Howe leaf inspired tribute to Delius (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Howe leaf inspired tribute to Delius

9:17am Monday 13th February 2012 in Remember When? By Jim Greenhalf

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Bradford-born composer Frederick Delius.

Twenty years ago, Welsh sculptor Amber Hiscott was commissioned to make a public sculpture to celebrate his life and work. Quatrefoil for Delius cost more than £30,000 and was installed outside the Crown Court on November 23, 1993.

Amber explained the inspiration for her work – admired by some, criticised by others.

“I borrowed the architectural term quatrefoil which comes from the French for four leaves, but usually refers to tracery in a medieval stone window. This reminds the viewer that though born in Bradford, Delius died in France.

“The way I came up with the concept was to listen to Delius’s music, having read the book written by his friend and collaborator Eric Fenby and having researched his life in the library. Then I thought deeply about it.

“I was struck by the way in which the sorely-afflicted Delius, who suffered inestimably with syphilis, came alive when carried out into the spring sunshine. He adored and was animated by the warm sun touching his skin. The cyclic natural world was a mercurial pagan muse for him.

“Finding the skeleton of a dead leaf under my foot sparked the idea. Fascinated by the delicate, intricate, yet resilient tracery; I made a drawing on robust paper and then carefully cut it out, so that one long edge was on a fold and joined to a similar leaf by a tab.

I then stood this up like a tent, imagining this wee maquette, big enough for people to walk through it, as if it was a copse or a tunnel of trees, casting shadows from the branches.

“But I wanted there to be a joyful event in the centre. Placing the fresh spring green and the gold autumnal glass leaves suspended on either side within the bare branches, so that they would cast pools of colour, was a natural progression of the initial concept.

“I was always mindful of the site. Knowing that the new law courts were to fill one side of Exchange Square, I wanted to provide a foil, yet also a sense of balance –. an organic respite from the geometry and the emotional turmoil that can be engendered in such a place.”

The steel was hand-forged by Alan Dawson and Associates in Cumbria.

She added: “It was an immense amount of work.

The glass panels I made in my own studio in Swansea using mouth-blown glass made in the antique method by Hartley Woods in Sunderland.

“I plated the glass like a sandwich with 10mm toughened glass as the bread and the antique glass as the filling. It was held together with lead. Each separate panel was to be fitted into a leaf-shaped steel armature using the French Glazing method found in medieval cathedrals.

“We were all nervous about how the different sections would come together. The weekend prior to the installation was scheduled for a dummy run. I drove from Swansea to Cumbria with the glass panels.

“At first sight of the finished steel structure with its copper patination, I stood struck dumb. While absorbing the visual impact and scrutinising the sculpture in the cold factory, silent minutes ticked by. Eventually one of the team who had been breaking their backs to finish the commission on time, could bear it no longer.

“‘For heaven’s sake, say something Amber’.”

“‘Gosh, it is fantastic’,” was my reply.

The glass fitted like a glove.

The unveiling was a grand celebration of civic pride with speeches interspersed with a string quartet playing the music of Delius."