''In a Summer Garden'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

composed in 1908 by

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

; it was first performed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

under the composer's

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

on 11 December of that year. The piece is built around several distinct themes. The first appears in the

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

and strings; the second is presented by the

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially an alto ...

, while the third is scored for

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

s against figures and chords in the woodwinds and lower strings. This is worked out vigorously before the piece is concluded by a new theme, first from the violins and repeated by the woodwinds. The published score of the fantasy contains two quotations which provide some clue as to its emotional content. The first is a

couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

: :All are my blooms; and all sweet blooms of love. :To thee I gave while Spring and Summer sang. The origin of the second quote is unknown. It reads:

Roses, lilies, and a thousand scented flowers. Bright butterflies, flitting from petal to petal. Beneath the shade of ancient trees, a quiet river with water lilies. In a boat, almost hidden, two people. A thrush is singing in the distance.

The first broadcast performance was conducted by Edward Clark. Philip Heseltine made a piano solo transcription in 1921, published only in 1982.

References

*David Ewen, ''Encyclopedia of Concert Music''. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959. 1908 compositions Compositions by Frederick Delius Compositions for symphony orchestra {{classical-composition-stub