Unit Study: First Suite in E-flat by Gustav Holst

By Matt Shea

Unit 1: Composer
Gustav Holst was born on September 21st, 1874 in Cheltenham,
England; the first of two children to Adolph and Clara von Holst. Adolph was
an accomplished pianist who taught piano and practiced many hours during
the day, much to the neglect of his wife, Clara, and their two children.
Adolph's family was of Swedish origin. Holst's mother, Clara, was a piano
student of Adolph when first they met. Clara was sweet, gentle and
unassuming but she was not very strong. She died soon after the birth of her
second child, when Gustav was only eight. Gustav was an oversensitive and
somewhat miserable child. His eyes were weak, but no one realized that he
needed to wear spectacles. His chest was also weak, and again no one
bothered much with his asthma.
In his youth, Gustav hated practicing the violin, but enjoyed the piano,
which he had began to practice as soon as his fingers could reach the
keyboard. His father was determined to make young Gustav a good pianist,
but even in his youth Holst was troubled with neuritis in his hands. That
made his long hours of practice a severe strain.
Holst obtained his first professional engagement in 1893, where he
served as an organist in a small Cotswold village and then became organist
and choirmaster of the choral society at Bourton-on-the-Water. These early
experiences helped the young composer grow in his understanding of the
workings of a choir. Choral music and the choral tradition in England would
remain important throughout the rest of Holst's life.
He met Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1895, the two quickly becoming
friends and beginning their lifelong habit of playing sketches of their newest
compositions to each other. At college, he became interested in Hindu
philosophy and learned Sanskrit. While he was never fluent, he was able to
read from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and to translate hymns from
the Rig Veda. Because his neuritis became unbearable and he couldnt just
make a living composing, Holst gave up the piano and left college in 1898 to
play the trombone in the Carl Rosa Opera Company and later Scottish Opera
in the hope of improving his lung capacity and give him greater insight into
composing for orchestra.
He married Isobel Harrison in 1901 and taught at the James Allen's
Girls' School in Dulwich for two years before being appointed Director of
Music at St. Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith in 1905. It was during his
time as a teacher that he composed his most famous work, The Planets.
Because he was so busy teaching his students, it took him over two years to
complete the piece. Although he is known to this day for The Planets, Holst
never felt that it was the best example of his compositions. Throughout his
life, Holst continued to compose orchestral music, wind ensemble music,
operas, chamber music, and vocal music of many different styles, and had a
great interest in various kinds of literature, poetry and astrology.
On May 25th, 1934, Gustav Holst, age 59, died of heart failure following
an operation on an ulcer. His ashes were interred at Chichester Cathedral
next to those of Thomas Weelkes, who had been the organist of the
Cathedral more than 300 years before.

Unit 2: Composition
In 1909, when this Suite was written, concert wind band music
consisted of reductions of pieces originally scored for orchestras. Thus, this
suite was revolutionary in that it was written exclusively for wind band and is
considered Holsts first step toward achieving his goal of making the concert
band a serious concert medium. The piece starts of with the "Chaconne," a
melody of 16 notes that starts in the baritone makes its way throughout the
entire band, and in the middle of the piece, the trombone plays the inversion
of this progression. Building ever so slowly, the finale of this first movement
is marked by a strong fortissimo in all instruments and a sustained chord by
the upper winds as the lower brass drops out. The remaining two movements
are actually based on a segment of this Chaconne theme. The "Intermezzo"
is marked vivace and through the vibrant tempo, we are shown Holst's
mastery in writing for woodwind instruments. The piece ends with a "March"
in ABA form; yet, what makes the march interesting is the combination of the
two melodies in the finale with a sophisticated counterpoint.

Unit 3: Historical Perspectives

Although completed in 1909, the suite didn't receive its official premiere until
11 years later on June 23rd, 1920 by an ensemble of 165 musicians at the
Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall in London, England. However,
the work was originally written to be performed by ensembles significantly
smaller than the one at Kneller Hall. During this time period, there was no
standardized instrumentation among the hundreds of British military bands
of the day and as a result, no significant literature had been previously
written for the band medium; most British bands up until then performed
arrangements of popular orchestral pieces. In order to ensure the suite would
be accessible to as many bands as possible, Holst ingeniously scored the
work so that it could be played by a minimum of 19 musicians, with 16
additional parts that could be added or removed without compromising the
integrity of the work.

Unit 4: Technical Considerations

Movement 1: Rhythms are no more complex than sixteenth notes but ranges
and facility of fingers/embouchure combinations could prove to be
challenging. Clarinets must play written F6 in m. 46. Horn will have
challenges leaping up to high G in m.58 at a p dynamic. Trombone 1 must
play high A-flat (Ab4) in m. 33. Tuba will have to play F an octave below the
staff in m. 58. Cornet 1 and Trumpet 1 have a written C5 in the final chord in
the first movement.
Movement 2: An eighth-note accompaniment pattern in the E-flat clarinet is
featured. A second E-flat clarinet cue is written, but can just as easily be
played by a B-flat clarinet. Tempo is lively at 152 bpm, pulse will be
challenging to maintain and sound effortless.
Movement 3: Considerably more demanding for the brass players, especially
cornet 1 which plays on top of the staff for long periods of time during the A
sections of the march. The final woodwind eighth-note triplets will prove
challenging for syncing tongue and fingers to create an articulate sound.
Slurring would be much easier for the woodwinds in that register. Knowing E-
flat major, C minor, and A-flat major scales and their relationships between
each other will be useful in how they function in the piece.

