THE WALK TO THE PARADISE GARDEN      Frederick Delius (1862-1934)

 

Although considered quintessentially an English composer, Delius was born (in Bradford) of German parents and lived most of his life in France.  However, his music still somehow has that English pastoral sound.

The ever-popular The Walk to the Paradise Garden was written in 1907 as an orchestral interlude between the penultimate scenes to his opera, A Village Romeo and Juliet.  The opera tells the story of two lovers torn apart by a petty family feud, who ultimately commit suicide on the lake of the Paradise Garden to remain forever together.  This passionate and sensual music vividly portrays the intensity of their love, their memories of happiness in former times and despair at the helplessness of their situation.

 

Programme notes by Jonathan Hodgetts

 

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