Delius: A Mass of Life

Sir Mark Elder, Conductor
Soloists: Roderick Williams, Gemma Summerfield, Claudia Huckle, Bror Magnus Todenes
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir
Edvard Grieg Kor / Collegium Musicum Choir

Release Date: 24 November 2023
Catalogue No: LWC1265
Label: LAWO
2 CDs

A recording of Delius’s choral masterpiece, recorded live from performances in the Grieg Hall, Bergen in September 2022, is released worldwide on November 24 on the Lawo Classics label.

Sir Mark Elder is Principal Guest Conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and these performances fulfilled a long-held desire on Sir Mark’s part to conduct this great work. The recording also features Roderick Williams in the huge baritone solo part – one of the greatest achievements in his glittering career.

Delius had close connections with Bergen through his friendship with Edvard Grieg, and it was here that he first read Nietzsche’s ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’, on which the text for the Mass is based.

(Announcement provided by Groves Artists)

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“For me, Delius’s music is particularly beautiful. Delius was concerned with man’s relationship with the world around him. He explored and was inspired by the forces of nature, our dependence on it, and its function as a model for the good.” Sir Mark Elder

Andrew Mellor’s interview with Sir Mark Elder features in the November issue of Gramophone.

Sir Mark Elder appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune to promote his forthcoming recording of Delius’s ‘A Mass of Life’. Listen in from around 46:30: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001s5th