Top 5 Favourite non-Planets Holst Works

Started by Christo, June 14, 2015, 03:00:37 AM

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Christo

June 14, 2015, 03:00:37 AM Last Edit: June 15, 2015, 12:08:18 AM by Christo
But you may opt for your personal favourite Planet, if you like: in my case it is Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age

Invocation (1911) - for cello and orchestra
This Have I Done for My True Love (1916) - for mixed chorus a cappella
The Hymn of Jesus (1917) - for two mixed choruses, female semi-chorus and orchestra
First Choral Symphony (1924) - for soprano, mixed chorus and orchestra
Capriccio, originally named: Jazz-Band Piece (Mr. Shilkret's Maggot) (1932) - for orchestra  (revised by Imogen Holst as 'Capriccio' and recorded twice as such)
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Karl Henning

#1
June 14, 2015, 07:53:44 AM
Quote from: Christo on June 14, 2015, 03:00:37 AM
Jazz-Band Piece (Mr. Shilkret's Maggot) (1932) - for orchestra  (revised by Imogen Holst as 'Capriccio)

Jiggered if I knew of that one at all, at all!

The Hymn of Jesus is certainly a fine one.

Let me consider . . . .
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

vandermolen

#2
June 14, 2015, 08:10:20 AM
Excellent thread - especially as I started a very similar one (see under 'Holst' in composer index)  :)

Saturn: The Bringer of Old Age

The Cloud Messenger
First Choral Symphony
Hammersmith (orchestral version)
The Perfect Fool ballet music (especially the middle movement)
Egdon Heath
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Sergeant Rock

#3
June 14, 2015, 08:23:43 AM
Mars, the Bringer of War

Suites op.28, Nos.1&2

Somerset Rhapsody

Beni Mora

Symphony in F major "The Cotswolds" (especially the second movement Elegy )



Sarge

the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

vandermolen

#4
June 14, 2015, 10:22:42 AM
Quote from: Sergeant Rock on June 14, 2015, 08:23:43 AM
Mars, the Bringer of War

Suites op.28, Nos.1&2

Somerset Rhapsody

Beni Mora

Symphony in F major "The Cotswolds" (especially the second movement Elegy )



Sarge

I should have included Beni Mora and the Somerset Rhapsody on my own list - great works.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#5
June 14, 2015, 10:59:31 AM
Looks like an extraordinary issue including alternate versions of Saturn and Jupiter not issued since 1926.  :o
[asin]B00IOAY1VW[/asin]
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Christo

#6
June 14, 2015, 12:16:14 PM Last Edit: June 15, 2015, 12:10:07 AM by Christo
Thanks all very much, so far.

Re: Beni Mora - absolutely lovely work, yet I find the lesser-known Invocation from the year after at least equally fine (and even more 'mature Holst', to follow Imogen Holst's classification  :)).
Re: Egdon Heath - always wonder who really loves it, as it seems to wander in the dark for me, almost as if by Sibelius.  8) I always had the impression that after 1930 Holst's music began to 'warm' (becoming more 'personal') again, as e.g. in the 1933 Lyric Movement and even the Scherzo from his planned Symphony.

Re: Compositions for Band: all of Holst's pieces for Wind Band etc. are great fun, IMHO: both Suites, the Moorside Suite (but I like it even more in its version for string orchestra), Hammersmith. The same applies to his similar pieces for strings: St. Paul's Suite, Brook Green (the original Gavotte including).

... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Dax

#7
June 14, 2015, 03:31:13 PM
One of my favourite works of Holst is (believe it or not) the Terzetto for flute, oboe and viola: a sophisticated piece of wilful polytonality in which the key signatures would suggest the flute as being in Ab, the oboe in A and the viola in C.

