Frederick Delius: Life and times in Bradford
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Homage
to Delius
| The words of another of Bradford's
famous sons, J.B. Priestley, writing at the beginning of the
20th century, seem particularly appropriate when we consider
the influence of Bradford on the young Delius:
"The Bradford years were the formative years...I was
moulded and coloured, so to speak, by the West Riding, and
more particularly by Bradford...The Bradford of those years
was no ordinary city. Bradford, crouching in its smoky valleys,
is, of course, a dingy city, but it has the good luck to be
quite close to enchanting country, and when I lived there
we all took advantage of our good luck, spending much of our
free time roaming the dales and camping near the moors. So
I grew up with two equally strong tastes: one for what is
truly urban - for concerts and theatres and arts clubs and
cafes to argue in; and the other for really grand, wild remote
country, for salty winds, vast dark hills, stone walls vanishing
into the clouds, springing larks and lonely curlews."
(J.B. Priestley - From The Preface To "Socialism Over
Sixty Years", biography of Fred Jowett by Fenner Brockway,
1946) |
This obituary appeared in July 1934 in
'The Bradfordian', the magazine of Bradford
Grammar School.
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"Bradford had some unique features. To begin with,
mixed with its solid Yorkshire dough, as a kind of leaven,
it had a small but influential German-Jewish population,
consisting of liberal refugees from Frankfurt and Leipzig
and elsewhere, who came to Bradford to engage in the textile
trade. They did us a lot of good, these newcomers with their
passion for music and taste for other arts. I have always
believed since that refugees do more good than harm; they
enrich the mixture like Latakia in tobacco. Bradford men
themselves were great travellers, for ever popping off to
the continent, to Australia and South America. We might
seem very provincial, but we had doors and windows open
to the wide world...Bradford was considered the most progressive
place in the United Kingdom. Our subscription concerts were
famous; in addition we had our permanent symphony orchestra
and two magnificent choral societies; we had two theatres,
besides the music halls and concert party pavilions; a flourishing
arts club; and three daily papers...I am prepared to bet
that Bradford produced more well-known people - musicians,
scientists, writers, performers and the like - than any
other place anything like its size in the whole kingdom."
(J.B. Priestley - From The Preface To "Socialism Over
Sixty Years", biography of Fred Jowett by Fenner Brockway,
1946)
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This sculpture in the form of two giant winter leaves,
half decaying and skeletal and half still alive, expresses
the composer's love of nature and recurrent interest in
the themes of life, death and regeneration expressed through
his music. Just as the music of Delius evokes an emotional
response in the listener, so Amber Hiscott's 'Quatrefoil
for Delius' encourages the participation of the viewer,
not just to look, but also to walk through the 20 foot long
tunnel created by the meeting of the two leaves. The sculpture
is located in Exchange Square, Bradford. (Unveiled 25/11/93
by Councillor Bob Sowman, Lord Mayor of Bradford)
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