Frederick Delius

Eventyr

Once upon a Time (After Asbjørnsen's Folklore)

Ballad for Orchestra

DCW 39
RT VI/23
DCE 26

Composer: Frederick Delius
Dedicatee: Henry Wood

This work is inspired by the seminal collection of Norwegian folklore published in the 1840s by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe: Norske Folke-Eventyr. Beecham indicated that Delius had initially sketched the work in 1915, before making substantial revisions in 1917 (see RT, 152). According to a programme note written by Jelka Delius for a 1929 performance, the work was not based on a particular Asbjørnsen story, but was rather 'a resumé-impression of the book' (LC II, 355-7), with its evocations of isolated country folk and the malevolent forest-dwelling 'Underjordiske' who prey upon them. The work is notable for the inclusion of men's voices, who provide a brief 'wild shout' in the middle of the work. The present catalogue has followed Threlfall in considering the work to be nevertheless essentially orchestral music.  

Composition: Between 1915 and 1917.