Holst: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 / Davis, BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

$21.99
Label
Chandos
Release Date
October 29, 2013
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      HOLST, GUSTAV
    • ORCHESTRA / ENSEMBLE
      Bbc Symphony Chorus, Bbc Symphony Orchestra
    • PERFORMER
      Gritton, Davis
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      October 29, 2013
    • UPC
      095115512722
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      CHSA 5127
    • LABEL
      Chandos
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Vocal
    Works ⌄

    1. Hark! some wild trumpeter -

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    2. Blow again, trumpeter - O, how the immortal phantoms crowd around me -

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    3. Blow again, trumpeter - O trumpeter -

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    4. Now, trumpeter, for thy close

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    5. Prelude: Invocation to Pan: O Thou, whose might palace roof doth hang (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    6. I. Song and Bacchanal: Part 1: Beneath my palm trees, by the river side (Soprano)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    7. I. Song and Bacchanal: Part 1: And as I sat, over the light blue hills (Soprano)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    8. I. Song and Bacchanal: Part 2: Whence came ye, merry Damsels (Chorus) - Part 3: Within his car, aloft, young Bacchus stood (Soprano) - Part 4: Whence came ye, jolly Satyrs (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    9. I. Song and Bacchanal: Part 5: Onward the tiger and the leopard pants (Soprano) - Part 6: Bacchus, young Bacchus (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    10. II. Ode on a Grecian Urn: Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    11. II. Ode on a Grecian Urn: Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    12. II. Ode on a Grecian Urn: Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    13. II. Ode on a Grecian Urn: Who are these coming to the sacrifice? (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    14. II. Ode on a Grecian Urn: O Attic shape! fair attitude! with brede (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    15. III. Scherzo: Part 1: Fancy: Ever let the Fancy roam (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    16. III. Scherzo: Part 2: Folly's Song: When wedding fiddles are a-playing (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    17. IV. Finale: Part 1: Spirit here that reignest! (Soprano) - Part 2: God of the golden bow (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    18. IV. Finale: Part 3: Then, through thy Temple wide (Soprano) - Part 4: 'Tis awful silence then again (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    19. IV. Finale: Part 5: Next thy Tasso's ardent numbers (Soprano) - Part 6: But when Thou joinest with the Nine (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    20. IV. Finale: Part 6: Bards of Passion and of Mirth (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Conductor: Andrew Davis

    21. IV. Finale: Part 7: Spirit here that reignest (Soprano) - Bards of Passion and of Mirth (Chorus)

      Composer: Gustav Holst

      Ensemble: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra

      Performer: Susan Gritton

      Conductor: Andrew Davis




HOLST The Mystic Trumpeter. First Choral Symphony 1 • Andrew Davis, cond; Susan Gritton (s); 1 BBC S Ch; BBC SO • CHANDOS 5127 (SACD: 69:20 Text and Translation)


I complain so often of the modern tendency towards over-reverberant sonics, particularly in Naxos and Chandos releases, that when the sound matches the mood of the music I am pleased to admit that it works. In this disc, titled Holst Orchestral Works Vol. 3, the fine conductor Andrew Davis leads inspired performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and soprano Susan Gritton in two of Holst’s most interesting and appealing works for that combination.


The Mystic Trumpeter (1904, revised 1912) is described in the booklet as being in Wagnerian musical language, but evolved. Based on a poem by Walt Whitman, “From Noon to Starry Night,” it includes musical premonitions of The Planets , particularly “Neptune the Mystic.” The musical evolution also owes something to Richard Strauss, who Holst played under as a trombonist, but here Holst’s continuing musical growth is clear and fascinating from first note to last. It also has the trait in common with Debussy that every time the music reaches a climax, it pulls back shortly after and recedes. This ability of his to “cap the geyser,” so to speak, was to come to fruition in the next three decades of his life.


The First Choral Symphony, as the notes indicate, has a weakness only in the text setting of the Finale; otherwise this, too, is an outstanding work, and one deserving of greater exposure. Here, too, the mature Holst is able to maintain a spellbinding atmosphere at a consistently soft volume level, only occasionally opening up the sound to create brief climaxes. The orchestral texture is more varied, even in the fast sections of the music where a certain sameness might have been expected. There’s a touch of Britten in the later sections of this work—a possible influence on the younger composer? I make no claim for this, only a suggestion; make of it what you will. In any case, this is an excellent disc of truly excellent music.


Susan Gritton contributes a brief statement in the booklet recalling how she rehearsed these works under the late Richard Hickox, only to have that esteemed conductor die suddenly before the recordings could be completed. Under such circumstances, I’m sure that this project was a bittersweet one for her, but as I say, Andrew Davis has done himself—and Holst—proud.


FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley