MS Mus. 1745/2/13/4

(1). Cynara: sketches and drafts

Threlfall, III/5.

(a) ff. 1-24. A green Boosey & Hawkes' Manilla Cover housing various sketches and a voice/piano reduction by Eric Fenby:

• f. i. Front cover inscribed 'Cynara' by Sir Thomas Beecham.
• ff. 1-12. Six manuscript strips and fragments, lettered (a)-(g), bearing pencil notes, some marked 'Cynara' and some marked 'Dowson'. On the verso of 'Cynara' (f), there are notes headed 'Zarathustra'. On the verso of 'Cynara' (g), there are untitled ink sketches for Brigg Fair.
• ff. 13-14. 1 bifolium (14-stave 350 x 270 mm.). An early pencil draft headed 'Cynara' (pp. 1-4).
• ff. 15-16. 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Pencil sketch headed 'Cynara' (pp. 1-2). The third page (paginated p. '52', originally an outer page) begins with a single bar in F# major (cf. Légendes, MS Mus. 1745/1/39, ff. 24-49) before being used for another sketch for Cynara: p. '52' and the un-numbered final page of the bifolium contain another setting of Dowson, beginning 'We fling up flowers & laugh'. The final page is annotated 'with Zylophone'. Dowson's words in this second sketch are taken from his poem 'Carthusians' (eighth stanza, omitting the last line).
• ff. 17-19. (14-stave, differing paper), pp. 3-[8]. Sketch setting: 'all night upon mine heart' (Dowson, 'Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae').
• f. 20. single folio (18 stave 350 x 270 mm.). On the recto (p. 5), another pencil sketch setting beginning 'all night upon mine heart'. On the verso, a sketch headed 'Prelude Zarathustra'.
• ff. 21-24. 'Cynara', a voice/piano reduction in the hand (ink) of Eric Fenby, paginated pp. 1-6. English words with German words added beneath or above in pencil by Jelka Delius. The last bar is deleted in red crayon, and annotated: 'add revised ending'. 1 bifolium with 1 folio (2 sheets pasted together) inserted, all 15-stave 350 x 270 mm.

(b) ff. 25-33. Pages 27-45 (p. 36 duplicated) of a pencil draft full score, including chorus and (baritone) soloist:

• The draft setting begins, in medias res, with the fragment: 'ration bear us on to the ultimate night', which derives again from Dowson (from the poem 'Exile': 'While the sad waters of separation / Bear us on to the ultimate night').
• At the head of the first page (p. 27), the heading 'Cynara follows' (struck-through). The draft continues by taking up again words from Dowson's 'Carthusians' ('We fling up flowers').
• Page 30 is headed 'CYNARA beginning' (in Fenby's hand), following which is Delius's original draft setting of 'Non sum qualis...'
• Scored on 36-stave 542 x 350 mm. 4 bifolia (of which, 2 bifolia, pp. 33-39, have been cut down) and 2 folios.

(2). Songs of Sunset ('Songs of Twilight & Sadness'). ff. 35-71.

Threlfall, II/5.

(a) Miscellaneous fragments:

• f. 35. Pencil sketch beginning 'See how the trees & osiers'. The upper portion of a single leaf (14 staves remaining, now 230 x 265 mm.).
• f. 36. Short score pencil sketch, setting 'Sound of the waters of separation'. 1 folio, pp. 15-16 (12-stave oblong, 270 x 350 mm.).
• f. 37. Pencil sketches, beginning setting 'with all my memories that could not sleep' (from Dowson, 'Spleen'). Headed 'III'. 1 folio (20-stave 337 x 267 mm.).

(b) Autograph full score (ff. 38-71):

• 17 bifolia (36-stave 450 x 327 mm), comprising title-page and pp. 1-67. Page 3 has been mis-numbered as p. 4, and the following 2 pages [pp. 4-5] have been cut down at the top, losing 4 (unused) staves, and are therefore un-numbered; p. 6 and all pp. thereafter are correctly numbered.
• Ink, with overworking in pencil.
• Title-page: 'Songs of twilight & sadness / Frederick Delius 1906 Sept 1907 Jan / for Solo Soprano, Baritone, Mixed Chorus / & Orchestra'. Note in pencil beneath: 'These songs must not all be played à la suite but in the following order" (Delius then lists the opening line of each poem according to the published version).
• English words, with German translation by Jelka Delius in pencil above (and in mauve ink, pp. 61-65).
• p. 14 annotation: 'bar missing'.
• p. 19 annotation: 'bar missing'.
• Annotation across pp. 53-54: 'as before on Page 50'.

