Anthony Collins’ Legacy of Delius Recordings Part 2

In 1970/71 Decca released two LPs on their popular Eclipse label, noted above, (ECS 633 and ECS 634) featuring all seven of the Delius works recorded by Anthony Collins in 1953. They were ‘re-mastered’ in ‘electronic stereo,’ which was really an attempt at making the old monaural recordings sound better by adding reverberation and ‘tinkering’ with frequency levels. Some reviewers felt that the original recordings were ruined by this ‘Electronically Reprocessed Stereo.’

The first LP included Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, The Walk to the Paradise Garden and A Song of Summer. The Gramophone (November 1971) reviewer, R.L. (probably Robert Layton) notes that ‘Collins succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of A Song of Summer.’ The other works were seen as ‘thoroughly idiomatic readings’ however he did have reservations about the audio quality: ‘Naturally the sound is not as vivid or brilliant as a modern recording and calls for some degree of tolerance.’

The second Decca Eclipse LP featured Paris, In a Summer Garden and Summer Night on the River. Writing in The Gramophone, (July 1972) R.L. considers that ‘it would be idle to pretend’ that Collins’ version is equal to Beecham’s for ‘Sir Thomas brought to Delius very special qualities of light and atmosphere that few others have succeeded in matching.’ After this commonly heard caveat he insists that this is a satisfactory performance ‘with no lack of vitality or poetry and with excellent playing from the LSO.’ He concluded by noting that ‘Collins was a sensitive Delian, and his accounts of both the shorter pieces are atmospheric and idiomatic.’ He is impressed by the stereo transcription but considers that the bass has been ‘mechanically boosted.’

In 1995 Dutton Laboratories released a compact disc (CDLXT 2503) of six of Anthony Collins’ 1950’s recordings of Delius. The Walk to the Paradise Garden was not included. The Gramophone (August 1995) reviewer begins by noting that these performances were ‘famous and acclaimed in their day’ which is impressive as it also happened to be Thomas Beecham’s ‘day’ as well. He considered that the 1953 recordings had ‘worn well’ and praises the sound quality of this disc noting the ‘satisfyingly solid bass, a wide dynamic range and only a touch of fizz to the strings in the heavier passages to betray their age.’ The main thrust of M.E.O.’s (Michael Edgar Oliver) evaluation is that Anthony Collins was a master at creating musical colour. Each of the three ‘summer’ pieces require a different palette of colours to reflect the particular musical landscape – water, garden, moorland. In Paris, he feels that Collins can control the formal structure of the work which can ‘easily fall apart’ if the various episodes are not given their due weight in the overall development of the music. The conductor creates impressive musical climaxes in Paris and A Song of Summer and manages to avoid ‘rhythmic monotony’ in the progress of the First Cuckoo. He observes a few examples of ‘carelessness’ from Collins that include the fact the bells and the trumpet near the end of Brigg Fair ‘never quite synchronize.’ His closing remarks suggest that Anthony Collins’ version of Paris ‘is the best performance’ on the CD and is ‘perhaps the finest of Delius’ ‘The Song of a Great City’ ever recorded.

Jonathan Woolf reviewing the Decca Eloquence CD release (461 358-2) for MusicWeb International (2002) suggests that Paris is the ‘prize of the collection’ – from the opening, with its sepulchral basses, to the final moments of ecstatic exultation Collins traverses nearly twenty-four minutes of perilous score with utter conviction.’ He believes that he ‘is sovereign at assimilating the disparate elements of the score’ which echoes M.E.O.’s remarks above. Woolf concludes his thoughts on Paris by suggesting that ‘whether scintillating, dancing or glowering this Paris is viscerally alive, with effortless weight cushioning it and leading to a conclusion made inevitable and moving through Collins’ command of structure and tonal nuance.’ This skill extends to the other pieces on this disc. He brings ‘Elysian logic’ to In a Summer Garden, ‘languorous sensuality’ to Summer Night and a ‘yearning elegance’ to A Song of Summer. He concludes by confidently stating that to listen to Collins’ Delius ‘is truly to understand a little better the nature of his orchestral genius and to absorb a beauty born of a conductor’s selfless gifts.’

The same critic (MusicWeb International, 2005) considered the Pristine ‘download’ (PASC015) which includes Brigg Fair, On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, A Song of Summer and The Walk to the Paradise Garden. Woolf concentrates in his appraisal on the sound quality improvements made on the original recording. He considers that Pristine have reduced surface noise, but in so doing they have managed to ‘reduce the immediacy of the original…[the] result is a gauzy, quiet one but rather lacks openness of sound.’ This appears to be a trade-off – surface noise, clicks and scratches removed at the expense of a duller sound.

The Decca British Music Collection (470 375 2) featured a number of works by Delius performed by a variety of artists. Collins is represented by Paris, In a Summer Garden, A Song of Summer, Summer Night on the River and The Walk to the Paradise Garden. Terry Barfoot (MusicWeb International, 2002) suggests that the sound is ‘anaemic, with little or no richness or bloom during climaxes.’ Barfoot enjoyed the ‘natural phrasing and shaping...and Collins’ ability ‘to conjure magical colours from quasi-impressionist textures…during the mostly quiet music of In a Summer Garden...’

To be continued….

Bibliography and Discography at the end of Part 3 of this essay.

With thanks to the Delius Society Journal Spring 2014 No.155: 51-6, where this essay was originally published.