Imogen Holst

Imogen Claire Holst (born April 12, 1907 in Richmond upon Thames ( Surrey ), † March 9, 1984 in Aldeburgh , Suffolk ) was an English composer , conductor and music writer.

Life

Holst - daughter of the composer Gustav Holst and his wife Isobel Harrison - attended St Paul's Girls School in Hammersmith and studied at the Royal College of Music in London . During the Second World War , she worked from 1941 to 1944 as an organizer at the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts and from 1943 to 1951 as musical director at the Arts Center at Dartington Hall School .

In 1952 Holst went to Aldeburgh to work with Benjamin Britten and in 1956 became artistic director of the festival there . In 1953 she founded the Purcell Singers , whose conductor she was until 1967. Of her writings, the biography of her father was especially known. Other books by her deal with medieval , folk , renaissance and baroque music . In addition to her father, she wrote biographies on William Byrd , Henry Purcell , Johann Sebastian Bach and Benjamin Britten.

As a composer, Imogen Holst left an extensive body of work that spans instrumental, vocal and orchestral genres. She worked just as versatile as an arranger.

Publications

• Imogen Holst: The ABC of Music. Basic concepts, harmony, forms, instruments. With a foreword by Benjamin Britten, English original edition 1963, translated by Meinhard Saremba. 7th edition. Reclam non-fiction book, ISBN 978-3-15-018681-7 .

(The following list is taken from the English Wikipedia)

• Gustav Holst: A biography . Oxford University Press, London 1938, OCLC 852118145 . (New edition 1969).
• The Music of Gustav Holst . Oxford University Press, London 1951, OCLC 881989 . (Revised editions 1968 and 1985, the latter with the addition ofHolst's Music Reconsidered).
• The Book of the Dolmetsch Descant Recorder . Boosey & Hawkes, London 1957, OCLC 221221906 .
• The Story of Music ("The Wonderful World" series) . Rathbone, London, OCLC 2182017 . (Co-author Benjamin Britten).
• Heirs and Rebels: Letters Written to Each Other, and Occasional Writings on Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst . Oxford University Press, London 1959, OCLC 337514 . (Co-author Ursula Vaughan Williams).
• Henry Purcell, 1659-1695: Essays on his Music . Oxford University Press, London 1959, OCLC 602569 . (Ed.).
• Henry Purcell: The Story of his Life and Work . Boosey & Hawkes, London 1961, OCLC 1200203 .
• Tune . Faber & Faber, London 1962, OCLC 843455729 . .
• An ABC of Music: a Short Practical Guide to the Basic Essentials of Rudiments, Harmony, and Form . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1963, ISBN 0-19-317103-1 .
• Your Book of Music . Faber & Faber, London 1964, OCLC 170598 .
• Bach ("Great Composers" series) . Faber & Faber, London 1965, OCLC 748710834 .
• Britten ("Great Composers" series) . Faber & Faber, London 1966, OCLC 243904447 .
• Byrd ("Great Composers" series) . Faber & Faber, London 1972, ISBN 0-571-09813-4 .
• Conducting a Choir: a Guide for Amateurs . Oxford University Press, London 1973, ISBN 0-19-313407-1 .
• Holst ("Great Composers" series) . Faber & Faber, London 1974, ISBN 0-571-09967-X . (New edition 1981)
• A Thematic Catalog of Gustav Holst's Music . Faber Music, in conjunction with G & I Holst Ltd, London 1974, ISBN 0-571-10004-X .

Imogen Holst also wrote numerous articles, pamphlets , essays, introductions, and program introductions between 1935 and 1984 .

List of works

(S = soprano; A = alto; T = tenor; B = bass)

