A fair for life 1

A fair for life


Thursday 22 September 2022

Thursday 22 September at 19.30
Friday 23 September at 19:30

Sir Mark Elder's first concert as first guest conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra is devoted in its entirety to his Norwegian friend Frederick Delius's rarely performed Mass for Life.

When Delius wrote the Mass, mainly in 1904-5, he was at his peak as a composer. The author Andrew J. Boyle writes that Delius eventually developed a more personal tonal language, in which he wanted to describe the condition of modern man.

Delius himself was not religious, and the Mass is a secular work. He had long been inspired by the poet and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, and A Mass of Life is based on Nietzsche's philosophical novel Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1885).

In his time, Delius was called the "Hardanger Wide Man" because he often spent the night under the open sky on the mountain ranges. He considered Norway his spiritual home, and had a deep interest in Norwegian nature and culture, and he believed that Norway had unleashed an enormous creative energy in the form of artists such as Ibsen, Bjørnson, Munch, Svendsen and Grieg.

The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Sir Andrew Davis, has released a CD, Delius in Norway, which celebrates the composer's close ties to Norway.

Sir Mark Elder brings with him a number of brilliant soloists; Gemma Summerfield, Claudia Huckle, Brother Magnus Tødenes and Roderick Williams, powerful choral forces and large orchestra.

Warm up for the concert with Bergenphilive:
Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring.

Sir Mark Elder, conductor
Gemma Summerfield, soprano
Claudia Huckle, contralto
Brother Magnus Tødenes, tenor
Roderick Williams, baritone

Edvard Grieg Choir
Bergen Philharmonic Choir
Collegium Musicum's Choir
Håkon Matti Skrede, choir master
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Frederick Delius – Eine Messe des Lebens