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DDD GUSTAV HOLST The English Song Series • 6 8.557117 (1874-1934)

Four Songs, for voice and violin, Op.35 * ° 7:21 Twelve Humbert Wolfe Songs, Op.48 † 25:39 1 Jesu sweet 2:49 ) Persephone 1:26 2 My soul has nought but fire and ice 0:57 ¡ Things lovelier 1:12 Gustav 3 I sing of a maiden 1:20 ™ Now in these fairylands 1:21 4 My Leman is so true 2:15 £ A little music 1:58 HOLST ¢ The thought 1:50 Six Songs, Op.16 * 13:02 ∞ The floral bandit 2:10 5 Calm is the morn 4:15 § Envoi 3:58 Vedic Hymns 6 My true love hath my heart 1:32 ¶ The dream-city 3:12 7 Weep you no more 2:02 • Journey’s end 2:12 Four Songs for 8 Lovely kind and kindly loving 1:50 ª In the street of lost time 0:55 9 Cradle Song 1:28 º Rhyme 1:48 Voice and Violin 0 Peace 1:57 ⁄ Betelgeuse 3:36

Vedic Hymns, Op.24 ‡ 24:26 ¤ Margrete’s Cradle Song, Op.4, No.2 * 2:38 Humbert Wolfe ! Ushas (Dawn) 3:25 Songs @ Varuna I (Sky) 3:07 ‹ The heart worships ‡ 3:14 # Maruts (Storm Clouds) 1:52 $ Indra (God of Storm and Battle) 3:28 % Varuna II (The Waters) 2:08 Susan Gritton, Soprano * Susan Gritton, Soprano ^ Song of the Frogs 2:00 Philip Langridge, Tenor † & Vac (Speech) 2:24 Christopher Maltman, Baritone ‡ Philip Langridge, Tenor * Creation 3:25 Louisa Fuller, Violin ° Christopher Maltman, Baritone ( Faith 2:36 Steuart Bedford, Piano Louisa Fuller, Violin Steuart Bedford, Piano 8.557117 16 557117 bk Holst US 26/08/2003 10:37 Page 2