1. Original compositions

genre	year	title	Forces (instrumental and vocal)	Remarks
Chamber music	1918	Sonata in D minor	Violin, viola, cello and piano	Opus 1 (only the first four works are numbered)
Unaccompanied tune	1918	Four English Christmas Carols		Opus 2
Instrumental	1918	Duet	Viola and piano	Opus 3
Instrumental	1920	The Masque of the Tempest	Flute, clarinet, triangle and strings	Opus 4
Chorale	1921	Arrangement: "Resonet in Laudibus"	Voices in unison and a small orchestra
Chorale	1925	To Essex Rhapsody	mixed choir and orchestra
Vocal	1925	Three songs (words: Walter de la Mare )	mixed voices, two violins and cello
Vocal	1926	Two four-part rounds	Unaccompanied voices
Vocal	1926	"Weathers" (song) (Text: Thomas Hardy )	Voice solo and piano
Instrumental	1926	Theme and variations	piano
Chorale	1927	Mass in A minor	Choir SSATB
Instrumental	1927	Suite in F: "Allegro assai"	Strings
Orchestral	1927	Suite: "Moderato"	Small orchestra
chamber music	1928	Quintet	Oboe and strings
Instrumental	1928	Sonata in G	Violin and piano
Chamber music	1928	Fantasy	String quartet
Chamber music	1928	suite	Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon
Orchestral	1929	Overture: Persephone	orchestra
Orchestral	1929	Suite: The Unfortunate Traveler	Brass band
Instrumental	1930	Suite: The Unfortunate Traveler	Strings	Arrangement of a suite for a brass band (1929)
Chorale	1930	"What Man is He"	Chorus SATB and Orchestra	Text from Wisdom IX: 13-17
Ballet	1930	Meddling in Magic	orchestra
Instrumental	1930	suite	Viola alone
Chamber music	1930	Sonata	Violin and cello
Orchestral	1932	Morris Suite	Small orchestra
Instrumental	1934	Five short airs on a ground	Whistle
Instrumental	1934	Five short pieces	piano
Instrumental	1934	Six Pictures from Finland	Solo piano
Chorale	1934	Wedding Hymn: "Father in Thine Almighty Hand" (words: Eleanor Spensley)	Voices SATB
Orchestral	1934	Incidental music: The Song of Solomon	orchestra	Music for a Hollywood pageant
Concertante	1935	Concerto for violin and string orchestra	Solo violin and strings	Based on traditional Irish melodies
Instrumental	1935	Four easy pieces	Viola and piano
Orchestral	1935	On Westhall Hill	Small orchestra
Chorale	1935	Carol: "My Bairn, Sleep Softly Now" (Anon.)	Women's voices (SSSAA) a cappella or soprano and flutes
Instrumental	1936	Canons	Mixed flutes
Vocal	1936	"Fly Away Over the Sea" (words: Christina Rossetti )	Two sopranos and piano
Vocal	1936	Canon: "Great Art Thou, O Lord"	Five equal voices a cappella
Vocal	1936	"Lady Daffadowndilly" (words: Christina Rossetti)	mixed voices and piano
Chorale	1936	"Now Will I Weave White Violets" (Words: Meleager of Gadara )	Women's Voices (SSA)
Chorale	1937	Incidental music: Nicodemus	Choir and orchestra
Instrumental	1937	12 Songs for Children (piano accompaniments)	piano
Vocal	1937	"Little Thinkest Thou, Poore Flower" (words: John Donne )	Voice and piano
Instrumental	1939	"Prelude and Dance"	piano
Orchestral	1939	Eothen Suite	Small orchestra
Chorale	1940	"The Cherry Tree Carol"	SATB a cappella
Instrumental	1940	Six Shakespeare songs	Recorder Trio
Chorale	1940	"A Hymne to Christ" (words: John Donne)	SATB a cappella choir
Chamber	1941	Offley suite	Recorder Trio
Instrumental	1941	Deddington Suite	Recorder Trio
Chamber music	1942	serenade	Flute, viola and bassoon
Instrumental	1943	suite	String orchestra
Chorale	1943	Three Psalms	SSAATB choir and strings
Instrumental	1943	Theme and variations	Solo violin
Concertante	1944	Oboe concerto	Oboe and orchestra
Chamber music	1944	First string trio	Violin, viola, cello
Chorale	1944	Five songs (words: Anon., Robert Herrick , John Donne)	Voices SSSAA
