Classical review: Delius’s Mass of Life, Edinburgh Usher Hall

“ONE thing is for certain – that English music will never be any good until they get rid of Jesus.” Thus spake Delius.

And oh how we are slapped metaphorically square in the face by that Zarathustran humanism of his in the extraordinary Mass of Life, which last night kicked off the Edinburgh International Festival music programme like some volcanic ejaculation of pure, unfettered joy. In view of Britain’s current Olympics euphoria, Delius’s seldom-heard setting of Nietzsche hit the prevailing mood bang on the head; signed, sealed and delivered by a performance that was the musical equivalent of a glitter-strewn ticker-tape parade. But is there a piece of music with any riper and raunchier an opening, or with such a rapturously spent ending? And is there ever a text whose mystifying purpose is so overridden by the power of a composer’s unflinching will? The Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the augmented Edinburgh Festival Chorus, all under Sir Andrew Davis’s direction, made musical sense of the verbally baffling. For this was a performance that brought supreme definition to Delius’s delicious harmonies and his rich, resonating textures; and which Davis spurred on with lustrous intent, molten energy. His job was made easier by the faultless accuracy and pristine delivery of the chorus.It has set the bar exceedingly high

Rating: *****