The Cloud Messenger

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The Cloud Messenger op. 30 is a work for choir and orchestra by Gustav Holst .

Emergence

The Cloud Messenger is based on the poem Meghaduta by Kalidasa . Holst, who had developed an interest in Indian mythology in the late 1890s and had also learned Sanskrit in this context , himself translated the text for his composition with RW Frazer's adaptation in his book Silent Gods and Sun-steeped Lands as the basis. The work is in Richard Wagner's chromatic style .

By Christmas 1910, work on The Cloud Messenger was finished; However, Holst revised the work over the next two years.

action

A poet sends a cloud to the Himalayas with a message of love for his wife, from whom he is separated. On the way of the cloud, temple dances take place at a holy city. Finally, the cloud delivers the love message by whispering it in the sleeping woman's ear.

effect

On March 4, 1913, Holst conducted the world premiere of The Cloud Messenger with the New Symphony Orchestra and the London Choral Society . The Musical Times wrote that The Cloud Messenger was the most important piece in the concert program, but did not offer anything particularly interesting in its 42 minutes of performance; the review acknowledged a few highlights but concluded that it lacked the continuous inspiration to keep the listener interested. The Morning Post found talent through to genius in music. The remaining reviews, however, were divided. The work was published by Stainer & Bell , but was forgotten.

literature

  • Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, p. 51
  2. ^ Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, p. 54
  3. ^ Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, pp. 65–67
  4. ↑ a b Michael Short: Gustav Holst - The Man and his Music , Circaidy Gregory Press (first published by Oxford University Press), 1990, new edition 2014, p. 66