GUSTAV HOLST

Brook Green Suite; Planets Suite

CD1

1. A Somerset Rhapsody H87 (Op. 21 No. 2) - Bournemouth Sinfonietta

2. Brook Green Suite H190 - I. Prelude - Bournemouth Sinfonietta

3. Brook Green Suite H190 - II. Air - Bournemouth Sinfonietta

4. Brook Green Suite H190 - III. Dance - Bournemouth Sinfonietta

5. The Perfect Fool H150 (Op. 39) - Andante - André Previn

6. The Perfect Fool H150 (Op. 39) - Dance of Spirits of Earth (Moderato - Andante) - André Previn

7. The Perfect Fool H150 (Op. 39) - Dance of Spirits of Water (Allegretto) - André Previn

8. The Perfect Fool H150 (Op. 39) - Dance of Spirits of Fire (Allegro moderato) - André Previn

9. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Mars, the Bringer of War (Allegro) - Sir Adrian Boult

10. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Venus, the Bringer of Peace (Adagio) - Sir Adrian Boult

11. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Mercury, the Winged Messenger (Vivace) - Sir Adrian Boult

12. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Allegro giouoso) - Sir Adrian Boult

13. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age (Adagio) - Sir Adrian Boult

14. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Uranus, the Magician (Allegro) - Sir Adrian Boult

15. The Planets, Op. 32 (2002 Digital Remaster) - Neptune, the Mystic (Andante) - Geoffrey Mitchell Choir

CD2

1. Suite No.2 in F for military band, Op.28 No.2/H106 - I. March - Wing Commander Eric Banks

2. Suite No.2 in F for military band, Op.28 No.2/H106 - II. Song without words - Wing Commander Eric Banks

3. Suite No.2 in F for military band, Op.28 No.2/H106 - III. The Song of the Blacksmith - Wing Commander Eric Banks

4. Suite No.2 in F for military band, Op.28 No.2/H106 - IV. Fantasia on the Dargason - Wing Commander Eric Banks

5. St Paul's Suite H118 (Op. 29) – Jig - Sir Malcolm Sargent

6. St Paul's Suite H118 (Op. 29) – Ostinate - Sir Malcolm Sargent

7. St Paul's Suite H118 (Op. 29) – Intermezzo - Sir Malcolm Sargent

8. St Paul's Suite H118 (Op. 29) - Finale: The Dargason - Sir Malcolm Sargent

9. St Paul's Suite H118 (Op. 29) - Egdon Heath (Homage to Hardy) H172 (Op. 47) - André Previn

10. Rig Veda - Group 2 H98 (Op. 26/2) (1978 Digital Remaster) - I. To Varuna - London Symphony Chorus

11. Rig Veda - Group 2 H98 (Op. 26/2) (1978 Digital Remaster) - II. To Agni - London Symphony Chorus

12. Rig Veda - Group 2 H98 (Op. 26/2) (1978 Digital Remaster) - III. Funeral Chant - London Symphony Chorus

13. Rig Veda - Group 2 H98 (Op. 26/2) (1978 Digital Remaster) - A Choral Fantasia H177 (Op. 51) - Imogen Holst

Bournemouth Sinfonietta

London Symphony Chorus

The Planets, one of the most popular and colourful orchestral scores of the twentieth century, here rubs shoulders with works showing Holst’s interest in English folksong; the mysticism of India; and his austerely beautiful take on Thomas Hardy’s “The Return of the Native” in Egdon Heath.

Holst was born in Cheltenham in England in 1874 into a family with a long musical tradition. He began composing whilst still at school and then at Oxford. He was sent to London to study with Charles Villiers Stanford at the Royal College of Music, and it was here that he met and became a lifelong friend of Vaughan Williams. In 1905 he was appointed Director of Music at St. Paul's School in Hammersmith, London, a post he held until his death in 1934. Holst's most popular work and the piece that has kept him in the public eye since it was first performed in 1916 is The Planets, and the recording presented here is conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, the man who gave the work it's first performance. Great though The Planets is, it only shows one side of Holst's musical personality and the strength of this set is that it provides the opportunity to explore the other sides of this great master's musical personality.

EMI Classics 2cds 6278982