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) ⁄ Betelgeuse ‹ The heart worships Four songs for voice and violin • Six Songs • Vedic Hymns • Twelve Humbert Wolfe Songs On Betelgeuse the gold leaves hang in golden Silence in Heav’n, The English composer Gustav Holst was the son of a welcomed and where he conducted the Boston aisles Silence on Earth musician and descended from a family of mixed Symphony Orchestra in a series of three concerts of his For twice a hundred million miles, Silence within! Scandinavian, German and Russian origin that had own works and taught and composed during a short And twice a hundred million years Thy hush, O Lord, settled in England in the early nineteenth century. His period at Harvard, lecturing on Haydn at the Library of They golden hang and nothing stirs, O’er all the world covers the din. childhood was spent in Cheltenham, where his father Congress in Washington. He also took the opportunity On Betelgeuse. I do not fear to speak of thee in mortal kind supervised his study of the piano. A later period at the to visit his younger brother Emil, established in And yet to all thy namelessness I am not blind. Royal College of Music in London brought a lasting America as an actor under the name of Ernest Cossart. Space is a wind that does not blow Only I need and kneel again friendship with Ralph Vaughan Williams, an By June the following year, 1932, he was in England On Betelgeuse and time is a bird, Thy touch to win; association that was to the advantage of both in their again, able to entertain his brother, with whom he Whose wings have never stirred Silence in Heav’n free criticism and discussion of one another’s visited scenes from their childhood. His time in The golden avenues of leaves Silence on Earth compositions. America had brought a temporary break in hospital, and On Betelgeuse. Silence within! It was in part a weakness in health, as well as when he returned to England his health was uncertain, financial necessity, that prompted Holst for a time to leading to periods in hospital. He succeeded, however, On Betelgeuse there is nothing that joys or grieves earn his living as a trombonist, touring with the Carl in completing the Brook Green Suite and the Lyric The unstirred multitude of leaves, Rosa Opera Company and playing with the Scottish Movement for viola and orchestra, written for Lionel Nor ghost of evil or good Orchestra. Eventually he decided to devote himself, as Tertis. He died on 25th May 1934, after a major Haunts the gold multitude far as possible, to composition. Teaching positions, and operation, and is buried in Chichester Cathedral, where On Betelgeuse. particularly his long association with St Paul’s Girls’ his music had often been heard, near the grave of his School in Hammersmith, and his work as director of favourite Tudor composer, Thomas Weelkes. And birth they do not use music for the enthusiastic amateurs at Morley College, The Four Songs for Voice and Violin, Op.35, were Nor death on Betelgeuse, allowed him some time, at least in the summer holidays, written in 1916-1917 and published in 1920. The And the God, of whom we are infinite dust, but the relatively even tenor of his life, which suited his spareness of texture, a contrast to the scoring of The Is there a single leaf of those gold leaves diffident character, was considerably disturbed by the Planets, on which he had been working, was suggested On Betelgeuse. great popular success of The Planets, which had its first by hearing one of his Morley College students, complete public performance in 1920. His later music Christine Ratcliffe, singing and accompanying herself never achieved such a lasting triumph with the public, on the violin one evening in the church at Thaxted. ¤ Margrete’s Cradle Song, Op.4, No.2 although his Shakespearian opera At the Boar’s Head Holst and his wife had found refuge from London in a English translation of Ibsen by aroused respectful interest at the time, while other cottage nearby, and in 1916 he had established a festival William Archer works generally had a mixed critical reception, in the church for singers. Three of the songs were first including his 1927 Egdon Heath, published as a tribute performed there in 1917. The words were taken from A Now roof and rafters blend with the starry vault on high, to Thomas Hardy. His St Paul’s Suite, written for the Medieval Anthology by Mary Segar and seemed to suit Now flieth little Hakon on dream-wings through the sky. school in Hammersmith, retains a firm place in string the composer, whose practical study of Purcell had There mounts a mighty stairway from earth to God’s own land orchestra repertoire, as does the later Brook Green helped him to an understanding of English word-setting. There Hakon with the angels goes climbing, hand in hand. Suite, and the 1917 Hymn of Jesus for choruses and In the Aeolian mode first song, Jesu sweet, the violin God’s angel-babes are watching thy cot, the still night through, orchestra has an honourable position in English choral provides an introduction and links between the God bless thee, little Hakon, thy mother watcheth too. music. rhythmically free phrases of the voice part. My soul Holst’s later years brought engagements that hath nought but fire and ice is in a transposed Phrygian overtaxed his strength, not least a stimulating and busy mode, vestigially accompanied, and followed by I sing period in the United States, where his music was of a maiden, again in the Aeolian mode. The set ends

