Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...
's ''Brook Green Suite'', H. 190, was written in 1933 for
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.
History
St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...
junior orchestra for strings and consists of 3 movements.
Holst wrote the suite while in hospital in the year before he died. The intention was to create a piece easy enough to play for younger members of the orchestra that is not simply a watered down version aimed at younger players or simple orchestrations of keyboard pieces.
The name is thought to originate from
Brook Green
Brook Green is an affluent London neighbourhood in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It is located approximately west of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Kensington, Holland Park, Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith and Brackenbury V ...
, the place of his wedding to his wife Isobel in 1901, or because of the close proximity of the Brook to the school, but most obviously arises from the location of the school on Brook Green in Hammersmith, London. The piece is composed in a more traditional idiom than most of his later pieces.
Structure
The movements are:
#Prelude
#Air
#Dance
The first movement, the
Prelude, is based on the
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
scale, with the cellos covering 2 octaves of the scale.
The composer used music resembling English folk melody with
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
in the second movement, the
Air
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...
, but it is not based on a traditional folk piece. The structure is reminiscent of the counterpoint of ''Lyric Movement'', also written in 1933, which has full enharmonic relations but remains austere.
The final movement, the
Dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
, is based on a melody heard by Holst while in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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. The piece also originally contained a fourth movement, a
Gavotte
The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, according to one source. Ac ...
, which was removed after the first informal performance in 1934, the last concert Holst attended.
In early 1929, Holst heard a tune during a puppet show and he utilised it in the last movement.
References
External links
Information about the composition*
{{Authority control
Suites by Gustav Holst
1933 compositions
Compositions for string orchestra