Eventyr (Once Upon a Time)

Eventyr (Once Upon a Time) is a tone poem for orchestra composed by Frederick Delius in 1917. It was given its premiere in London on 11 January 1919, under the direction of Henry Wood. "Eventyr" means "adventure", and the inspiration for the piece was a fairy tale from Norway. After a twenty-bar introduction, a fantastic theme is played first by the bassoons and then by the other woodwinds. The second subject is presented by the strings and gains in intensity with the addition of another subject in counterpoint. Several climactic moments follow before the creation of a fairy world, dominated by a descending chromatic theme for strings, celesta, and harp. The piece is concluded with the return of earlier material, followed by a quiet closing section.

References

• David Ewen, Encyclopedia of Concert Music. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.

Frederick Delius
Operas	Koanga A Village Romeo and Juliet Fennimore and Gerda
Concertante	Piano Concerto Double Concerto
Orchestral works	Florida Suite Paris: The Song of a Great City In a Summer Garden On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring Eventyr (Once Upon a Time) A Song of Summer
Choral music	Sea Drift A Mass of Life Songs of Sunset A Song of the High Hills Requiem
Vocal music	Cynara
Cultural depictions	Song of Summer (1968 television film)
Named for Delius	Delius Glacier
Related articles	Impressionism in music
List of compositions by Frederick Delius Category:Compositions by Frederick Delius