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There’ll be a London Square in Maytime ª In the street of lost time with My Leman is so true, a Phrygian setting in which the accompaniment has an illustrative effect in its With London lilacs, whose brave light the vocal line is accompanied by a violin counterpart, energetic progress. The second group starts with the Startles with coloured lamps the daytime, Rest and have ease; ending with an E major chord. stately Indra (God of Storm and Battle), followed by the With sudden scented wings the night. Here are no more voyages; Holst’s Six Songs, Op.16, date from 1903-1904, descending whole-tone scale of Varuna (The Waters) Fold, fold your narrow pale hands; relatively early in the composer’s career. The death of and the irregular metre of Song of the Frogs. The third A silent Square could but a lonely And under the veil of night lie, his father had brought Holst a small legacy, which he group begins with Vac (Speech), largely in 5/4, Thrush on the lilacs bear to cease As I have seen you lie in your deep hair; and his wife decided to spend on a holiday in Germany. followed by the unaccompanied 7/4 that starts Creation. His song, and no sound else save only But patiently now that new loves, On his return, their resources now exhausted, he was Faith brings a measure of rhythmic and dynamic The traffic of the heart at peace. New days, have gone their ways. invited temporarily to take the place of a singing- tranquillity. teacher at James Allen Girls’ School in Dulwich. His In 1929, after a winter holiday of three months in And we will have a river painted º Rhyme success there was the start of his career in teaching. Italy that did something to restore his strength and With the dawn’s wistful stratagems During this period he became used to the rejection of his spirits, Holst set a group of twelve poems by Humbert Of dusted gold, and night acquainted Rhyme is your clear chime we hear compositions by publishers, and some of the group of Wolfe, whose work he had discovered two years earlier. With the long purples of the Thames. Ringing, far-off and clear, Six Songs remained unpublished. Calm is the morn sets A meeting with the poet brought friendship, as they In beauty’s fairy granges words from Tennyson’s In Memoriam and is followed shared a number of interests, including a love of the And we will have, oh yes! the gardens At evensong the changes by the setting of Philip Sidney’s My true love hath my peace that parts of London can bring. The first Kensington, Richmond Hill and Kew, And swells of her lost elfin-bells. heart, a song characteristic of its period. Weep you no performance of the songs was given in Paris by Dorothy And Hampton, where winter scolds, and pardons You glimmering through, astir, more suggests in its piano accompaniment the ‘sad Silk in a private concert at the house of Louise Dyer, the The first white crocus breaking through. Wander a lamplighter, fountains’ of the text, while the Breton text Lovely kind founder of Editions de l’Oiseau Lyre, after a preceding Kindling that lamp and this and kindly loving is fuller in its romantic texture and public concert there had elicited disapproval of Egdon And where the great their greatness squander, Of long-quenched memories more extended range. The set ends with Blake’s Cradle Heath from a vocal section of the audience. In February And while the wise their wisdom lose, With blaze of their auto-da-fés, Song, which is impelled forward by the rhythm of its 1930 Dorothy Silk sang them at the Wigmore Hall in Squirrels will leap, and deer will wander, Numbers the soul remembers, accompaniment, no mere lullaby, and the serenity of London. The songs came after a gap of twelve years in Gracefully, down the avenues. (And moved among them Alfred Hyatt’s Peace. such compositions and were the last Holst wrote. The When the Sons of Morning sung them) In 1899 Holst had developed a particular interest in irregular rhythms of Persephone give it a feeling of You echo, Sanskrit literature in translation, the Rig Veda and the melodic freedom, reflected also in Things lovelier. Now • Journey’s end While the dim shadow Baghavad Gîtâ. Dissatisfied with the translations he in these fairylands is marked by a descending melody, Of Seraphim half floats found and unable on his own to proceed any further, he while there is passing asymmetry in the rhythms of A What will they give me, when journey’s done’ Among your muted notes. began study at the School of Oriental Languages of the little music, and The thought leaves the voice largely Your own room to be quiet in, Son! Tamer of love’s sweet grammar you parse, London Institution. This eventually enabled him to free. The allusive The floral bandit, with its reference to Who shares it with me? And change his nouns to stars, attempt translations himself, with the aid of a a Schubert Shakespeare setting and clavichord There is none shares that cool dormitory, Son! His verbs you conjugate, dictionary. His Hymns from the Rig Veda, the Vedic counterpoint, ends abruptly, as the text suggests. It is So that they vanish straight from time, Hymns, Op.24, were written in 1907-1908 and succeeded by Envoi, its tranquillity leading to a final Who turns the sheets? And lift a moonlit paradigm. published in 1920. He had already written an opera, climax. The dream-city reflects the poet’s and There is but one, and no one needs to turn it, Son! Rhyme by your clear chime Sita, based on Ramayana, and there was to follow, in composer’s shared love of the serenity to be found in Who lights the candle? We climb, clean out of space and time, 1908, a chamber opera, Sâvitri, based on the London squares, away from the crowd, in the changing Ev’ryone sleeps without candle all night, Son! And the small earth behind us Mahabarata, followed by a set of choral hymns from seasons. Journey’s end and In the street of lost time Can neither lose nor find us, the Rig Veda. The first group of the Vedic Hymns starts meditate on the end of life. To these Rhyme offers a Who calls me after sleeping? Set free in your eternity. with Ushas (Dawn), at first accompanied by muted contrast in its delicate accompaniment and light texture. Son! You are not called when journey’s done. chords, with a more animated central section. Piano The set ends with the mystery of Betelgeuse. chords are used in Varuna (Sky) to introduce and The gently lyrical Margrete’s Cradle Song, a punctuate the hymn, while in Maruts (Storm Clouds) setting of a translation of Ibsen, was written in 1896 and

