Frederick Delius
THE WALK TO THE PARADISE GARDEN arranged by Peter Lawson
Goodmusic Concert Classics GMCL254

Orchestration: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, Cor Anglais [may be omitted], 2 Clarinets in Bb, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns in F, 2 Trumpets in Bb, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Harp
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)

The Walk to the Paradise Garden was composed in 1906, prior to the first performance of Delius’s opera A Village Romeo and Juliet, at the request of Komische Oper, Berlin, in order to provide a musical link to cover a lengthy stage set change between the final two scenes, 5 and 6. The opening night was the 21st of February, 1907. The opera had otherwise been completed in 1901 and some of its main thematic material is used to make this bittersweet tone poem. The two lovers Sali and Vreneli walk to their favourite retreat, a disused mountain inn called the Paradise Garden, next to a river. It was this river which they would sadly use to float away to their deaths on a hay barge. They had played as children in the Paradise Garden and realised at a later stage that although they loved each other, they would never be permitted to marry, as their respective wealthy parents were embroiled in a prolonged feud over the ownership of a piece of land.

In this reduction, I have gone back to the original score, reduced the Flutes, Oboes Clarinets and Bassoons from 3 to 2, the Horns reduced from 6 to 4 and the Trumpets in C converted into Bb. The Cor Anglais, if absent, is cued into other instruments, where it has an independent musical line. The Bass Clarinet, Contrabassoon and the 2nd Harp have been removed altogether. I have also increased the dynamics of some instruments to feature them better and sometimes toned down the brass as necessary…Delius was typically somewhat vague over such details! Peter Lawson
Duration 8½ minutes
A PACK includes a full score plus all wind, brass and percussion parts and strings 4/4/3/4/2.