The Summer Newsletter

JUNE 2020 Issue No: 16 Welcome to the summer newsletter. CORONAVIRUS LEEDS OPERA FESTIVAL As I write, the musical scene in the UK can only be described The Holst-themed 2020 Leeds Opera Festival which was due to as bleak. There are no concerts. Festivals have been cancelled take place towards the end of the summer, has, inevitably, now across the board. I was particularly sorry that the English Music been postponed. David Ward, the artistic director of Northern Festival scheduled for the end of May did not take place, Opera Group, tells me that the programme will be deferred until particularly as we were due to hear Joe Fort’s reduced next year and should take place towards the end of August orchestral arrangement of the Cloud Messenger. Nevertheless, 2021. The programme will include Savitri, At the Boar’s Head I am assured by Em Marshall-Luck that the work will be heard and The Wandering Scholar. To find three Holst operas in a next year together with some, if not all, of the Holst that was single festival is something unlikely to be repeated. I will let you planned for this year. know as soon as I have some dates and further details. The Cheltenham Festival scheduled for early July has also THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING been cancelled. I have been invited to join the committee of the Cheltenham Music Festival Society. I am very pleased to accept We normally schedule the AGM on the afternoon of the Holst this invitation. I hope that, in some way, my influence might birthday concert. We have previously held the AGM in Cheltenham and I hope that we can continue to do so. The date generate rather more works by Holst than we have heard in the th past. remains Saturday 19 September, barely three months away. If, during the next month or so, social distancing is reduced to one I was particularly sad to hear that the Three Choirs Festival has metre, there is the possibility that we might be able to put also had to be cancelled. When you consider that it has taken together a recital on the Saturday evening. This is merely an place every year since the early 18th century, apart from gaps in idea, at this stage. I hope to have rather more detail in the the First and Second World Wars, this is a particular blow. August newsletter. In any event, I plan the AGM for 4pm on the However, I understand that this year’s programme will take afternoon of Saturday 19th September. Please make a diary place next year and that the venue will remain at Worcester. note. The BBC Proms will apparently take place in a much truncated HALL OF FAME format, probably in early September. For some reason, the BBC has yet to publish any programme. I usually, at this stage of the year, mention Classic FM’s Hall of Fame. As usual, of the top 300 pieces, Holst achieved just one The Holst Birthplace Museum annual concert in September, entry, namely the Planets at position 25, up eight places on which celebrates Holst’s birthday, has also been cancelled. 2019. The favourite piece, once again, was Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. It seems to me that so long as the government is determined to stick with social distancing of two metres, the chances of It is interesting that this year, Vaughan Williams managed nine anyone putting together a concert (other than to lose a works in the top 300. However, of all the English composers substantial sum of money) seems extremely unlikely. If the Elgar came on top, with no less than ten. government was to reduce social distancing to one metre, concerts might be possible. Nevertheless, no one has come up It remains very disappointing that the Hall of Fame only lists one with any answer as to how concert promoters are expected to work by Holst in 300. I think that it is important to try and cover the shortfall in income. Not much chance of the convince those who run Classic FM to broadcast more Holst, government writing out a cheque for all those lost seats. bearing in mind that the radio station is the UK’s most popular classical music station. The problem is that if the producers only Despite the absence of live music, the Society has, since the play movements from the Planets and ignore everything else last newsletter, made further progress with regard to planned that Holst composed, listeners will assume that Holst’s only recordings (see below). We are also keeping very busy with achievement was the Planets Suite. They won’t vote for some 240 incoming/outgoing emails in May. anything else if they don’t hear it on Classic FM. What we need is to locate a programme presenter who is keen on Holst and JUNE 2020 Issue No: 16 who would be prepared to play Holst and, more particularly, headmaster of the local school donated the school hall convince the producers that we should be hearing more Holst. for the occasion. I then began the arduous task of assembling the amateur players from all over the RADIO 3 Midlands. Most people were only too happy to be asked providing they were the correct standard. These Holst did quite well on Breakfast on 3 in April with his orchestral included an elderly lady violinist who had been at St arrangement of Bach’s Fugue à le Gigue broadcast at the Paul's School in the 1930s when Holst taught there. I beginning of April, shortly followed by the Finale from the St did contact a lady from Cheltenham who refused to Paul’s Suite. Later, we had the Brook Green Suite and Neptune th play Indra because it was an alien god which reminded from the Planets. On 19 April, I was particularly struck by a me of the reaction Holst had experienced with his recording of The Hymn to the Dawn from the Third Group of Vedic hymns. However, it still came as a shock in Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda. This was a recording by the these modern times. Eventually 60 players were Etherea Vocal Ensemble who were based in Connecticut in the assembled from people who lived in Oxford, Banbury, United States. I will mention Etherea again, later in the Cirencester, Cheltenham and Warwick all eager to newsletter. We also had Jupiter and Venus from the Planets give a first performance of a work by Holst. towards the end of April. We had help from the local press too who showed In May, we heard Jupiter and Neptune from the Planets, Hymn quite a lot of interest especially in the Holst connection. to the Dawn (again), the Brook Green Suite and Capriccio, the Holst had spent quite a lot of time in Oxford and latter having been suggested by me. surrounding area. Indeed, The Planets manuscript is Based upon the broadcasts for April and May, Holst is doing held by the Bodleian Library. Colin Mathews arranged well with an average of six works being heard each month. for a score and parts to be made by the composer Mark Anthony Turnage so all was ready for HOLST: THE SYMPHONIC POEM INDRA AND THE performance which finally happened on 25th March COTSWOLDS 1987 in the late afternoon after rehearsing all day. The concert was of Indra and Dvorak’s 8th Symphony. I first heard of Holst's Indra, a symphonic poem of 1903 when I was researching material for my book The It was not the finest performance but it was Indian Style (London & Chicago 1986). The piece enthusiastic and complete, the most complete there concerns the battle between the mighty Indra and the has ever been. It was well received and led to a lot of demon Vritra who has captured the storm clouds and new musical friendships. left the land parched. Hindu philosophy really appealed to Holst then. I was preparing a concert for Such was the enthusiasm for British music that we the Indian Festival of 1982 in London at the V&A played other music as well like the Planets and the Museum. I quickly found out that orchestral parts did Enigma Variations, together with the first modern not exist for Indra so had to drop the idea of doing it performance of Parry's 2nd symphony and much then, but my interest in the piece continued. more. It was not until my family and I had moved out of In addition, we gave first performances of works by London to Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds that an Delius (with the help of Eric Fenby) and John Foulds opportunity presented itself. I had been working very with the help of Malcom Macdonald. The project only intensively on all the Indian works for articles in came to an end in 1991 when I was appointed TEMPO journal, work which was sponsored by the conductor of the Banbury Symphony Orchestra, Holst Foundation. In 1987, I had the idea of starting a although I continued the policy of playing British music. scratch orchestra to perform Indra and other British Raymond Head works. Then a friend, Clement Jewitt (who became a composer) volunteered to administrate for me and he enlisted the support of local businesses. The JUNE 2020 Issue No: 16 ‘CHORAL WORKS OF GUSTAV HOLST’ youthful expectation where the haunting refrains of A Love Song could betoken the deepening relationship. The latest recording of works by Holst is ‘Choral works of The first of the set, Love is enough, was chosen for the Gustav Holst’ which appeared earlier this year given by the first Leith Hill Festival of 1905, but thought afterwards Caritas Chamber Choir under their conductor Benedict Preece.

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