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is one of a set of four songs. It was composed at a time melody accompanied by a series of repeated chords and But I will hold you in a thought § Envoi when Holst had found a particular enthusiasm for the breathing an air of utter tranquillity and peace. Without moving spirit or desire or will plays of Ibsen. For I know no other way of loving, When the spark that glittered flakes into ash, The heart worships was written in 1907, its vocal Keith Anderson That endures when the heart is still. And the spirit unfettered is done with flesh, When all that wonder, this loveliness of heart Lies under the sleepy grass, ∞ The floral bandit And slow are the swift, and dark the fair, And sweet voices lift not on the air, Beyond the town, oh far! beyond it When the long spell of dust lies on Susan Gritton She walks that lady have you seen her? All that was well bethought upon, That thief of spring, that floral bandit Of all that lovely, of all those brief Winner of the 1994 Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Prize, Susan Gritton read Botany at Oxford and London Who leaves the grass she walks on greener. Hopes that went bravely beyond belief, Universities before taking up a career in singing. She made her operatic début as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro at Of life’s deep blazon with love’s gold stain Glyndebourne, subsequently returning as Susanna in the same opera, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and And she can sing, the blackbirds hear her, Passing all reason, doth aught remain? Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring. Other appearances include Romilda in Xerxes and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare Those little coals with throats of flame What need of answer? Bird chaunting priest at Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; and Tiny in Paul Bunyan, Marenka in The Bartered Bride, First Flowermaiden And they can find, alighting near her, Dawn swings her censer of bloom-white mist, in Parsifal and Euridice in Orfeo for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She is a Company Principal at English No sweeter practice than her name. Noon from her shoulder lets her sunshawl National Opera where her repertoire includes Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Nannetta in Half loose, half hold her and drifting fall, Falstaff, Constance in Dialogues des Carmelites, Xenia in Boris Godunov, Drusilla in L’Incoronazione di Poppea What is her name? O ask the linnet, And evening slowly by hill and wood and the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen. In concert, she has sung with the Berlin Philharmonic, Rotterdam For human tongue would strive in vain Perfects her holy solitude, Philharmonic and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra To speak the buds uncrumpling in it, Unasked, undaunted by love, or what with Sir Colin Davis, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Sir Charles Mackerras, and the BBC And the small language of the rain. The heart has wanted, and wanteth not. Symphony Orchestra with Sir Andrew Davis. She has recorded for many leading record companies. Unasked? Say rather that these will Who is this lady? What is she? Startle tomorrow other hearts with mortal beauty The Sylvia all our swains adore? They had from us, as we inherited that legacy. Philip Langridge Yes, she is that unchangingly, Undaunted? Yes, since death can lend But she is also something more. To loveliness only an end Philip Langridge was born in Kent and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is one of the world’s That with the beginning is one designed, most distinguished singers, whose musical and dramatic qualities ensure that he is in constant demand throughout For buds at best are little green One shape, one meaning, beyond the mind. Europe, the United States and Japan. In recognition of these qualities, he was made a Commander of the British Keys on an old thin clavichord Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 1994. He has also received a number of other awards, including the That only has the one high tune that, prestigious Olivier Award for Osud, the Singer of the Year Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society and The Since the first, all springs have heard. ¶ The dream-city Worshipful Company of Musicians’ Santay Award. He was awarded the NFMS/Charles Groves Prize 2001 for his outstanding contribution to British Music. His remarkable versatility and command of a wide variety of styles is And all first love with the same sighing On a dream-hill we’ll build our city, reflected in his extensive discography, ranging from the early classical period to the present day. These recordings Tunes, though more sweetly touched, has lingered, And we’ll build gates that have two key have gained him two Grammy Awards (Moses und Aron, and Peter Grimes), the Gramophone Award (War As though he were for ever trying Love to let in the vanquished, and pity Requiem) and a Classic CD Award (The Turn of the Screw). On video he can be seen in Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, Toccatas Purcell might have fingered. To close the locks that shelter these. Idomeneo, La Clemenza di Tito, From the House of the Dead, Wozzeck, Oberon, Jenu° fa and Oedipus Rex, which won the Classical Music Award. International festivals and opera houses with which he is particularly closely But no one knows her range nor can There will be quiet open spaces, associated include Salzburg, the Metropolitan Opera New York, La Scala, Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich, Guess half the phrases of her fiddle, And shady towers sweet with bells, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, Edinburgh, and the English National Opera. In concert The lady who for ev’ry man And quiet folks with quiet faces, Philip Langridge has appeared with the world’s major orchestras and leading conductors. Breaks off her music in the middle. Walking among these miracles.

