Re: Requesting info. about KaTe songs

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (chris williams)]

>Anyone know anything about the meaning behind the song 
>"Delius (Song of Summer)" on _Never Forever_?? 
> 
>I came across the name Delius in a novel I'm reading (_The Philosopher's 
>Stone_ by Colin WIlson) as being a poet - from what time period/country
>of origin I forget.... 1st time I've ever heard of this name, except
>from that song!  Anyhow, I'm assuming this is the same Delius referred 
>to in the song.

   It's possible that Kate meant a double meaning, but the song is about
a specific person, the English composer Fredrick Delius. His music is
fairly well recorded and most any decent record store should have at
least one or two of his works.

   In his later years (this is fairly spotty - I'm *not* a Delius
scholar) he was unable to write his music and he may have been blind.
A young transcriber and aspiring composer Eric Fenby was hired to
transcribe music as Delius dictated/sang it. It was fairly difficult
work, difficult enough that many disagree on how much of the resulting
music is Delius' and how much is Fenby's.

   The bit in the song "Taa-taa-taa" is how Delius sang the notes.

   "In 'B,' Fenby" is Delius instructing Fenby on the key of the song.

   Kate based this song (and several others) on a film. Ken Russell
did a whole series of films on composers, including Delius. Many of
the spoken bits are based on scenes in the film. Kate was a guest
on a talk show (The Russel Harty Show) in 1980 with Julian Lloyd
Weber and Eric Fenby and played her video to _Delius_. It was only
shown one other time (on the Dr. Hook special.)


                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)