(3). Fennimore and Gerda. ff. 72-107:

Threlfall, I/8.

(a) ff. 72-76. Fragmentary sketches (ink and pencil) for 'Niels Lyhne' (original title):

• 4 manuscript strips (a)-(d) and one double strip (e)-(f), each headed 'Niels Lyhne'.
• Some strips have unrelated and unidentified material of the versos. On the verso of (e), there are (untitled) ink bars from A Mass of Life (I/3).

(b) ff. 78-107. Sketches for various scenes, in short score draft:

• ff. 78-79. 'Scene I'. 1 bifolium (cut from larger paper, now 18-stave oblong, 272 x 350 mm.). Ink.
• ff. 80-81. Beginning 'Scene VII' deleted (f. 3r), thereafter 'Scene I'. 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink.
• ff. 82-83. 'End of Act I' (f. 6v). 1 bifolium (cut from larger paper, now 18-stave oblong, 272 x 350 mm). Ink.
• ff. 84-85. 'Scene III' and 'Scene IV' (f. 8v). 1 bifolium (cut from larger paper, now 18-stave oblong, 272 x 350 mm). Pencil.
• ff. 86-87. 'Scene IV'. 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Pencil.
• ff. 88-89. 'Scene VII' (cf f. 3r above). 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink with pencil additions.
• f. 90. [Scene VII], pp. 4-5. 1 folio (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink.
• f. 91. [Scene VII], pp. 6-7. 1 folio (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink. Annotated 'End' in pencil (f. 14v).
• ff. 92-93. 'Prelude to Scene VIII' (pp. 1-3). Inverted, f. 16v is headed 'Scene VII' (page deleted). 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Largely ink.
• ff. 94-95. [Scene VIII], pp. 4-7. 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink.
• f. 96. [Scene VIII], pp. 8-9. 1 folio (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink.
• ff. 97-98. '[Scene] VIII' (? an earlier draft). 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink.
• f. 99. 'Nils Lyne' (pencil). On the verso (inverted), in ink, '3rd Act' and 'a way to the woods' (? Irmelin). 1 folio (18-stave 350 x 270 mm.).
• f. 100. 'Music between Scene X and Scene XI / Prelude to Niels & Gerda'. 1 folio (18-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Pencil.
• f. 101. 'Scene X'. On the verso, the Prelude to Scene II is sketched. 1 folio (20-stave 340 x 270 mm.). Pencil.
• ff. 102-103. 'Scene XI' (early version). Annotated (f. 26v): 'love duet comes here'. 1 bifolium (20-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Ink.
• f. 104. 'II', 'Nils' and 'Gerda'. 1 folio (12-stave with words lines, 350 x 266 mm.). Pencil.
• f. 105. 'III'. Sketch of duet for Gerda and Niels. Verso blank. 1 folio (18-stave 350 x 270 mm.). Pencil.
• ff. 106-107. An early draft of the close of the opera, paginated pp. 7-10. 1 bifolium (20-stave 340 x 270 mm.). Pencil.

(c) ff. 108-192. Pencil draft full score, with German words:

Paginated pp. 1-121 (31 bifolia), 1-32 (8 bifolia), [1]-[4] (1 bifolium), and 1-10 (3 bifolia). All 30-stave 403 x 300 mm. (except for the first two bifolia which are 34-stave).

• pp. 1-121: 'Scene II' [= Scene 1] (p. 1); 'Scene III' [= Scene 2] (p. 20); p. 34 is blank; 'Scene IV' [= Scene 3], [p. 35]; between pp. 49 and 50 there is an un-numbered page headed 'Dance'; 'Scene V' [= Scene 4] (p. 50); 'Scene VI' [= Scene 5] [p. 69]; 'Rhapsody' and 'Prelude to Buchenwald' interlined (p. 72); 'Scene VII' [= Scene 6] (p. 92); 'Scene VIII' [= Scene 7] (p. 103); there are two pages numbered 112 and a blank page following p. 121.
• pp. 1-32: 'Scene IX [= Scenes 8-9] (the end is wanting).
• pp. [1]-[4]: 'Scene X'; 'Scene XI' at the foot of [p. 4].
• pp. 1-10: 'Scene XI', but with an introductory interlude quite different from the final one; the draft ends at the reference to Romeo and Juliet's grave (cue 126 of the printed score); two blank pages follow p. 10.