Symphony No. 4 (Honegger)

(Redirected from Deliciae Basiliensis)

The Symphony No. 4 by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger is a work for orchestra, written in 1946 on a commission from Paul Sacher. Subtitled Deliciæ Basilienses,[1] it was first performed on 21 January 1947, by the chamber orchestra Basler Kammerorchester under Sacher. On the same program were the premieres of two other works commissioned by Sacher: Igor Stravinsky's Concerto in D and Bohuslav Martinů's Toccata e due Canzoni.

Symphony No. 4
Deliciæ Basilienses
by Arthur Honegger
The composer in 1928
Composed1946 (1946)
DedicationPaul Sacher
Performed21 January 1947 (1947-01-21): Basel
Movementsthree

Honegger's symphony, which contains musical quotations from two Basel folk songs, expresses the composer's happiness during a pleasant stay in the Swiss countryside after the end of World War II.[2] Despite the pastoral and often joyous mood throughout much of the symphony, the closing minutes include some tragic or more serious elements.

Honegger's Fourth Symphony is a three-movement work with a total running time of about 27 minutes. The movements are titled:

  1. Lento e misterioso - Allegro (approx. 11'45")
  2. Larghetto (approx. 6'15")
  3. Allegro (approx. 8'30")

This symphony is published by Éditions Salabert.

Recordings

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Recordings of this symphony include full sets of Honegger's symphonies performed by:

Additional recordings of this symphony include:

References

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  1. ^ Deliciae Basilienses.
  2. ^ Honegger: Symphonies 1-5 • Pacific 231 • Rugby (CD liner notes). Warner Classics, 2006. p. 6.