Words selected by Fritz Cassiser from Friedrich Nietzsche's "Thus Spake Zarathurstra".

Part 1 at 8.00
First there is an invocation to the Will, which is asked to preserve the soul ‘from petty earthly conquests’ and prepare it for final triumph. There follows a call to dancing and laughter. Man the lover is then depicted in pursuit of life the beloved. A quieter mood follows, as a bell is heard tolling, and Zarathustra and Life gaze at each other in the cool of the evening. But misgiving enters into Zarathustra's heart; he meditates in solitude and a deep longing for love comes over him. At noontide in the mountains he finds freedom of spirit; and in the meadows, when aroused from slumber, he delights in the beauty of the world around him.

Frederick Delius
(1863-1934)
It is, I think, unfortunate that the picture of Delius most frequently seen should show him in his last years, when he was blind and paralysed. As a younger man he had abounding energy and zest, and was ready to climb mountains and go on long walking tours. It is this more positive aspect of him that is revealed in A Mass of Life, which is to be given at the BBC Symphony Concert on Wednesday (Home). With the Huddersfield Choral Society Sunday and distinguished soloists taking part, and with Sir Malcolm Sargent in command, we are assured of an inspiring performance.

Although Delius wrote what is now the final section of the work in 1899, and this was produced in London in the following year under the title of ‘Zarathustra’s Night Song’ the greater part of A Mass of Life was composed fifty years ago, in 1904-5. It was Sir Thomas Beecham who directed the first complete performance of it in 1909. The words are taken from Nietzsche's Thus Spake Zarathustra, a book which had a profound influence on Delius. With its visionary power and vastness of design, A Mass of Life is undoubtedly the most important of and most inspired expression of Delius's highly individual genius.