St. Paul Suite G. Holst

Session 1 notes Gustav Holst (1874-1934) (England) St. Paul’s Suite In 1905, Holst was appointed Director of Music at St. Paul’s Girls School in Hammersmith, London, and retained that position until his death in 1934. This suite was written for his school orchestra. Given the implied limited technical capabilities he was working with, Holst produced a work of outstanding musical merit. FirstMovement: Jig The opening movement is a lively jig. It is based a single thematic idea, which is stated in full at the beginning, and then transformed in various ways as the movement progresses. Second Movement: Ostinato With an opening dance-based movement, we might be lulled into expecting a dance suite in the mould of the baroque era, but the second movement swiftly dispels that notion. It islabeled Ostinato, a musical term with the same root as obstinate, and with a similar meaning—it means a phrase or melody obstinately repeated over and over. In this movement the second violins are the obstinate ones, stubbornly repeating a fast and busy four- note figure throughout the movement. (Actually, they somehow talk the first violins into taking over for a six-bar spell. This is thehigh-register bit, and one wonders whether Holst would have made the same accommodation if the piece were intended for professional musicians.) While the second violins busily repeat their four-note figure, the first violins try several times to dislodge them with a lyrical theme of their own. They eventually succeed when the second violins abruptly quit four bars before the end. Third Movement: IntermezzoAn intermezzo is a short musical interlude between two acts or sections of a longer work, such as an opera or ballet—or in this case, a suite. This intermezzo initially fools us into thinking we’re going to listen to the traditional slow movement that usually occurs in a symphony or concerto, but Holst quickly surprises us and wakes us up with a Vivace passage, which increases in energy as itbrings us to a triple-forte (very loud) reprise of the opening melody. The mood and volume once again subside as the solo violin returns, but Holst alternates these two ideas several more times before the movement closes. The solo violin part demands a high degree of musicianship, as well as technical skill for the high-register part. We may infer that Holst had an exceptionally talented solo violinistunder his wing. Fourth Movement: Finale This movement is almost a note- for-note transcription of the fourth movement of the Second Suite in F, for wind band. (Holst reworked only a few bars in one of the transitional passages.) Although not labeled as such, this movement is another ostinato. The Dargason theme introduces the movement, and continues without a break of any kind until the finalseven bars of the movement. Unlike the secondClassical Music Appreciation—Introductory II, Session 1


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movement ostinato, the Dargason is passed around all the instruments—no one claims ownership in quite the same compulsive way that the second violins did of their four- note figure in the earlier movement. While the Dargason pursues its relentless repetition, the rest of the orchestraspares us from madness by providing other interest, chiefly the expansive theme Greensleeves 1 . By now you’re probably wondering, “What’s this Dargason thing he keeps talking about?” Relax, I’ll tell you— it’s an English country dance. If your curiosity is sufficiently piqued, you can find instructions on how to perform the dance athttp://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/del/sections/english_country_dance9.html. You might be amused to learn that the author (collector?) of these instructions regards the Dargason as “a very silly dance,” though not quite as silly as the Cruciform Double Dargason (whatever that is). The mind boggles.

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Greensleeves is a popular traditional tune in England. I’m not sure of its status in the U.S, though I’ve heard it played here in the context of Christmas, which...