Since the formation of the Delius Society in 1962, besides the regular publication of the Journal and Newsletter, its principal activities have been the meetings and talks held most frequently in London, but also by the Society’s branches (no longer in existence) in the provinces, notably the Midlands Branch. Such meetings have sadly ceased because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unlikelihood today of drawing a sufficient attendance. The annual general meeting is now held online. A complete listing of the Society’s meetings and talks from 1962 to 2021 was included in the Spring 2022 Delius Society Journal number 171, pp.102-160, detailing the speaker, the subject and the venue of each talk, together with a reference to any review in the Journal.  

Between 1973 and 2007 about 80 Society talks were recorded on cassette, chiefly to assist the editor or reviewer in writing an accurate account for the Journal. These recordings, which have mostly been preserved, were detailed in the Spring 2022 Journal. They were not professional recordings. The talks often included recorded and live music, the latter usually on the piano, and consequently the recordings occasionally suffered from certain defects, such as slight distortion of the piano at climaxes when the recording level was set more with a view to adequately catching the speaker’s voice. Other defects have been the British Music Information Centre’s entrance bell ringing with late-comers and the shuffle of feet and chairs as they found a seat, other excessive audience noise such as laughter, and even the hum of traffic when a window was necessarily left open on a hot summer’s evening. More importantly, as the speakers were never ‘miked’ and they themselves were not always aware that a recording was being made, the level of speaker and piano varied considerably.

Many of the recorded talks are unsuitable for transfer, either because the general sound quality is not good enough for comfortable listening or the talk is less enjoyable in this format. Yet a number of them, despite a few faults, are of considerable historical interest, such as the memorable evenings with famous musicians like Sidonie Goossens, Margaret Harrison, Roy Henderson, George Lloyd, Anthony Payne and Eric Fenby. A select number, judged to be of sufficient quality, have therefore been extensively edited, cutting out as much as possible any unnecessary pauses and interruptions, and made available to interested members here, allowing listeners either to revisit a meeting they attended or to hear one that they missed.

The initial batch of seven Delius Society talks is listed below.

The information given for each talk includes references to any review in the Delius Society Journal and details of the music played, with a time cue should the listener want to find or hear again any particular example. Some may prefer to hear these recordings on headphones. Permission where possible has been given for these recordings to be released, and acknowledgement is due to Stephen Lloyd and the late Brian Radford who recorded many of these talks, and to audio specialist Hamish Bramley, for his professional work in restoring them.

For more information and to listen to each talk, click on the title. It is hoped that a further selection of talks will follow.

1. Eric Fenby on Jelka Delius
Mary Ward House,  21 September 1982                                       

2. Margaret Harrison in conversation with Felix Aprahamian
Mary Ward House,  17 September 1985                                      

3. Felix Aprahamian reading from his diaries of his visit to Delius at Grez
British Music Information Centre, 8 November 1989                

4. Robert Threlfall : Part 1 – ‘Two master pianists recalled’ and
Part 2 – ‘The supplement to the Collected Edition’
British Music Information Centre, 26 February 1998                 

5. Robert Threlfall : ‘A Delius Miscellany’ with Robert Montgomery (oboe)
British Music Information Centre, 21 March 2000                   

6. Alan Rowlands – on his enthusiasm for Delius
British Music Information Centre, 15 March 2001    

7. Robert Threlfall in conversation with Paul Guinery
New Cavendish Club, Cumberland Place, 21 October 2003