Opera Scotland

Mass of Life A Mass of Life; Eine Messe des Lebens

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Music

Frederick Delius (born Bradford, 29 January 1862; died Grez-sur-Loing, 10 June 1934)

Text

Composer

Source

Philosophical treatise Also sprach Zarathustra (1883) by Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Premieres

First Performance (Part 2): Munich 1908.

First Performance (complete): London (Queen's Hall), 1909

First Performance in Scotland: Edinburgh (Usher Hall), 1 September 1984 (perhaps earlier)

 

Background

As its title suggests, A Mass of Life can be used as an antodote for anyone suffering from a surfeit of Requiems. Essentially a humanistic piece, its text is derived from Also sprach Zarathustra by Nietzsce.