Mirror Image

#8
June 14, 2015, 06:46:07 PM
Holst is far from one of my favorites, but the five works I enjoy most outside of The Planets are the following (in no particular order):

Beni Mora
Japanese Suite
Egdon Heath
Indra
The Cloud Messenger

vandermolen

#9
June 15, 2015, 10:38:45 AM
Quote from: Mirror Image on June 14, 2015, 06:46:07 PM
Holst is far from one of my favorites, but the five works I enjoy most outside of The Planets are the following (in no particular order):

Beni Mora
Japanese Suite
Egdon Heath
Indra
The Cloud Messenger

Nice to see some more support for the Cloud Messenger which has a wonderful 'minimalist' moment, decades before minimalism.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

vandermolen

#10
June 15, 2015, 10:47:10 AM Last Edit: June 15, 2015, 10:53:14 AM by vandermolen
'Love on my heart from Heaven fell' is another favourite of mine (from 7 Part-Songs):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iqwKqz6vYBo

Very much in the spirit of his friend, Vaughan Williams I think
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Christo

#11
June 15, 2015, 10:50:23 AM
Quote from: Dax on June 14, 2015, 03:31:13 PMOne of my favourite works of Holst is (believe it or not) the Terzetto for flute, oboe and viola: a sophisticated piece of wilful polytonality in which the key signatures would suggest the flute as being in Ab, the oboe in A and the viola in C.

Never heard it, but I certainly believe you.  :) Is there any recording that you know of?
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Dax

#12
June 15, 2015, 12:06:20 PM
There's one but I've never heard it (I used to posses a radio receording).
A couple of clips will give you a flavour.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Australian%2BEloquence/ELQ4802328#listen

Christo

#13
June 20, 2015, 02:49:30 AM
Quote from: Dax on June 15, 2015, 12:06:20 PMThere's one but I've never heard it (I used to posses a radio receording).
A couple of clips will give you a flavour.
http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Australian%2BEloquence/ELQ4802328#listen
Many thanks, both clips offer more than a hint of the complete Terzetto. It's a piece from 1925, I learn now, not long after the First Choral Symphony.
... music is not only an 'entertainment', nor a mere luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual if not of the physical life, an opening of those magic casements through which we can catch a glimpse of that country where ultimate reality will be found.    RVW, 1948

Lisztianwagner

#14
June 20, 2015, 06:57:42 AM
Egdon Heath
The Cloud Messenger
The Golden Goose
A Somerset Rhapsody
Two Songs without Words
"You cannot expect the Form before the Idea, for they will come into being together." - Arnold Schönberg

vandermolen

#15
June 25, 2015, 03:37:25 PM
Quote from: Lisztianwagner on June 20, 2015, 06:57:42 AM
Egdon Heath
The Cloud Messenger
The Golden Goose
A Somerset Rhapsody
Two Songs without Words

Great choices.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

Earth and Air and Rain

#16
July 20, 2015, 06:40:36 PM
Quote from: Dax on June 15, 2015, 12:06:20 PM
There's one but I've never heard it (I used to posses a radio receording).
A couple of clips will give you a flavour.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Australian%2BEloquence/ELQ4802328#listen

There are a few more recordings of the Terzetto as well:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B5UBEZ4/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H0M4H0/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00008US9Z/
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000004AEP/ (this last with cello instead of viola)
Fauré's music remains a great corrective to the self-seeking vulgarity which seeps progressively into the fabric of our artistic life...  We have to continue to believe in a world where it is possible for one tenor gently to sing 'Clair de lune' without being drowned by three bellowing 'O sole mio'.

kyjo

#17
September 28, 2017, 09:51:14 PM
Ballet music from The Perfect Fool
Beni Mora Suite
The Hymn of Jesus
Invocation for cello and orchestra
Indra
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vandermolen

#18
September 28, 2017, 10:56:11 PM
Quote from: kyjo on September 28, 2017, 09:51:14 PM
Ballet music from The Perfect Fool
Beni Mora Suite
The Hymn of Jesus
Invocation for cello and orchestra
Indra
Great choice but don't know the last one.

New list:

The Cloud Messenger
Lyric Movement for Viola and Orchestra
Love on my heart from heaven fell (song)
Egdon Heath
The Perfect Fool ballet music.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

SymphonicAddict

#19
September 29, 2017, 03:26:48 PM
Beni Mora. John Williams had to be inspired by this music as well.
Ode to Death
St. Paul Suite (I love The Dargason)
Short Festival Te Deum
Japanese Suite

... and my favorite planet is either Saturn or Uranus. I can't decide.
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