Eric Fenby suggests in his indispensable "Delius as I Knew
Him" he was always going to be a composer who appealed very strongly, but
only to a small handful.  His music is sensual, tender, yearning, wistful;
and yet of near-Olympian detachment.  That is its strength, and also its
Achilles heel.

An earlier posting described the early "Paris" as a mish-mash of styles;
whilst that is not entirely fair - witness the delicate, highly personal
opening, once heard, never forgotten - it's quite true that the essence of
Delius is to be found in the perfected shorter orchestral works, remarkable
for their combination of rich sensuality and formal austerity.

Interested newcomers might sample "In a Summer Garden" or the late "A Song
of Summer"; or perhaps the beautiful variations on "Brigg Fair" with its
unmatched Middle Section interlude, the glorious high summer of his output.

His choral works are hampered by chorus parts that are well nigh
unsingable, but his operas are a problem for deeper reasons.  He certainly
lavished much of his creative talent on them, but they suffer from that
Olympian detachment to a crippling degree.  He makes little attempt to
characterise, or externalise the action, which makes staging well-nigh
impossible - my sympathies were all for the director who made such a
desperate attempt on "Fennimore and Gerda" at ENO!

"Koanga", a tragic story from a Florida slave estate, is most worthy of
revival for theatrical reasons - although the music is inconsistent, the
main characters do come to life, and the choral-dance version of 'La
Calinda' at the Wedding Ceremony is a show-stopper.

"A Village Romeo and Juliet" contains much the best music, and its
reflective, dream-like, leanness of action made it the most congenial
operatic subject Delius chose.  Quite aside from the quintessentially
Delian 'Walk to the Paradise Garden', most of the score is superb.  It is
worthy to stand only a step or so behind "Pelleas and Melisande" in the
pantheon, and ought to do so.

Like the Debussy, his operas would work better on film than on stage; and
indeed Peter Weigl's gorgeous film of "A Village Romeo and Juliet" on Decca
VHS video - one of only three opera films, incidentally, that I personally
have found watchable without serious lobotomy!  - is a must for lovers of
the composer.

Christopher Webber,  Blackheath, London,  UK.
http://www.nashwan.demon.co.uk/zarzuela.htm
"ZARZUELA!"