Unit 5: Stylistic Considerations

Movement 1: Tempo not too slow. Quarter note equals 96-108. That shows
the expressive qualities of the line and the marking Allegro moderato.
Measures 1-23 should show off musicality and legato playing and control of
the leaps in the low pitches. Measures 24-57 emphasizes clarity and
lightness of the theme, although marked pesante at m. 50, the walking bass
line should not take away from overarching theme. From m. 58-97, this
section should feel very soloistic (a la chamber music); each voice should be
bringing out his/her characteristic line and how it fits in with the other
players. From m. 98 to the end of the movement, control in the upper voices
with the crescendo and the upper register is most important.
Movement 2: Two basic styles: light, detached staccato and a simple legato.
The main focus should be the attention to the last notes of phrases in the
accompaniment and being sure they are not abrupt. The last four measures
should gradually get softer and lighter as the line ascends up to the C.
Consider conducting in a light 2 style for light sections and a macro pulse for
the legato sections.
Movement 3: The march features a contrast between a very British March
style and a trio section that is almost chorale-like. British marches are to be
performed with some separation or lift with emphasis on tone control.
Encourage the brass to play no louder than a forte dynamic as to not spread
their sound. The ensemble can show off their musical maturity with the trio
section be performing 8-measure phrases and shaping the musical line with
swells. Consider conducting in a legato 4 pattern as to encourage long
phrases and think about releases.

Unit 6: Musical Elements

MELODY: Since the Chaconne theme is varied and echoed through the
entire Suite, it is easy to compare the first notes in each theme. Holst uses
major, minor and modal melodies and a worthwhile exercise would be to
compare the half- and whole-step patterns of these modes since Holst,
Vaughan Williams, and Jacob all freely use these scales in their compositions.
Every instrument has melodic material in this work.

HARMONY: The harmonic language is not complex. In the second half of the
development of the third movement, C is prolonged through a progression
featuring a rising chromatic line.
RHYTHM: Throughout the whole Suite there is a steady pulse and consistent
feeling of meter. Each movement is consistent in its treatment of duple or
triple meter. The pulse does not slow until the end of the first movement and
the end of the third movement. The third movement also has more motion
after the meno mosso to end in a very exciting flourish. Holst sets the pulse
through his preference for tuba and low reeds.

TIMBRE: The timbres in this work are consistent with the writing for British
bands in the early 20th century. The flutes are primarily written in unison,
including the upper register. There is a lot of cornet and trumpet in the
scoring which constitute a soprano brass voice in 4-5 parts. Tuba and
euphonium are doubled to create a unifying bass line but euphonium also
has many parts where it is the primary tenor line. Euphonium is as important
of a melodic voice as the cornet in British brass band tradition. There is great
contrast and mastery in the writing for many instruments. Holst
demonstrates opportunities for solos and in some instances, highlights larger
sections of the ensemble by setting a chamber music style featuring a
woodwind quintet or a brass ensemble.

Unit 7: Form and Structure

Movement 1
Form: Passacaglia (theme and fifteen variations)
The theme and all variations are in E-flat major except variations nine and
ten, which are in C minor, using an inversion of the theme. All phrases are 8
measures long except for those in variation 13 (mm. 105-113) and variation
fifteen (mm. 122-131).
 Movement 2
Form: Modified binary form

Movement 2 - Intermezzo
Section Measure Event and Scoring
s
A 133-156 Ob./Clarinets/Cornets present thematic material (motif
1) syncopated, other voices are propelling the pulse
A with oom-pahs 2/4 time
Section B 157-174 Clarinets and Oboes present thematic material (motif
2) Running sixteenth notes
A 175-198 Motif 1 returns with all woodwinds and high cornets
playing
C 199-230 Lyrical Section 4/4 time Clarinet Solo
B A 231-254 Motif A is passed around from Baritone to woodwinds
Section and horns
Coda 255-274 Motives 1 and 2 are combined with the lyrical C
(D = section
A+B+C)
Movement 3 - March
A 275-310 British brass band featured melody. Special care with
some reservation and lift should be taken when
playing a British march. E-flat major
B 311-362 Legato trio section. A-flat major (dominant) Special
care should be taken to play 8-bar phrases.
Conducting in a macro 4 could help both phrasing and
style of playing.
A 363-382 Brass band melody returns.
383-436 Back to E-flat major. Development of thematic
material building until the end.
437-442 Meno mosso. Fermata on the half note precisely
before 443, or caesura.
Coda 443-453 Building to a ffff to end in a flourish on an E-flat major
scale

Unit 8: Suggested Listening

Holst, Gustav: Second Suite in F
The Planets
 Hammersmith
Vaughan Williams, Ralph: English Folk Song Suite
Sea Songs
Inspirations included:
Wagner, Richard: Tristan und Isolde
Gtterdmmerung

Bach, Johann Sebastian: Mass in B minor

Unit 9: Additional Reference and Resources

http://www.gustavholst.info/
Emge, Jeffrey. Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Vol. 1.
Chicago: GIA Publications, 2009. Print. pp. 488-498.