- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Other sellers (CD)
-
All (14) from $10.39
-
New (14) from $10.39
carefulconsideration
Posted September 19, 2012
An ambitious undertaking to celebrate the entirety of life characterizes the mind of Western society at the dawn of the 20th Century, and Frederick Delius has put it to music. This composition endeavors to include everything: emotion, discovery, energy, delicacy, sorrow, and salvation. While such work merits praise for the undertaking, the effect can lose the audience. Or perhaps the music itself is simply not memorable. The audience can be pictured expectantly hearing the opening of this work, enduring the second part, and then hoping that the Idyll will finally bring release. The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Hill responds to every demand upon it. The soloists carry out their parts admirably, although the texture of the soprano reminds the listener of blurred watercolors, and the baritone becomes gritty from time to time. The credentials of the conductor, soloists, and Bach Choir suggest the highest level of quality, and yet the effect is bombastic, overwhelming, and wandering, lacking substance. This is neither a Mass nor about Life, but an ode to narcissism in a mélange of sound. A devotee of Nietzsche, Delius pays homage to the Übermensch and the optimism of the dawning 20th Century. But today that philosophy has paled, and the theme has faded in its appeal to audiences. This work seems to reflect the confusion and lack of direction which eventually became a mark of the 20th century.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Editorial Reviews
All Music Guide - Blair Sanderson
An adherent of Friedrich Nietzsche and an avowed skeptic of conventional religion, Frederick Delius was the last composer to be expected to compose anything resembling the Roman Catholic mass. However, "A Mass of Life" is more a secular oratorio than a mass, and the texts from Nietzsche's "Also sprach Zarathustra" firmly put this gigantic work in the Zeitgeist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ideas about the superman and the human will were common for the time, and the buoyant optimism that inspired this work had yet to be shattered by world wars and the other tragedies to come. Musically, this is a dramatically different style for Delius, rather similar in ...