Delius composed sixty-two songs, over half of which are of a Scandinavian flavour—largely as a result of his long-standing friendship with Edvard Grieg. This wide-ranging recital encompasses the full gamut of his passions: Norwegian, Danish, French, German and English settings all sit happily within his oeuvre.

Born in Bradford to German parents, Delius spent his formative years escaping from an England which he scarcely regarded as ‘home’ and from the family business of wool trading. As things turned out, it was the travel involved in the latter parentally imposed occupation which gave our aspiring composer the opportunity and inspiration to emigrate, setting up camp first in Sweden and eventually in France.

A young Englishman and self-imposed exile create a heady mix of cultural references which our Anglo-Australian artistes clearly regard as ‘home territory’: these performances by Yvonne Kenny and Piers Lane are enthralling and draw the listener in to a world rich in multi-cultural allusion and unashamed beauty.