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Again they are singing (O will you not heed them?) £ A little music Christopher Maltman With none now to answer, and none to lead them. They will grow older, till comes a day Since it is evening, let us invent Winner of the Lieder Prize at the 1997 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Christopher Maltman read When the last of your maidens is tired of play: Love’s undiscovered continent. biochemistry at Warwick University and studied singing at the Royal Academy of Music. He is in demand for When the song as it rises faints and droops over, What shall we steer by, having no chart concert engagements worldwide with leading orchestras and conductors. His opera engagements have included And your playmates go seeking a gentler lover. But the deliberate fraud of the heart? Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia at the Montpellier Festival, Dandini in La Cenerentola at La Monnaie in Listen, the dancers! The flutes, oh listen! How shall we find it? Beyond what keys Brussels, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Deutsche Staatsoper, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes and Mozart’s Hasten, Persephone! Persephone! Hasten! Of boyhood’s Spanish piracies, Figaro at the Glyndebourne Festival, Valentin in Faust at the Bayerische Staatsoper and the title rôle in Billy Budd False Eldorados dim with the tears for the Welsh National Opera and at the Seattle Opera. In 1998 he joined the English National Opera as a Company Of beauty, the last of the buccaneers? Principal. An accomplished recitalist, he has appeared at the major British festivals including Edinburgh, Brighton, ¡ Things lovelier Bath and Cheltenham and, further afield, at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Châtelet in Paris, the Amsterdam Since it is evening, let us design Concertgebouw, Salzburg Mozarteum, Alte Oper Frankfurt and at both the Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, New You cannot dream things lovelier What shall be utterly yours and mine. York. He is a regular guest at the Wigmore Hall and the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade. Than the first love I had of her. There will be nothing that ever before Nor air is any as magic shaken Beckoned the sailor from any shore. As her breath in the first kiss taken; Trees shall be greener by mountains more pale, Louisa Fuller And who, in dreaming, understands Thrushes outsinging the nightingale, Her hands stretched like a blind man’s hands? Flowers now butterflies, now in the grass, As leader of the Duke Quartet Louisa Fuller has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and Open, trembling, wise they were. Suddenly quiet as painted glass, venues. Her extensive recordings with the quartet, encompassing a wide range of repertoire, have all been released You cannot dream things lovelier. And fishes of emerald dive for the moon, to great acclaim. Her solo activities include performances of Bartók’s Sonata for violin solo for the world renowned Whose silver is stained by the peacock lagoon. Rosas dance company and live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.

™ Now in these fairylands Since it is evening, and sailing weather, Let us set out for the dream together; Steuart Bedford Now in these fairylands Set for the land fall, where love and verse Gather your weary hands Enfranchise for ever the travellers. Steuart Bedford is recognised as one of today’s leading experts on the works of Benjamin Britten. As a result of his Close to your breast, former collaboration with the composer, he has conducted Britten’s operas throughout the world, including the And be at rest. world première of Death in Venice in 1973, which was followed by the first recording of the work. From 1974 to ¢ The thought 1998 he was one of the Artistic Directors of the Aldeburgh Festival eventually becoming Joint Artistic Director Now in these silences with Oliver Knussen. Steuart Bedford has an extensive operatic repertoire and has worked with many of the world’s Lean to the cadences, I will not write a poem for you, greatest opera companies including English National Opera, the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Moulding their grace Because a poem, even the loveliest, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Opéra de Paris, Brussels Opera, Monte Carlo Opera, Lausanne Opera, San Diego To the line of your face. Can only do what words can do Opera, Santa Fe Opera Festival, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Stir the air, and dwindle, and be at rest. Aires. He is also highly regarded for his interpretations of the works of Mozart, with acclaimed performances at the Now at the end of all, Garsington Opera and elsewhere. Although opera commitments take up much of his time, Steuart Bedford conducts Loveliest friend of all, Nor will I hold you with my hands, concert engagements, both in Britain and abroad, and has toured Australia, New Zealand, South America and All things are yours Because the bones of my hands on yours would Scandinavia. He has worked with the English Chamber Orchestra (with whom he has toured all over the world), the In this peace that endures. press, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, And you’d say after ‘Mortal was, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, Teatro Colón, Gurzenich And crumbling, that lover’s tenderness.’ Orchestra, Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier, Dortmund Philharmonic and the BBC Orchestras.

