Delius as Song Writer

Extract

In the ultimate assessment of Delius's art it is conceivable that his songs will occupy a somewhat minor place. In bulk, they do not loom very large in the catalogue of his works—a mere fifty or so in all, and of these perhaps a sixth were apparently not deemed by the composer worthy of publication. Yet it would be a pity to underrate them merely on the ground of their slender numbers or because Delius himself was apt in later life to deprecate, more especially, his early efforts. For it is sometimes the case that a composer will reveal himself and his idiosyncrasies in his first stumbling attempts and even more readily in the miniature than in the larger composition. Delius did not spring into the world fully armed but his basic idiom changed relatively little and no one can fail to find traces of the authentic Delius finger-print in his songs of all periods.