Editing Eric Fenby (section)

==Working for Delius==
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In 1928, hearing that Delius had become virtually helpless because of blindness and paralysis (due to syphilis), he offered to serve him as an [[amanuensis]]. Fenby worked, at the composer's home in [[Grez-sur-Loing]], near Paris, for extended periods until Delius died almost six years later. The project was taxing not only because of the need to devise a unique mode of musical communication but also because of Delius's difficult temperament and [[atheism]]. 

Although born into a [[Methodist Church of Great Britain|Methodist]] household, Fenby had become a devout [[Catholic]]. The strain on him was intensified by the requirement to act as nurse during the composer's final days. Further responsibilities followed, including visiting Delius's severely ill widow, [[Jelka Rosen]], and accompanying the composer's exhumed body back to England for burial. The whole experience left him "completely burnt out". In 1936, he published an account, ''Delius As I Knew Him''.<ref>Eric Fenby (1936) ''Delius as I Knew Him'', G. Bell & Sons, Ltd., London</ref><ref>Icon Books 1966, Faber and Faber 1981 {{cite web |last=Fenby |first=Eric |title=Delius As I Knew Him |url=https://www.raincliffebooks.co.uk |publisher=Raincliffe Books |edition=revised |orig-date=1936 |date=2019}} {{worldcat|name=''Delius as I Knew Him''|id=lccn-n50001125}}</ref>

The works he helped Delius to write (all for orchestra unless otherwise shown) are:
* ''[[A Song of Summer]]''
* ''Fantastic Dance''
* ''Irmelin'' prelude
* ''Caprice and Elegy'' (cello and chamber orchestra)
* Violin Sonata No. 3 (violin and piano)
* ''Songs of Farewell'' (double choir and orchestra)
* ''Idyll'' (soprano, baritone and orchestra).

This episode in Fenby's and Delius's lives was portrayed in [[Ken Russell]]'s 1968 production for the BBC, ''[[Song of Summer]]'', which can be found on YouTube. In 1980 [[Kate Bush]] sang about them in her song "Delius". In a much distorted form, the Delius-Fenby collaboration also serves as a basis for the fictional Ayrs-Frobisher collaboration in [[David Mitchell (author)|David Mitchell]]'s novel ''[[Cloud Atlas (novel)|Cloud Atlas]]''.