The ''Florida Suite'' is an orchestral suite by English composer

Frederick Delius file:Fritz Delius (1907).jpg, Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius (born Fritz Theodor Albert Delius; ; 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934) was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prospero ...

. He composed the work in 1887 at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, after his time as manager of an orange grove in Florida, inspired by its landscape and culture, mainly centred on the

St. Johns River The St. Johns River () is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and is the most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders 12 counties. The drop in elevation from River s ...

. During this time, Delius also studied music with an organist in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. This suite is one of the composer's more popular works. The "Daybreak" movement includes a version of the tune "La Calinda", which Delius later used in his opera '' Koanga''. Hans Sitt led the first performance of the work in 1888 in

. Sir

Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philh ...

was a noted champion and had a copyist's score, which he used for himself, made from the composer's original manuscript. The suite was first published in 1963. A corrected edition of the score was published in 1986. It is an example of the type of programme music for which Delius was both lauded and disparaged.A Village Romeo and Juliet (theatre programme). Opera North. 6 June 1984.

Movements

The suite consists of four movements: #Daybreak — Dance #By the River #Sunset — Near the Plantation #At Night

References

Orchestral compositions by Frederick Delius Orchestral suites 1887 compositions {{classical-composition-stub