Search - Holst, Lynne Dawson, Wetton :: Choral Fantasia / Choral Symphony

Rarely Heard Holst Music

Brett A. Kniess | Madison, WI | 12/15/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Gustav Holst today is well known for his symphonic work The Planets and his military band suites, as well as a host of other instrumental works. His choral music has not fared so well, and this disk presents two large choral/orchestral works that the public at the time couldn't quite grasp on to: The Choral Fantasia and the First Choral Symphony.



The 18-minute Choral Fantasia is a setting of Robert Bridge's Ode to Music, a tribute to the awakened man and his great deeds of the past. Written for the 200th anniversary of the death of Henry Purcell, the work is scored for solo soprano, chorus, organ (which Holst himself played and plays a major role), strings, brass, and percussion. The organ opens as if creeping out of the primordial ooze, and the soprano soloist introduces the opening of the poem. A long and involved organ solo prevails, with a monstrous march supported by timpani, carries the music to the first choral statement. The general feeling is one of a subdued nature, with occasional outbursts; Holst here isn't afraid to use dissonance either. The music isn't outwardly celebratory, but a quiet respect is paid. Interesting compared to the popular Holst.



Holst's First Choral Symphony, is more diversified and longer, about 50 minutes, and uses the poetry of John Keats. In five movements, he titles them Invocation to Pan, Song and Bacchanale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, Scherzo, and Finale. The work begins with some un-Earthly chanting, an Invocation to the God Pan; the creepy chanting builds into a quick, yet glorious climax. A solo viola follows with a lament, taken up by the soprano Lynn Dawson, a heartfelt, almost folksy lament. The mood changes as the merry-making and licentiousness of the Bacchus worshipers enter, and a spright 7/8 time dance moves the music into festivities, echoed by playful woodwinds and brass fanfares. It all erupts with the chorus in praises of Bacchus with orchestral and percussive revelry. The third movement begins as the text changes to Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn. The lyric beauty is maintained with occasional modal leaps by chorus or woodwinds. The fourth movement is a fleet-footed scherzo, a patter-song for chorus, often men's and women's voices taking turns. Toward the end, the song takes on the guise of a Scottish reel, with pealing chimes and choral cacophony, shouting "Hazzah!". The finale begins with the a cappella soprano soloist intoning, followed by the chorus praising the multi-faceted gifts God grants. The nearly 18-minute Finale is one big rejoicing and praising, an exultant and breath-taking movement. The work on the whole succeeds and fails; the music is pleasant, and even worthwhile, but the obscure texts and inconsistent form will forsake these pieces to relative obscurity, including the more-oft performed Choral Fantasia.



The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Guilford Choral Society are not first-class ensembles, and it shows; but nothing is terrible about the execution of the performance, it is good. The orchestra succeeds except occasionally in sparsely orchestrated sections. The choir suffers the most with tuning issues, but more correctly, vocal production issues, but again, they do better than the average semi-professional ensemble. The soprano soloist is actually a delight to listen to; she fares well and gives a moving performance. If you want to investigate Holst's choral music, I would actually suggest starting with his more mainstream works (some good Holst choral CD's have been released on Chandos). Only die-hard Holst fans will probably want this CD, in that case, this is probably the only First Choral Symphony available to get, and it is a fine CD."