Brook Green Suite for Strings
performed Feb 1, 2004

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) - an Englishman with a Swedish name - was somewhat hampered by the period into which he was born, a time when there was little English musical tradition from which to draw and little audience for new English music. As a young man he was prodigiously talented, his first opera Lansdown Castle performed when he was 19. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music, where he befriended Ralph Vaughan Williams. In the early years of his career, Holst made little headway in the professional world of music. For economic reasons he was forced to spend several summers at the seaside, playing trombone in one of England's ubiquitous military bands. He was never terribly fond of this work, but it did give him a thorough understanding of brass instruments and popular arrangement techniques.

In February of 1923, Holst fell and struck his head while conducting; doctors recommended rest, but he ignored the suggestion and shortly thereafter suffered a nervous breakdown. His recovery was never complete, and despite the wild success of The Planets, Holst never won the recognition he sought. He spent most of his career teaching at the schools of Dulwich and St. Paul's, so many of his works were intended for student musicians.

Holst's Brook Green Suite dates from the twilight of his life. Yet, unlike the Lyric Movement for Viola and Small Orchestra composed at the same time and performed by the Chamber Orchestra during the 2000-01 season with violist Catherine Hanson, the Brook Green Suite is a playful work written for his beloved students at St. Paul's School. The suite was written in 1933 and given an informal first performance in March of 1934 by the school orchestra. Holst died two months later. Like his popular St. Paul's Suite, the Brook Green Suite intertwines folk and dance tunes with splashes of modal harmony, all in a completely melodic and approachable style.

More?