On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring

On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring

On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring is a tone poem composed in 1912 by Frederick Delius; it was first performed in Leipzig on October 2, 1913.

The work opens with a slow three-bar sequence; its first theme is an exchange of cuckoo calls, first for oboe, then for divided strings. The second theme of the piece is scored for first violins, and is taken from a Norwegian folk song, "In Ola Valley", which was brought to his attention by the Australian composer and folk-song arranger Percy Grainger. (The theme was also quoted by Edvard Grieg in his 19 Norwegian Folksongs, Op. 66.) The clarinet returns with the cuckoo calls before the piece ends in pastoral fashion.

The Times

The "First Cuckoo" is a somewhat light-hearted competition in The Times' letters pages, where correspondents claim to have heard the first cuckoo in spring.[1] The Times also have published several books[2] of notable letters of the twentieth century, entitled "The First Cuckoo".


References

  1. ^ / "1917. Spring at the front: nature amid desolation". The Times. 1917. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/The_First_Cuckoo_/. Retrieved 26 July 2011. 
  2. ^ Gregory, Kenneth, ed (29 April 1976). First Cuckoo: Letters to "The Times", 1900-75. ISBN 978-0048080257. 
  • David Ewen, Encyclopedia of Concert Music. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.
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