Vocal	1944	Four Songs (words: Tottel's Miscellany )	Soprano and piano
Chorale	1945	Hierusalem (words: Tottel's Miscellany )	Eight-part female choir
Opera	1945	Young Beichan (libretto: Beryl de Zoete )	Soloists, choir and orchestra	Marionette opera in seven scenes
Instrumental	1945	Offley suite	Strings	Arrangement for piano beginners and beginner string classes
Instrumental	1946	Duet for treble recorders	Duet for mixed recorders
Instrumental	1946	Six Canons	Violins	Exercises for violin
Chorale	1946	Anthem: "How Manifold are thy Works"	Choir, unspecified
Chorale	1946	Four Canons for Winsome	Female voices	For Winsome Bartlett, IH colleague in Dartington
Chamber music	1946	String Quartet No. 1	String Quartet No. 1
Chorale	1947	Birthday Canon for Winsome: "Open me the gates of righteousness"	Voices SATB
Chorale	1947	Birthday Part-Song for Winsome: "The lopped tree in time may grow again"	Votes SSAA
Vocal	1948	Round: "I stand as still as any stone"	Four voices (unspecified)
Chamber	1949	String quartet No. 2	String Quartet No. 2
Vocal	1950	Incidental music, Prometheus (words: Aeschylus )	Parts (unspecified) and viola
Chorale	1950	Six part songs: Welcome Joy and Welcome Sorrow	Parts SSA and harp (or piano)
Opera	1951	Benedick and Beatrice	Soloists, choir and orchestra	Opera in one act, based on characters (characters) from Shakespeare
Chorale	1955	Motet: "Lavabo inter innocentes"	Voices SSSAA
Instrumental	1962	The Fall of the Leaf : three short studies on a 16th-century tune	Cello alone
Chorale	1962	"The Twelve Kindly Months" (words: Thomas Tusser )	Voices SSA
Instrumental	1962	Variations on "Loth to Depart"	String quartet and two string orchestras
Instrumental	1962	String Trio No. 2	Violin, viola and cello
Chorale	1964	"As Laurel Leaves That Cease Not to Be Green" (from Tottel's Miscellany)	Voices SSA
Chorale	1964	"That Lord that Lay in Aces Stall"	Voices SATB
Chorale	1965	Carol: "Make Ye Merry For Him That Is To Come"	Voices SSATB
Chorale	1965	"Not Unto Us O Lord"	Two mixed and high choirs (correct translation?), Organ, optional tubular bells
Chorale	1965	Cantata: The Sun's Journey	Soprano and alto choirs, small orchestra (or piano)
Orchestral	1965	Triannon Suite	orchestra
Instrumental	1966	Fanfare for the Grenadier Guards	Three trumpets, horn, two trombones
Instrumental	1966	Fanfare for Thaxted	Two trumpets, flute, bells
Instrumental	1967	Leiston Suite	Wind quartet
Instrumental	1968	duo	Viola and piano
Chorale	1968	"Out of Your Sleep and Wake"	SSATTB choir a cappella
Instrumental	1969	Badingham Chime	Handbells
Orchestral	1969	Theme and seven variations: The Glory of the West	Brass band
Orchestral	1969	Woodbridge Suite	orchestra
Instrumental	1970	Fantasia on Hampshire Folk Tunes	String orchestra
Instrumental	1972	Iken fanfare	School marching band
Chorale	1972	"Hello My Fancy, Whither Wilt Thou Go" (words: William Cleland )	SSTBB and countertenor
Vocal	1974	"Farewell to Rod"	Solo voice and continuo
Concertante	1976	Joyce's Divertimento	Viola and orchestra
Orchestral	1977	Deben Calendar	orchestra
Instrumental	1980	February Welcome	Handbells
Vocal	1980	A greeting	Two sopranos, mezzo-soprano and piano
Vocal	1982	"Song for a Well-Loved Librarian"	Soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone	Dedicated to Fred Ferry, librarian to the Britten-Pears Library baritone
Chamber	1982	String quintet	String quintet: two violins, viola, two cellos
Vocal	1984	Homage to William Morris	Bass voice and string bass
Instrumental	1984	Recorder sextets	Sopranino, two treble, two mixed and tenor recorders
Instrumental	1984	Concerto for recorder and string orchestra
Instrumental	1984	duet	Violin and cello

