Holst and the Winds

A detailed exploration of the works for winds by Gustav Holst, the renowned composer of The Planets, aided by musical analysis and rich historical documentation. Gustav Holst (1874–1934) was an English composer and music educator whose work spanned four decades. Though he remains most widely known for his orchestral suite The Planets, his works for band or wind ensemble are also performed frequently, yet have rarely been studied in such systematic detail. They vary widely in genre (from chamber music to military and brass-band works) and in form (from sonata cycle to suite to symphonic poem). As author Jon Mitchell shows, Holst's works for winds give plentiful evidence of the many influences on him, both musical (including Wagnerian romanticism, English folk song, and Baroque polyphony) and nonmusical (e.g., Sanskrit literature, William Morris, and Walt Whitman). The book gives careful attention to these influences and to the evolution of the works through analysis of sketches and full manuscript scores. Holst and the Winds makes use of a wide array of primary sources, including Holst's personal papers, written correspondence, programs, and periodical reviews. Music educators, performers, conductors, and anybody who loves Holst's music will enjoy the insights provided herein.

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations List of Tables Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction List of Abbreviations 1. Beginnings Cheltenham Royal College of Music Duet for Organ and Trombone Worming Chamber Winds Carl Rosa Opera Company The Scottish Orchestra Woodwind Quintet Career Change Sanskrit Pan's Anniversary Two Songs without Words 2. A Paragon for Posterity The Military Band's Quest for Repertoire Stepney Children's Pageant First Suite in E-flat for Military Band Early Performances and Recordings 3. Music for the Populace The Festival of Empire The Pageant of London "Scene IV, Part 1" Morris Dance Tunes 4. The Art of Revision 2nd Military Suite in F minor Folk Tunes and Dances Second Suite in F for Military Band Relationship to St. Paul's Suite Consequences of the Kneller Hall Conference Early Performances and Recordings Three Folk Tunes 5. The War Years A Dirge for Two Veterans Incidental Music for St. Martin-in-the-Fields Festival Choruses YMCA Fieldwork in Salonica and Constantinople Seven Choruses from the Alcestis of Euripides 6. Another Change in Style First North American Trip A Fugal Concerto Royal Military School of Music Transcriptions from The Planets At the Boar's Head Terzetto Egdon Heath 7. Music for the Working Classes The British Brass Band Movement Two Psalms Projected Brass Band Arrangements A Moorside Suite Sketches National Brass Band Championships Military Band and String Versions 8. On the Wireless The BBC Wireless Military Band Central European Holiday Bach's Fugue à la Gigue Second North American Trip Marching Song 9. "from GH (and Emma Smith)" Hammersmith: A Prelude and Scherzo The Water Gipsies Sketches Two-piano Version "Emma's First Beginning" Orchestral Version Military Band Try-out Orchestra premiere The Bells 10. Validation Third North American Trip Boston Symphony Orchestra New York Harvard Montréal and Return to New York Hospitalized Hammersmith Band Premiere Harvard Glee Club Mr. Shilkret's Maggot Return to Ann Arbor Carlisle and How Mighty Are the Sabbaths Conclusion Appendices I. Correspondence, W. J. Duthoit to A. A. Harding II. Comparison of the Instrumentation on the Urtext Scores of Holst's Original Military Band Works Bibliography About the Author Index

About the Author :
JON CEANDER MITCHELL is Emeritus Professor of Music at University of Massachusetts Boston and Conductor of the Chamber Orchestra and Coordinator of Music Education.