La Calinda

Among the earliest surviving for Delius' opera "Koanga" is a scrap of paper revealing the combination of the principal theme of "La Calinda", the central dance in the second act, with the spiritual-like melody first sung to the words "He will meet her when the sun goes down". At the climax of Palmyra's dance song in the completed work, the choral tenors and basses repeat that haunting tune in a memorably simple piece of counterpoint. When Eric Fenby made his final orchestral version of "La Calinda" as published in 1938 he originally retained the choral counter-melody in bassoons, cellos and basses, but deleted it from his manuscript before publication; presumably he considered it too isolated in that context. To some, this has always been a matter of regret; Christopher Palmer, for instance, retained it in his arrangement as the "Creole Dance" for cello and piano, and explained its presence by using the harmonies of the original chorus as a prelude. As a tribute to those two devoted Delians, the same prodecure has been followed in the present arrangement. Originally Eric Fenby arranged "La Calinda" for flute and strings (or piano) but in so doing of necessity sacrified the original exchanges between flute and other wind instruments. The review of his version as here offered, which uses both flute and oboe, takes the opportunities for such contrast whenever possible.