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About the composer Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham on 21st September 1874. He learnt the piano from early age but, suffering from asthma and short sight, he found it hard. At the age of seven his mother died. He began to compose at Cheltenham Grammar School with Berlioz’s treatise on instrumentation as his guide and at seventeen he was conducting local village choirs. The neuritis in his right arm had convinced his father that he would never become a solo pianist so he was allowed a few months in Oxford to learn counterpoint before moving to London to study composition with Stanford. He entered the Royal College of Music in 1893 but did not win a scholarship until two years later – Stanford found him hardworking rather than brilliant. His compositions tended to be saturated with imitations of Wagner. In 1895 he met Vaughan Williams and for the rest of his life they would play sketches of their latest compositions to each other. He was invited to conduct the Hammersmith Socialist Choir in William Morris’s house where he met his future wife. He became fascinated by Hindu literature and philosophy to such an extent that he decided to learn Sanskrit – his Rig Veda settings are testament to this interest. He had also studied the trombone at college and it was this which brought him employment, with the Carl Rosa Opera and the Scottish Orchestra, if detracting him from his wish to compose. Luckily he was appointed a teacher first in Dulwich and then at St. Paul’s in Hammersmith where he would be director of music, a position he held for the rest of his life. With security of income he was able to devote himself more to composition and a string of works by which he is best known, chief of which is The Planets, appeared. Their success made publishers want to revisit his earlier works and he found the extra work of correcting proofs time-consuming. His later works were more intense and the public found them harder to understand and it is only now, with a greater chance to listen to them, that we can fathom their genius. His final years were blighted by illnesses which started after falling from the rostrum and hitting his head, he suffered from headaches and sleeplessness. In 1927 Cheltenham gave him his own festival and in 1930 he accepted the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society. In 1932 he went to Harvard University to lecture but a severe attack of haemorrhagic gastritis caused him to return home and spent the next eighteen months in and out of clinics and, although In frequent pain, he kept on composing. In May 1934 he had an operation in London died on the 25th.

CDs and DVDs featuring the composer Gustav Holst

CATALOGUE NR: 5615972  (barcode: 0724356159723)
RECORD LABEL: Virgin
FORMAT: 2 CD Set
PRICE: including VAT £ 12.50
RELEASE DATE: 13-Sep-1999

TITLE: Nocturne volume 2
TRACKS: includes:- The Planets - Venus, the bringer of peace (Holst). Concerto for 2 violins BWV1043 - Largo ma non tanta (JS Bach). Adagio for strings Opus 11 (Barber). Simple Symphony Opus 4 - Sentimental saraband (Britten).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: almost two and a half hours of beautiful soothing music for the end of the day

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CATALOGUE NR: ING1003  (barcode: 5065001015021)
RECORD LABEL: IntegraRecordsUK
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 9.95
RELEASE DATE: 24-Nov-2008

TITLE: Midwinter
TRACKS: Veni emmanuel (Anon arr. Forshaw). Coventry Carol (Anon arr. Forshaw). Noel Nouvelet (Anon arr. Holland-Smith). Little Drummer Boy (Anon arr. Forshaw). In The Bleak Midwinter (Holst arr. Forshaw). This Is The Truth (Anon arr. Holland-Smith). I wonder as I wander (Anon arr. Holland-Smith). My dancing day (Anon / Holst arr. Forshaw). Es ist ein' ros' (Anon arr. Holland-Smith). Wexford carol (Anon arr. Forshaw).
ARTISTS: Christian Forshaw   Sanctuary Ensemble   Grace Davidson  

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CATALOGUE NR: COLCD127  (barcode: 0040888012726)
RECORD LABEL: Collegium
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 12.95
RELEASE DATE: 02-Oct-2000

TITLE: Blessed Spirit
TRACKS: At Our Departing: Requiem aeternam (Gregorian Chant) / Kontakion of the departed (Kiev Chant) / Selig sind die Toten (Schutz) / Blessed are they (Tchaikovsky) / Funeral Ikos (Tavener). Towards the gate of heaven: Domine Jesu Christe (Gregorian Chant) / O quam gloriosum (Victoria) / Psalm 121 (Walford Davies) / Requiem Aeternam (Walford Davies) / The Evening Watch (Holst) / Steal Away / There is an old belief (Parry) / A quanta qualia / Justorum animae (Byrd). Deep river. The Heavenly Kingdom: In paradisum (Gregorian Chant) / O felix anima (Bingen) / Audivi vocem de caelo (Sheppard) / Faire is the Heaven (Harris).
CONDUCTOR: Timothy Brown
ARTISTS: Clare College Cambridge Choir      

- Dec-2000 5 star BBC Music Mag.

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CATALOGUE NR: 5861662  (barcode: 0724358616620)
RECORD LABEL: EMI Classics for Pleasure
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 4.99
RELEASE DATE: 01-Nov-2004

TITLE: Once in Royal David's City
TRACKS: Once in royal David’s city. Adam lay ybounden (Ord). The Truth from Above (arr. Vaughan Williams). How far is it to Bethlehem? Personent hodie (arr. Holst). Myn Lyking (RR Terry). The Angels and the Shepherds (arr. Trevor). Of the Father's heart begotten. The Holly and the Ivy (arr. Walford Davies). Resonemus laudibus. Gabriel's Message. The Shepherds' Cradle Song (arr. Macpherson). Quem pastores laudavere (arr. Rutter). Whence is that goodly fragrance flowing? The Infant King. Sir Christemas (Mathias). O come O come Emmanuel. Alleluya a new work is come on hand (Wishart). Quittez pasteurs. Lully lulla thou little tiny child (Leighton). Remember O thou man (Ravenscroft). Sans Day Carol (arr. Rutter). A Hymn to the Virgin (Britten). O come all ye faithful. Hark! the herald angels sing?
CONDUCTOR: David Willcocks and Philip Ledger
ARTISTS: Choir of Kings College Cambridge      

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: originally released on LP 1970 - first time on CD

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CATALOGUE NR: HAVP164
RECORD LABEL: Herald
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 12.85
RELEASE DATE: 29-Nov-1999

TITLE: The Water of Tyne
TRACKS: Siyahambe. The Water of Tyne. A La Rurrunino. Ladybird. Gloria. Agnus Dei from 'Missa Brevis'. Lay I Bounden (Adam). This Little Babe. The Salley Gardens. The Ride of the Witch. Stabat Mater (Pergolesi). Sanctus O Salutaris from 'Mass (Caplet). Cantique de Jean Racine (Faure). White Feathers (Raminsh). To Agni (Holst). The Ascot Gavotte (Loewe). Memory (Lloyd Webber). Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Kern). The Way We Were (Hamlisch). The Rhythm of Life (Coleman).
CONDUCTOR: David Victor Smith
ARTISTS: Farnham Youth Choir   Julia Freeman    

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CATALOGUE NR: CD80606  (barcode: 089408060625)
RECORD LABEL: Telarc
FORMAT: 2 CD Set  DURATION: 147 minutes
PRICE: including VAT £ 7.50
RELEASE DATE: 28-Jan-2013

COMPOSER: Aaron Copland  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: American Maestros
TRACKS: CD1: Rodeo : Buckaroo Holiday / Corral Nocturne / Saturday Night Waltz / Hoe-Down (Copland). First Suite in E-flat : Chaconne / Intermezzo. First Suite in E-flat major opus 28 Number 1 : March (Holst). Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Vaughan Williams). Symphonic Metamorphosis : Allegro / Turandot Scherzo / Andantino / Marsch (Hindemith). Roman Carnival Overture (Berlioz). CD2: A Sea Symphony : A Song for All Seas All Ships (Vaughan Williams). Love Scene from Romeo and Juliet (Berlioz). Symphony Number 5 in D minor opus 47 : Largo (Shostakovich). Romanian Rhapsody Number 1 in A major opus 11 (Enescu). Water Music : Suite in F major HWV348 Allegro-Andante-Allegro (Handel). Battle Hymn of the Republic.
ORCHESTRA: Cleveland Orchestra and St Louis Symphony Orchestra
CONDUCTOR: Lorin Maazel and Leonard Slatkin
ARTISTS: Boston Baroque      

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CATALOGUE NR: 25032  (barcode: 0809730503221)
RECORD LABEL: Divine Art
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 11.99
RELEASE DATE: 04-Jul-2005

COMPOSER: Adam Gorb  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: Orientale
TRACKS: Yiddish Dances (Adam Gorb). Caprice Arabe opus 96 (Camille Saint-Saens). In the Steppes of Central Asia (Alexander Borodin). Beni Mora - Oriental Suite opus 29 Number 1 (Gustav Holst). Orientale opus 38 Number 17 (Gliere). Balinese Ceremonial Music (Colin McPhee). Sangit Alamkara Suite (John Mayer). Hebrew Melody (Joseph Achron arr Auer / Goldstone).
ARTISTS: Anthony Goldstone   Caroline Clemmow    

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Music for piano duo inspired by the East

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CATALOGUE NR: CHAN10783X  (barcode: 0095115178324)
RECORD LABEL: Chandos Classics
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 6.49
RELEASE DATE: 01-Jul-2013

COMPOSER: Aldo Finzi  (other composers in brackets after works)
TRACKS: Requiem da camera (Gerald Finzi). Deus in adjutorium meum. Chorale after an Old French Carol. Cantata misericordium opus 69 (Benjamin Britten). Psalm 86. Psalm 148 (Gustav Holst).
ORCHESTRA: City of London Sinfonia
CONDUCTOR: Richard Hickox
ARTISTS: Alison Barlow   John Mark Ainsley   Stephen Varcoe   John Alley

Currently scheduled to be available 01-Jul-2013. Order now and we will ship as soon as possible after that date.

CATALOGUE NR: 9498192  (barcode: 5099994981926)
RECORD LABEL: EMI
FORMAT: 2 CD Set
PRICE: including VAT £ 8.45
RELEASE DATE: 04-Apr-2011

COMPOSER: Arthur Sullivan  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: British Ballet Music
TRACKS: Royal Philharmonic - Pineapple Poll : Scene 1 Opening Dance / Poll's Solo & Pas de deux / Belaye's Solo / Pas de trois / Finale / Scene 2 Poll's Solo / Jasper's Solo / Scene 3 Belaye's Solo & Sailors' Drill / Poll's Solo / Entry of Belaye with Blanche as Bride / Reconciliation / Grand Finale (Sullivan). A Wedding Bouquet - Tango & Waltz (Berners). Vernon Handley - Checkmate Ballet Suite T57 : Prologue - The Players / Dance of the Four Knights / Entry of the Black Queen / The Red Knight's Mazurka / Ceremony of the Red Bishops / Finale: Checkmate (Bliss). Louis Fremaux - Facade - Two suites for orchestra : Fanfare - Vivo / Scotch Rhapsody / Swiss Jodelling Song - Lento / Polka / Old Sir Faulk - Tempo di Fox-trot / Valse / Popular Song - Grazioso / Country Dance - Allegretto piacevole / Tango-pasodoble - Lento / Tarantella-sevillana (Walton). Adrian Boult - Variations on an Original Theme 'Enigma' Opus 36 (Elgar). Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden - The Rake's Progress: Sarabande & Orgy (Gavin Gordon). Robert Irving - Horoscope : Number 3 Valse for the Gemini (Constant Lambert). Andre Previn - The Perfect Fool H150 Opus 39 (Holst).

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CATALOGUE NR: ONYX4086  (barcode: 0880040408628)
RECORD LABEL: Onyx Classics
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 12.50
RELEASE DATE: 06-Feb-2012

COMPOSER: Bela Bartok  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: Music From The Machine Age
TRACKS: Miraculous Mandarin Suite (Bartok). Ballet music from The Perfect Fool (Holst). La Valse (Ravel). Scythian Suite (Prokofiev). Ogelala excerpts (Schulhoff).
ORCHESTRA: Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Sascha Goetzel

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CATALOGUE NR: 8550823  (barcode: 0730099582322)
RECORD LABEL: Naxos
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 5.75

COMPOSER: Benjamin Britten  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: English String Music
TRACKS: Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge - string orchestra Opus 10 (Britten). St Paul's Suite - string orchestra H118 Opus 29 (Holst). 2 Aquarelles - strings (Delius). 5 Variants of 'Dives and Lazarus' - string orchestra and harp (Vaughan Williams). Capriol Suite - string orchestra (Warlock).
ORCHESTRA: Bournemouth Sinfonietta
CONDUCTOR: Richard Studt

- Penguin Guide 3 star

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CATALOGUE NR: CDH55050  (barcode: 0034571150505)
RECORD LABEL: Hyperion Helios
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 5.75
RELEASE DATE: 03-Sep-2001

COMPOSER: Benjamin Britten  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: English Choral Music
TRACKS: Choral Dances from Gloriana (Britten). Choral Hymns from Rig Veda (Holst). Pastoral 'Lie strewn the white flocks' (Bliss).
ORCHESTRA: Holst Orchestra
ARTISTS: Holst Singers      

- Feb-2002 5 star BBC Music Mag.

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CATALOGUE NR: DUX0677  (barcode: 5902547006772)
RECORD LABEL: Dux
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 13.25
RELEASE DATE: 16-Feb-2009

COMPOSER: Benjamin Britten  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: Little Big Music
TRACKS: Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge (Benjamin Britten). St Paul's Suite H118 Opus 29 (Holst). 5 melodii ludowych (Lutos?awski). Orawa (Wojciech Kilar).
ORCHESTRA: Silesian Chamber Orchestra
CONDUCTOR: Massimiliano Caldi

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CATALOGUE NR: RK9805  (barcode: 4018767098051)
RECORD LABEL: Raumklang
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 12.85

COMPOSER: Carl August Fischer  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: Sonntagsposaunenstuck
TRACKS: Fantasie opus 21 (Fischer). Rezitativ und Arioso opus 24 (Bartmuss). Gebet opus 65b (Muller). Aria - Cujus animam from Stabat mater (Rossini / Liszt). Duet for Trombone and Organ (Holst). Ave Maria - organ solo (Liszt after Arcadelt). Fantasia opus 58 (Belcke). Via crucis - Die vierzehn Stationen des Kreuzweges - organ (Liszt). Hosannah Ein Sonntagsposaunenstuck - Choral Heilig ist Gott der Vater Hosannah (Liszt). Orpheus - organ (Liszt). Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan Choralvariation opus 16 (Schneider).
ARTISTS: Sebastian Krause   Gabriele Wadewitz    

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: romantic music for trombone and organ

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CATALOGUE NR: 8573002  (barcode: 747313300273)
RECORD LABEL: Naxos
FORMAT: CD  DURATION: 56 minutes
PRICE: including VAT £ 5.75
RELEASE DATE: 29-Oct-2012

COMPOSER: Claude T Smith  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: In The World Of Spirits
TRACKS: Symphonic Prelude on Adeste Fidelis (Claude T Smith). Greensleeves (Traditional arr. Alfred Reed). Christmas Day (Holst arr. Larry Daehn). A Winter's Tale (Philip Sparke). In the World of Spirits (Bruce Broughton). In the bleak midwinter (Holst arr. Robert W Smith). Mysterium (Jennifer Higdon). Russian Christmas Music (Alfred Reed). Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson).
CONDUCTOR: Scott A Stewart
ARTISTS: Emory Symphonic Winds      

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Christmas Classics for Wind Band

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CATALOGUE NR: 5677482  (barcode: 0724356774827)
RECORD LABEL: EMI Great Recordings
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 6.65
RELEASE DATE: 11-Mar-2002

COMPOSER: Edward Elgar  (other composers in brackets after works)
TRACKS: Enigma Variations (Elgar). The Planets (Holst).
ORCHESTRA: London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Adrian Boult

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This magnificent performance of The Planets, recorded with an opulent realism, brings to a final culmination Boult’s supreme understanding of this work. This account of the Enigma Variations is also a classic; a performance by a great conductor who has lived a lifetime with this music.’ Gramophone - Penguin Guide 3 star 'the reading shows this conductor's long experience of the work, with each variation growing naturally and seamlessly out of the music that has gone before'

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CATALOGUE NR: 6317832  (barcode: 5099963178326)
RECORD LABEL: EMI Masters
FORMAT: CD
PRICE: including VAT £ 6.49
RELEASE DATE: 06-Sep-2010

COMPOSER: Edward Elgar  (other composers in brackets after works)
TRACKS: Variations on an Original Theme 'Enigma' - orchestra Opus 36 (Elgar). The Planets - suite H125 Opus 32 (Holst).
ORCHESTRA: London Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Adrian Boult
ARTISTS: Geoffrey Mitchell Choir      

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CATALOGUE NR: CRD2415
RECORD LABEL: CRD
FORMAT: 2 CD Set
PRICE: including VAT £ 11.50
RELEASE DATE: 07-Nov-2005

COMPOSER: Edward Elgar  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: English Music for Brass
TRACKS: Severn Suite (Elgar). Overture Henry V (Vaughan Williams). Moorside Suite (Holst). Comedy Overture (Ireland). The First Shoot (Walton). Festal Brass with Blues (Tippett). Russian Funeral (Britten). Downland Suite (Ireland).
CONDUCTOR: James Stobart
ARTISTS: London Collegiate Brass      

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CATALOGUE NR: 4481702  (barcode: 0028944817027)
RECORD LABEL: Double Decca
FORMAT: 2 CD Set
PRICE: including VAT £ 10.85

COMPOSER: Edward Elgar  (other composers in brackets after works)
TRACKS: The Dream of Gerontius opus 38 (Elgar). The Hymn of Jesus opus 37 (Holst). Sea Drift (Delius).
ORCHESTRA: London Symphony Orchestra
CONDUCTOR: Benjamin Britten
ARTISTS: King's College Cambridge Choir   John Shirley-Quirk   Yvonne Minton   Peter Pears

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Elgar is a Penguin 2/3 star. - Penguin Guide 1994 3 star

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CATALOGUE NR: 222897  (barcode: 4011222228970)
RECORD LABEL: Membran
FORMAT: Hybrid SACD
PRICE: including VAT £ 8.69
RELEASE DATE: 09-Jan-2006

COMPOSER: Edward Elgar  (other composers in brackets after works)
TITLE: English String Music
TRACKS: Introduction and Allegro for String Quartet and Orchestra Opus 47 (Elgar). Serenade for Strings in E minor Opus 20 (Elgar). Aquarelle Number 1. Aquarelle Number 2 (Delius). Capriol Suite (Warlock). Brook Green - Suite for String Orchestra H190 (Holst). Henry V excerpts : The Death of Falstaff / Touch her soft lips and part (Walton). Suite for String Orchestra : Rondeau / Slow Air / Air / Minuet / Allegro (Purcell arr. Coates).
ORCHESTRA: Royal Philharmonic
CONDUCTOR: Barry Wordsworth

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: recorded 1994

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