2. Arrangements

genre	year	title	Forces (instrumental and vocal)	Remarks
Instrumental	1932	First Book of Tunes for the Pipes	Pipes	Collected and arranged
Instrumental	1933	Selected 18th Century Dances	piano	Collected and arranged
Instrumental	1933	Second Book of Tunes for the Pipes	Pipes	Collected and arranged
Instrumental	1933	Two Scottish Airs	Cello and piano
Vocal	1934	Four Oxfordshire Folk Songs	Two sopranos and piano
Vocal	1934	Four Somerset Folk Songs	Two sopranos and alto
Orchestral	1934	Love in a Mist or The Blue-Haired Stranger	Orchestra	Arranged after a piece by Scarlatti
Chorale	1934	Folk song: "Nowell and Nowell"	Mixed voices
Vocal	1934	Six Scottish Folk Songs	Voice, pipes piano
Orchestral	1934	Traditional Country Dances	Orchestra	Arranged for the Cecil Sharp House Orchestra and others
Instrumental	1935	Four Folk Tunes from Hampshire	Unison violins and piano
Orchestral	1935	“Intermezzo” from Gustav Holst 's First Suite in E flat	Orchestra	Orchestral arrangement
Chorale	1935	Folk song: "The Virgin Unspotted"	Unaccompanied female voices (SSA)
Instrumental	1936	Twelve Old English Dance Airs	Pipes	Arrangements, from Playford's English Dancing Master
Chorale	1936	"Wassail Song"	Unaccompanied men's chorus	Arranged after Gustav Holst's version for mixed choir
Instrumental	1937	Six Old English Dances	piano	Arrangements, from Playford's English Dancing Master
Chorale	1937	Folk song: "A Sweet Country Life"	Unaccompanied SATB voices
Chorale	1937	Folk song from Hampshire: "The Cobbler"	Unaccompanied SATB voices
Chorale	1937	"A Cornish Wassail Song"	Unaccompanied SATB voices
Orchestral	1937	Coronation Country Dances	Brass band	together with Gordon Jacob
Instrumental	1937	The Rival Sisters	Strings, ad lib woodwind and percussion	Arrangement of Purcell's Suite for small orchestra
Vocal	1938	Pelham Humphrey : Three Songs (Pelham Humphrey)	Voice and piano
Vocal	1938	Ten Appalachian Folk Songs	Voice and piano
Chorale	1940	Six Traditional Carols (first set)	SSA voices	Completed between 1940 and 1946
Vocal	1940	Pastoral scene: Nymphs and Shepherds	SSA voices, strings, optional recorders	Based on music by Purcell
Chorale	1940	Dorset folk carol: "Come All You Worthy People"	SSA voices
Instrumental	1940	Pelham Humphrey: Five airs	Recorder trio
Vocal	1941	Pelham Humphrey: Song "Nature's Homily"	Baritones and piano
Instrumental	1942	Handel 's "As When the Dove"	Continuo
Instrumental	1942	A Bach Book for the Treble Recorder	Treble recorder	Selected and edited by Holst
Vocal	1942	Three Carols from Other Lands	Unspecified
Chorale	1943	"Of a Rosemary Branch Sent"	SATB voices with strings
Chorale	1943	Shropshire folk carol: "All Under the Leaves"	SSA voices	Also known as "The Seven Virgins"
Chorale	1943	Cornish folk-carol: "Cherry, Holly and Ivy"	SATB voices
Chorale	1945	Bach 's Cantata No. 79: "God the Lord is Son and Shield"	SSA voices
Instrumental	1945	Purcell 's The Tempest	Piano, flute, descant recorder, oboe, clarinet, strings
Orchestral	1945	Three Somerset Folk Songs	Small orchestra
Instrumental	1947	British Folk Songs	Solo piano
Chorale	1948	Six Traditional Carols (Second set)	SSA voices
Chorale	1949	Gustav Holst: "Lullay my Liking"	SSA voices with solo soprano
Chorale	1949	Six Christmas Carols (Third set)	SSA and SSAA voices
Instrumental	1950	Purcell: Four songs	Recorder ensemble
Chorale	1950	"Greensleeves"	SSA voices
Instrumental	1950	Purcell: Seventeen songs	Piano, two violins, cello ad lib
Chorale	1950	Folk song: "I Must Live All Alone"	SSA voices
Instrumental	1951	Ten Indian Folk Tunes from the Punjab	Descant recorder	Transcribed by Holst and Prabhakar Chinchore
Chorale	1952	Trade: L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato	Equal voices with ad lib soprano and alto soli
Instrumental	1952	"Sellenger's Round"	Strings	Arrangement of a movement by Byrd
Vocal	1953	Daniel Purcell : "By What I've Seen I am Undone"	Voice and piano
Vocal	1953	Henry Carey : Four Songs	Voice and piano
Orchestral	1954	Britten : "March from the Courtly Dances sequence in Gloriana "	Orchestra	Orchestral arrangement
Vocal	1954	Britten: Second Lute Song of Earl of Essex, from Gloriana	Voice and piano
Chorale	1955	Britten: Choral Dances from Gloriana	Tenor solo and SATB chorus
Instrumental	1955	Bach: A Christmas Canon	Recorder quartet
Vocal	1955	Handel: "For Ever Blessed Be Thy Holy Name"	Voice and piano