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Four Songs for Voice and Violin, Op.35 Was her Son iwis. Hearken unto me, All heaved in restless motion. Poems from A Medieval Anthology He came all so still, My word is true: Who then knows, Where His mother was Unto God and Man Who can now declare 1 Jesu Sweet As dew in April I bring blessing, Whence cometh creation? That falleth on the grass: Pouring forth my wealth, He the Primal One whose Jesu Sweet, now will I sing Making wise the man I cherish. Eye controlleth all things, To Thee a son, of love longing; He came all so still, Through me each one lives, He alone doth know it, Do in my heart a quick well spring To His mother’s bower Each one breathes and sees and hearkens. Or perchance even Thee to love above all thing. As dew in April All unite in me, He knoweth it not! That falleth on flower. I alone sustain creation, Jesu Sweet, my dim heart’s gleam Compassing the earth Brighter than the sunnèbeam! He came all so still, I reach t’ward heav’n. ( Faith As thou wert born in Bethlehem Where His mother lay In the water’s depth Make in me thy lovèdream. As dew in April I have my dwelling, By Thee the fire doth shine That formeth on spray. On the summit of the universe Upon the sacred altar: Jesu Sweet, my dark heart’s light I bring forth the Father. To Thee we raise our song of joy and homage, Thou art day withouten night; Mother and maiden Beyond the earth and sky Most Holy Faith! Give me strength and eke might Was ne’er none but she: I reign in my mystic grandeur. For to loven Thee aright. Well may such a lady By Thee the gen’rous heart God’s mother be. Is blessed with wealth and wisdom: Jesu Sweet, well may he be (iwis = certainly) * Creation To Thee he giveth all in humble gladness, That in Thy bliss Thyself shall see: Most Holy Faith! With love cords then draw Thou me Then, Life was not! That I may come and dwell with Thee. 4 My Leman is so true Non-life was not! By Thee the prayers are heard (Eke = also) No vast expanse of air, That rise in silent worship: My Leman is so true Nor vaster realm of sky that lies beyond. To Thee mankind and God are drawing nearer, Of love and full steadfast Was water there, the deep abyss of ocean? Most Holy Faith! 2 My soul has nought but fire and ice Yet seemeth ever new Then, Death was not! His love is on us cast. Non-death was not! By Thee inspired, our song My soul has nought but fire and ice No change of day and night. Ascendeth ever higher And my body earth and wood: I would that all Him knew And, cov’ring all, the gloom was lost in gloom. To Thee at early morn, at noon, at even, Pray we all the Most High King And loved Him firm and fast, All was unseen, Most Holy Faith! Who is the Lord of our last doom, They never would it rue One universe unknown. That He should give us just one thing But happy be at last. Then there was One! One alone! That we may do His will. Calm and self-existing: Twelve Humbert Wolfe Songs, Op.48 He lovingly abides Beyond and apart was naught. Although I stay full long Then up rose Desire, ) Persephone 3 I sing of a maiden He will me never chide Fierce glowing Desire. Although I choose the wrong. The seed of spirit, Come back Persephone! As moonflake thin, I sing of a maiden The germ of mind, Flutes for the dancers you danced with begin. That matchless is. He says ‘Behold, my side The source of life, Leave the deep hellebore the dark, the untranquil King of all Kings And why on Rood I hung; Begetting mighty forces, For spring’s pale primrose and her first jonquil.

