March 7, 2011

  • Review: Holst Orchestral Works

    Holst: Symphony in F
    Munich Symphony Orchestra/Douglas Bostock
    Scandinavian Classics 220559-205
    Total Time:  65:04
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ***/****

     

    Like many composers not from continental Europe, Gustav Holst’s music was mostly a regional affair with the sole exception of his crowning orchestral masterpiece, The Planets.  Holst’s post-romantic style tended to more open, post-Wagnerian harmonies that suggested folk music.  A few smaller orchestral suites, one derived from his ballet The Perfect Fool, is about all most classical music fans ever here of Holst.  So this new disc from Scandinavian Classics opens up the chance to hear some of the turn-of-the-century style of the composer exploring his own voice within the Germanic idioms of the time. 

    The most substantial piece is the “Cotswold” Symphony, Op. 8 from 1899-1900 written while he was a trombonist in the Scottish Orchestra and Cal Rosa Opera Company.  The main achievement in this work is the deeply moving second movement “Elegy” which practically outbalances the other three movements of the work.  The opening “Allegro con Brio” is a simple fanfare-ish opening of simple aspirations.  Some of the rhythmic energy appears motivically to launch the gorgeous slow movement, written in memoriam of William Morris.  The long melodic idea is set against intriguing harmonic arrival points that are in contrast to the more chromatic movement of Holst’s often impassioned theme.  There are plenty of little stylistic fingerprints that his admirers will be able to hear, especially in some of the brass writing.  The third movement is a well-crafted little scherzo that opens up more wind and brass ideas against skittering strings and fun rhythmic punctuations.  It is all fairly safe music for the most part with even a standard cadential gesture to announce the end of the primary section before heading into a gentle Trio with a beautiful thematic idea that one wishes would grow more than it actually does.  The Finale also has another fine melodic idea that has an almost Elgar-ian quality to it with lighter string writing and some canonical ideas before it grows into a fine finish.  The Munich Orchestra manages to capture some of the British-ness of this music, though strings seem a bit strained at times.  The work received its only performance in 1902 and here on CD becomes a sort of curiosity which even at less than 30 minutes outstays its welcome.

    Written at the same time, the unperformed  (until 1982) Walt Whitman Overture, Op. 7, is another Germanic-influenced work that falls into place with so many other British works of the period exploring the work of this American poet who had just recently died in 1892.  It is very Brahms-like, with even a  Wagner-ian gesture thrown in for good measure.  Holst’s own voice is not to be heard, though there is a lightness to the orchestration in places.  It all ends in fanfare and a quite quaint cliché ending.  In what is apparently the work’s second appearance on CD, the Munich players do fairly well, though some trumpet flubs in one of the climaxes are a bit unfortunate.

    After these two earlier pieces which are essentially juvenile studies in orchestration by the budding composer, we turn to works that are firmly rooted in his familiar style.  By the second decade of the 20th Century, British composers, like their American counterparts, began to realize the wealth of folk music and indigenous styles that would help distinguish their sound from their European roots.  The result is heard most fittingly in the first suite on this release.   A Hampshire Suite, Op. 28, no. 2 is an arrangement by Gordon Jacobs that appeared in 1945.  It is derived from Holst’s 1911 Second Suite in F for military band, itself arranged for brass band and whose final movement would end up in the St. Paul Suite.  After the two opening works on the disc, this piece is a reminder of the Holst most of us know.  Fresh, clear textures, great wind writing, and folk-like melodies that often soar in and out of the texture.  Jacobs’ orchestration captures the spirit of the wind piece well and the performances here are rather good.

    The ballet music from The Perfect Fool is fairly well-represented on disc and likely appears here to provide some sort of familiar piece which casual browsers would more easily recognize.  It is a fairly exciting rendition under Bostock’s direction.  The disc closes with a “Scherzo” from an unfinished symphony as a sort of encore bonus.

    The release is evidently a re-issue of a 2002 Classico recording.  It features essentially the only representation of most of this repertoire in the current catalogue (part from a Lyrita release) and fans of British music may want to track this down to gain a wider appreciation of this early 20th century composer’s lesser known, and early forays into orchestral composition.  It is most fascinating to hear the progression of the Germanic late-19th century style into the more mature and final orchestral work of this important British composer.