Chorale	1955	Folk song: "O Can Ye Sew Cushions"	SSA voices and piano	From Britten's Folk Song arrangements Vol. 1
Chorale	1955	Six Scottish Songs	SSA voices unaccompanied
Chorale	1955	Traditional Songs of Scotland	SSA voices unaccompanied
Vocal	1955	Arne : "Under the Greenwood Tree"	Voice and piano
Vocal	1956	Sea shanty: "Sally Brown"	Voices and recorders
Opera	1956	Venus and Adonis	Unspecified	Original by John Blow , arranged for the Aldeburgh Festival
Chorale	1957	"Singing for Pleasure"	Female voices	Collection of songs
Chorale	1958	Six Traditional Carols (Fourth Set)	Unaccompanied SSA and SSSA voices
Chorale	1959	"A Jubilee Book of English Folk Songs"	Unison voices and piano	Collection of songs
Chorale	1959	Ten songs from John Wilson 's Cheerfull Ayres and Ballads (1659)	SSA voices
Instrumental	1960	Fifty Bach tunes	recorder	Arranged from the originals
Instrumental	1960	Ten Bach tunes	recorder	Arranged from the originals
Chorale	1960	A Yacre of Land: 16 folksongs from collection of Ralph Vaughan Williams	Unison voices and piano, or unaccompanied voices	Together with Ursula Vaughan Williams
Vocal	1961	Nineteen Songs from Folk Songs of Europe , ed. Maud Karpeles	Voice and piano accompaniment
Chorale	1961	Tunes from Kentucky	Equal voices and junior orchestra
Chorale	1962	Heinrich Schütz : The Passion According to St John	Soloists and unaccompanied chorus	Together with Peter Pears
Chorale	1964	Scottish Traditional Song: "A Wee Bird Cam 'to Our Ha'Door"	SATB voices
Chorale	1965	The Passion According to St Luke	Unaccompanied voices	Set up for performance based on manuscripts from the 15th century
Chorale	1965	Heinrich Schütz: The Passion According to St Matthew	Soloists and unaccompanied chorus	Together with Peter Pears
Vocal	1966	Thomas Tudway: "I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes"	Soprano and continuo
Chorale	1966	George Kirbye : "O Jesus, Look"	SSATB voices
Opera	1967	Purcell: The Faerie Queen (shortened version)	Soloists, chorus and orchestra	Arranged for the performance by Holst, Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten
Chorale	1967	Bach: The Passion According to St John	Soloists, chorus and orchestra	Edited by Benjamin Britten and Holst; English translation by Peter Pears
Orchestral	1967	Lully : Suite from Persée	Orchestra	Edited by Holst and Emanuel Hurwitz
Vocal	1967	Three carol arrangements	Three equal unaccompanied voices
Vocal	1967	Twenty Traditional British Folk Songs	unaccompanied voices in part song
Chorale	1968	Purcell: Wedding anthem, "How Blest Are They"	Mixed voices, soprano and bass soli	Together with Philip Ledger
Chorale	1969	Purcell: "Remember Not, O Lord"	Male chorus
Instrumental	1970	William Byrd : "Browning"	Violin, two violas, two cellos
Chorale	1970	English folk song: "Gypsy Davy"	Unaccompanied chorus	Edited as a ballad
Vocal	1978	Pelham Humphrey and John Blow: "A Dialogue Between Two Penitents"	Two tenors and continuo
Instrumental	1981	Seventeenth-century traditional English dance: "About Ship"	Piano duet
Instrumental	1983	Seven tunes by Gustav Holst	piano	Arranged as a simple piano edition

3. Recordings

• CD: Mass in A minor etc , Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, The Dmitri Ensemble, Graham Ross, 2013, harmonia mundi HMH 907576.
• CD: String Quartet No. 1, together with quartets by B. Britten a. a., 1993.
• “Phantasy” quartet, BBC Proms performance August 19, 2013.

Web links

• Works by and about Imogen Holst in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ For a list of selected articles and programs, see Christopher Grogan's bibliography: Imogen Holst: A Life in Music . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge Suffolk 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-599-8 , pp. 464-465.
2. ↑ Christopher Grogan: Imogen Holst: A Life in Music . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge Suffolk 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-599-8 , p. 141
3. ↑ Christopher Grogan: Imogen Holst: A Life in Music . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge Suffolk 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-599-8 , p. 142
4. ↑ Christopher Grogan: Imogen Holst: A Life in Music . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge Suffolk 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-599-8 , p. 425
5. ↑ Christopher Grogan: Imogen Holst: A Life in Music . The Boydell Press, Woodbridge Suffolk 2010, ISBN 978-1-84383-599-8 , pp. 345-346