eMusic Review 0
One of those works that always brings a lump to my throat is Frederick Delius's setting of "Sea Drift" (from Walt Whitman's poem "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking"). It's scored for solo baritone, chorus and orchestra and tells, touchingly, of a young boy watching two sea birds who have clearly bonded for life. Then, one day, the she-bird flies away never to return. The male waits for his mate singing his forlorn lament to the moon, the stars and the sea. Bryn Terfel's dark, rich baritone and his beautiful enunciation is a perfect complement to this powerful blend of words and music. The two choral works, "Songs of Farewell" and "Songs of Sunset" (where Terfel returns with mezzo Sally Burgess), are beautifully done — the Chandos recording and Richard Hickox's innate feeling for Delius's music meshing to powerful effect. And Delius's musical voice was one of the most original — you won't find more powerful advocacy in modern times.
