Frederick Delius
In a Summer Garden
Rhapsody for full Orchestra
DCW 32
RT VI/17
DCE 25a
Composer: Frederick Delius
Dedicatee: Jelka Rosen
The fragmentary sketches of In a Summer Garden do not reveal the timespan of the composition of the work, but they do indicate that it went through significant revision and changes of title before the autograph was completed in Spring 1908, and again prior to publication in 1911. A letter to Bantock shows that as late as 30 June 1908, Delius was putting 'finishing touches' to the work and was calling it 'A Summer Rhapsody'. The first performance of the work was given by the Philharmonic Society after they requested a new orchestral work from Delius in July 1908 (LC I, 362-3). According to Carley, it was Delius who asked to conduct the performance himself, and who also refused to provide programme notes, stating 'I do not much care for the analytical programs as they are generally done, and for modern impressionistic music they are entirely useless. [...] The title "In a Summer Garden" puts [the audience] into the atmosphere of the my work - that is really all I desire' (LC I, 363).
The work was subject to extensive revision between the first performance and publication in 1911. As well as making some changes to orchestration (see versions), Delius altered the musical detail and structure. Threlfall indicates that, 'In the first version, the movement in the central section was in crotchets instead of quavers; the following passage was considerably more extended, and reminiscences of the opening phrase (on horn and oboe solo) and of the central section came before the coda (RT, 142-3).
Composition: 1908.
Original version
Date: 1908.
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Published version
Date: 1911.
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Last changed 2020-10-26T14:17:00+00:00