Proportion and the esoteric: Frederick Delius and his music

[Paul Ferguson]

"Studies in Delius’ social milieu during the 1880s and 1890s suggested that both Delius and his closest friends were pursuing aspects of esoteric knowledge influential on his early works. Thus the operas Irmelin and the Magic Fountain were each laid out as comprehensive alchemical allegories, and confirm that Delius had been strongly attracted to alchemical lore and symbolism sometime before he first met Strindberg."

Critchett, Clive Ian (2017) Proportion and the esoteric: Frederick Delius and his music. Doctoral thesis (PhD), The Royal Northern College of Music in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University. 

https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/622566/

[Paul Ferguson]

"Irmelin" complete sound recording here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRgrvPkvYdg

"The Magic Fountain" complete sound recording here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlocnIaP3u0

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"Strindberg was greatly interested in monkeys, and had a theory that the gorilla was descended from the union of a shipwrecked sailor and a female monkey. He was also occupied with alchemy at that time and claimed to have extracted gold from earth which he had collected in the Cimitière Montparnasse. He showed me [Delius] pebbles entirely coated with the precious metal and asked me to have one of these samples analysed by an eminent chemist of my acquaintance. My friend examined it and found it to be covered with pure gold. He was hugely interested and expressed the desire to make Strindberg's acquaintance. So I arranged a meeting in my rooms for a certain Wednesday afternoon at three o'clock."

From "Frederick Delius" by Peter Warlock, p. 50, available here:

https://ia600302.us.archive.org/21/items...00warl.pdf