Frederick Delius

Hassan

Incidental music to the play by James Elroy Flecker

DCW 8
RT I/9
DCE 8

Composer: Frederick Delius

Hassan has a complex history and selection of sources. Delius first composed the music to James Elroy Flecker's 5-act drama Hassan in 1920-1, and commissioned Philip Heseltine to prepare a piano score, published by Universal in 1923 (LC II, 243). This version of the music was used in a performance of the play at Darmstadt on 1 June 1923. At the same time, Delius had first been contacted by Basil Dean in January 1921 regarding a London production of the play with Delius's music (LC II, 241). Dean required a number of additions to the score, and Delius also changed the orchestration. A 'new and complete' piano score was subsequently prepared by Heseltine and published by Universal, and Dean's production, with the new music, was first performed on 20 September 1923. To complicate matters, this history occurred as Delius began to experience paralysis, and there are consequently multiple manuscript sources in various hands. Here, the original and expanded versions are treated separately, with the components and orchestration of each provided. Incipits are given for the expanded version only and come from the collected edition. For the 'Intermezzo' and 'Serenade' arrangements by Fenby and Beecham, see the Appendix.

Composition: Between 1920 and 1923.

Original version

Date: Between 1920 and 1921.

Revised version

Date: Late 1923.

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