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The Holy Ones rush forth to greet the monarch, Their skins were scorching in the sun For my love leave thy pride And dead calm in that noble breast Who ruleth the sky! Now the rain hath wakened their voices, And I thee underfong’. Which heaves but in the heaving deep. Their singing hath begun, I’ll dwell with Thee believe, Lo! to thy shrine we come, pouring libations. And welcoming each other, Leman, under Thy tree. Swelling like mighty floods, our hymns rise to They rise and quench their thirst. May no pain e’er me grieve 6 My true love hath my heart heav’n, And one repeats another’s greeting, Nor make me from Thee flee. Poem by Sir Philip Sidney Yoking thy steeds to thy swift flying chariot, In courtly words polite and mild, Bringing thee earthward to aid us in battle, As a scholar learning a lesson, I will in at Thy sleeve My true love hath my heart and I have his, Filling our hearts with valour and strength, A father teaching his child. All in Thine heart to be; By just exchange one for the other given: With strength as of heroes! With eloquence and wisdom Mine heart shall burst and cleave I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss, They swell and seem to burst. Ere untrue Thou me see. There never was a better bargain driven: Like to the river expanding the sea, ‘Brothers rise and join the throng (Leman = lover (Christ); underfong = take back) My true love hath my heart and I have his. Our loud swelling song shall increase Our throats are moist and ripe for song Thy glory o’er earth and sky. So pray you bellow like a cow, His heart in me keeps me and him in one, Lover of sacrifice, lover of singing, Or bleat like goat, or grunt like sow.’ Six Songs, Op.16 My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides: Loud-voiced Thunderer, He loves my heart, for once it was his own, Shaker of mountains and Lord of the sky. Like Brahmans sitting round the altar, 5 Calm is the morn I cherish his because in me it bides: Who loudly talk of holy rite, Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, My true love hath my heart and I have his. Round the pool the frogs are ranging from In Memoriam % Varuna II (The Waters) With speech and song and fight. Their year-long vow of silence Calm is the morn without a sound, 7 Weep you no more ’Fore mine eyes, Hath ended with the Rain. Calm as to suit a calmer grief, Anonymous Yawning and hungry, The joyous earth is now reviving, And only thro’ the faded leaf Looms the grave. The trees and flowers now arise, The chestnut pattering to the ground: Weep you no more, sad fountains! Spare me, O great Varuna. And our hearts go forth in gladness What need you flow so fast? Tossed by winds, To greet the noisy cries. Calm and deep peace on this high wold Look how the snowy mountains Trembling and faint, The singing of the Frogs And on these dews that drench the furze Heav’n’s sun doth gently waste. I come to thee. Hath brought wealth to us again. And all the silvery gossamers But my sun’s heav’nly eyes Spare me, O great Varuna! That twinkle into green and gold: View not your weeping, Mighty God! ‘Brothers rise and join the throng That now lies sleeping Waters o’erwhelm me Our throats are moist and ripe for song Calm and still light on yon great plain Softly, now softly lies, Swiftly rising So pray you bellow like a cow, That sweeps with all its autumn bowers, Sleeping. Spare me, O great Varuna! Or bleat like goat, or grunt like sow.’ And crowded farms and lessening towers, Yet within, To mingle with the bounding main: Sleep is a reconciling, Thirst fiercely burning A rest that peace begets. Gnaws my heart. Third Group Calm and deep peace in this wide air, Doth not the sun rise smiling Spare me, O great Varuna. & Vac (Speech) These leaves that redden to the fall; When fair at ev’n he sets. And in my heart, if calm at all, Rest you then, rest sad eyes! I, the queen of all, If any calm, a calm despair: Melt not in weeping, ^ Song of the Frogs First of those that mankind worship, While She lies sleeping Worthy of all praise, Calm on the seas, and silver sleep, Softly, now softly lies, Throughout the summer they were lying, I proclaim aloud my wisdom. And waves that sway themselves in rest, Sleeping.

