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Available for over a year

Daniel Grimley for Building a Library recommends a recording of Delius's Sea Drift, a setting for baritone, chorus and orchestra of words by Walt Whitman. In the poem, the speaker describes how, as a boy, he watched a pair of mocking-birds nesting, until one day the she-bird flew away and never returned. In this atmospheric work Delius marvellously conjures up the motion of the waves in the sound of the orchestra. Top recommendation: Delius: American Masterworks DELIUS: Appalachia (Variations on an old slave song); Sea Drift; Koanga: four excerpts Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano), Johan Reuter (baritone), Simon Duus (baritone), Aarhus Symphony Orchestra Choir, Aarhus Cathedral Choir, AarhusSymphony Orchestra, Bo Holten (conductor) DANACORD DACOCD732 (CD) Historical recommendation (currently unavailable) The Beecham Delius Magic DELIUS: Sea Drift; 'Hassan' Incidental Music; An Arabesk Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bruce Boyce, Â鶹Éç Chorus, Thomas Beecham (conductor) SONY SBK62752 (CD) Other recordings: Below is a shortlist of other recordings which Nicholas Kenyon also liked, although we can’t guarantee the availability of these discs. DELIUS: Sea Drift; Florida Suite Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera, Thomas Hampson, Charles Mackerras (conductor) ARGO 430 206-2 (CD) Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius DELIUS: Sea Drift ELGAR: The Dream of Gerontius Op. 38 HOLST: The Hymn of Jesus, H140 John Shirley-Quirk, London Symphony Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Hickox (conductor), Peter Pears, Yvonne Minton, The Choir of King's College, Cambridge, London Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Britten (conductor), Â鶹Éç Chorus, Â鶹Éç Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Boult (conductor) DECCA 4481702 (2CD budget) Delius: Sea Drift, Songs of Farewell & Songs of Sunset DELIUS: Sea Drift; Songs of Farewell; Songs of Sunset Sally Burgess (mezzo-soprano), Bryn Terfel (baritone), Waynflete Singers, Southern Voices, Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Richard Hickox (conductor) CHANDOS CHAN10868X (CD budget)