Delius in Norway

Andrew Davis's new collection opens with Delius's orchestration of the Norwegian Bridal Procession by Grieg, a mentor who helped persuade the Englishman's father to allow him pursue a career in music. The album includes two of the Songs from the Norwegian written for Grieg's wife Nina (beautifully sung by Ann-Helen Moen), as well as the politically provocative incidental music for Gunnar Heiberg's The People's Parliament; the Ibsen-inspired Paa Vidderne; and Eventyr, sparked off by Norwegian fairy tales. The celebrated On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring incorporates a Norwegian folksong, and the irresistibly jaunty Sleigh Ride, which originally had Norwegian in its title. The recorded sound is full, the music-making sturdy. url.ie/f1f2