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8 Lovely kind and kindly loving 0 Peace Greeting thee, the holy fire ascendeth, From the holy fire Poem by Nicholas Breton Poem by Alfred H. Hyatt Greeting thee, our hymns arise, That springs from the altar, Greeting thee, the Sun appeareth, Rising to God. Lovely kind and kindly loving, The toil of day is done, Greeting thee, thy worshippers Such a mind were worth the moving, Its stress and stirring cease, Bow down and bless and adore. Flashing sword blades, Truly fair and fairly true Falls soft a word, the gift of God. Tramping of horses, Where are all these but in you? ‘Peace.’ Shouting of riders @ Varuna I (Sky) Fill the sky! Wisely kind and kindly wise, Opal of evening sky, Ye are seen Blessed life where such love lies! Gold of the fading west, Oh thou great judge, Varuna, Spreading a mantle, Wise and kind and fair and true, A single star shining afar. Day after day we break thy holy laws. Cov’ring the heavens Lovely live all these in you! Rest. Oh let us not be yielded up to Death to be And hiding the sun. destroyèd, Then from above ’midst Sweetly dear and dearly sweet, To be destroyèd in thy wrath. The lightning’s bright gleam, Blessed where these blessings meet Vedic Hymns, Op.24 Rejoicing in freedom, Sweet, fair, wise, kind, blessed, true Words translated from the Sanskrit by To gain forgiveness, Varuna, Falleth the rain. Blessèd be all these in you! Gustav Holst In deepest woe I raise to thee my chant: © copyright 1920 J & W Chester Ltd. Behold, it riseth up towards thy holy throne to beg Rushing onward All rights reserved, reproduced by permission. for mercy, Hurling your weapons, 9 Cradle Song As flies the bird unto his nest. Chanting your war songs Poem by William Blake First Group Nearer ye come! ! Ushas (Dawn) Thou knowest all, Varuna, We would fain Sweet dreams, form a shade Thou knowest the pathway of the moon and wind, Welcome you fitly, O’er my lovely infant’s head; Behold the Dawn, the fairest of all visions, Thy laws throughout eternity endure, thou mighty But faint are our voices Sweet dreams of pleasant streams Day’s glory now appears. ruler, And feeble our lays. By happy, silent, moony beams. Arise! For the night hath fled! And to thy judgement all must come. Come then, dwell within us, Arise and greet the Dawn. With your power inspire our hearts, Sweet sleep, with soft down Welcome her! Unveiled she now appeareth, He doth appear! My cry is answered! Then shall our songs, Weave thy brows an infant crown. All things greet her radiant smile. I am delivered from my sin. Like clouds expanding, Sweet sleep, Angel mild, Borne by wingèd horse and car Carry your glory Hover o’er my happy child. She steals across the sky. Throughout the world. # Maruts (Storm Clouds) Sweet smiles, in the night Hover over my delight; Child of heav’n arrayed in shining garments, Mighty Warriors, Second Group Sweet smiles, Mother’s smile, Blushing maiden draw thou near: Children of Thunder, $ Indra (God of Storm and Battle) All the live long night beguile. Sovran lady of earth and sky, Glorious Maruts, We hail thee as our queen. Heralds of storm! Noblest of songs for the noblest of Gods! Sweet moans, dove-like sighs, Heav’n’s breath awakeneth creation, Through the gloom A song that shall reach to the throne of Indra, Chase not slumber from thine eyes. The sky is all aflame, Gathering round us The Lord of the sky! Sweet moans, sweeter smile, Th’eastern Portals open wide. Ye and your horses All the dove-like moans beguile. The Sun draws nigh. Appear in the sky; Radiant with light, thou dost ride through the Glowing like flames heav’ns.

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DDD GUSTAV HOLST The English Song Series • 6 8.557117 (1874-1934)

8.557117 composer’s earlier styles, through the Vedic Hymns of 1907-08, Holst’s first confident use of ancient Hindu literature, the Four Songs for voice and violin, inspired by medieval DDD lyrics and folk music modes, to the Twelve Humbert Wolfe settings of 1929, songs of ‘love,

reflection and fantasy’. The disc concludes with The Heart Worships, one of Holst’s best 8.557117 THE ENGLISH SONG SERIES • 6 loved songs. Playing Time 76:21 Gustav

HOLST HOLST (1874-1934)

1-4 Four Songs, for voice and violin, Op.35 * ° 7:21 5-0 Six Songs, Op.16 * 13:02 !-( Vedic Hymns, Op.24 ‡ 24:26 )-⁄ Twelve Humbert Wolfe settings, Op.48 † 25:39 ¤ Margrete’s Cradle Song, Op. 4, No. 2 * 2:38 www.naxos.com Made in Canada Includes sung texts Booklet notes in English h h & 1998 Pinnacle Entertainment Ltd.

‹ The Heart Worships ‡ 3:14 g 2003 HNH International Ltd.

Susan Gritton, Soprano * • Philip Langridge, Tenor † HOLST Christopher Maltman, Baritone ‡ • Louisa Fuller, Violin ° Steuart Bedford, Piano

Recorded 5th-7th May 1998 at St Silas Church, St Silas Place, Chalk Farm, London THE ENGLISH SONG SERIES • 6 Producer: John H. West • Engineer: Mike Hatch (Floating Earth) • Booklet Notes: Keith Anderson Steinway Concert Grand provided and maintained by Steinway & Sons, London Publishers: Chester Music (1-4, 11-19);

Stainer & Bell Ltd. (7, 20-31, 33); Warner Chappell Music (8); Bosworth (Chester) (32) 8.557117 First issued on Collins Classics in 1997 A complete track list can be found on the last page of the booklet Cover Picture: Trellised Vine by Henry Herbert La Thangue (1859-1929)

AXOS (Oldham Art Gallery, Lancashire, UK. / Bridgeman Art Library) N