Gustav Holst
Biography
Gustav Holst (21 September 1874, Gloucestershire, U.K. – 25 May 1934, London) was a British composer and educator.
Holst learned piano at an early age, but was stricken with a nerve condition that affected the movement of his right hand, forcing him to give up the piano for the trombone. He received his degrees from The Royal College of Music in London, where he met fellow composer (and lifelong friend) Ralph Vaughan Williams and became interested in Hindu mysticism and spirituality, interests that would later shape the course of his compositional output. In 1901 Holst married Isobel Harrison, who would remain with him the remainder of his life.
Before Holst became a well-known composer, he relied for income from playing the trombone in the Carl Rosa Opera Company and in the White Viennese Band, a popular orchestra specializing in "light music." In 1905, Holst became director of music at the St Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, London, and in 1907, he also became director of music at Morley College, retaining both positions until his death in 1934.
Holst's compositions for wind band, although only a small portion of his total output, have made him a cornerstone of the genre.
Works for Winds
Adaptable Music
- Chaconne from "First Suite in Eb" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2016)
- Fantasia on the "Dargason" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1911/2013)
- Intermezzo (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2017)
- Jupiter (arr. Deterling) (Flex instrumentation) (1916/2020)
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Adaptable Band) (arr. Fisher) (1916/2020)
- March (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1911/2010)
- March from "First Suite in Eb" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2015)
- March from Second "Suite in F Major" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fisher) (1911/2018)
- March from "First Suite in Eb" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2015)
- Mars (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Vinson) (1916/2009)
- A Moorside March (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Wright; ed. M. Brand) (1928/2021)
- Songs from the "Second Suite" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1911/2012)
- Suite from "The Planets" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Vinson) (1916/2018)
All Wind Music
- Ave Maria (tr. Woodley) (1900)
- Bach's Fugue à la Gigue (as arranger; ed. Mitchell) (1707/1928/2005)
- Brook Green Suite (tr. Curnow) (1933/2006)
- Capriccio (tr. Boyd) (1932/1967/1974)
- Capriccio (arr. Paul Noble) (1932/1967/2019)
- Chaconne from "First Suite in Eb" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2016)
- Chorale from Jupiter (arr. Curnow) (1916/1991)
- Christmas Day (arr. Beringen) (1910/2010)
- Christmas Day (arr. Daehn) (1910/2011)
- Christmas Day (arr. Winkelman) (1910/2017)
- Country Song (arr. Klein) (1906)
- Dance of the Spirits of Fire (tr. Harpham) (1918/1922/1971)
- Dirge for Two Veterans (1914)
- Fantasia on the "Dargason" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1911/2013)
- Fantasia on the "Dargason" (arr. Story) (1911/2000)
- First Suite in E-flat (1909/1921)
- First Suite in E-flat (ed. Matthews) (1909/1921/1984)
- First Suite in E-flat (ed. Ito) (1909/2011)
- First Suite in E-flat (arr. Longfield) (1909/2006)
- First Suite in E-flat for Military Band (ed. Fennell) (1909/2006)
- First Suite in E-flat Themes (arr. Sweeney). See: Themes from "First Suite in E-flat"
- A Fugal Concerto (arr. Brand) (1923/1993?)
- A Fugal Overture (arr. Noble) (1922/2014)
- A Fugal Overture (tr. Ponto) (1922)
- Fugue à la Gigue (as arranger; ed. Brand) (1707/1928/2008)
- Fugue à la Gigue (as arranger; ed. Mitchell). See: Bach's Fugue à la Gigue
- Gustav Holst Band Classics (arr. Edwards) (2020)
- Hammersmith: Prelude and Scherzo (1930)
- A Holst Hymn (arr. Smith) (1921/2022)
- A Holst Suite (tr. Thompson) (2018)
- Holst Winter Suite (arr. Smith)
- On This Day Earth Shall Ring (1924/2001)
- In the Bleak Midwinter (1906/1992)
- Old Brenton Carol (1910/2001)
- Hymns from the Rig Veda (tr. Windram, ed. Mitchell) (1906/1917/2017)
- I Vow to Thee, My Country (setting Vaughan Williams; ed. Grechesky) (1921/1988)
- I Vow to Thee, My Country (arr. Knorr) (1921/2017)
- Illumination (arr. Milford)
- In the Bleak Midwinter (arr. Bullock) (1906/1996)
- In the Bleak Midwinter (arr. Giroux) (1906/2018)
- In the Bleak Midwinter (arr. Robert W. Smith). See: Holst Winter Suite
- In the Bleak Midwinter (arr. Robert W. Smith and Susan L. Smith) (1908/2016)
- Intermezzo (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2017)
- Japanese Suite (adapt. Boyd) (1915/1982/1999)
- Jupiter (arr. Branchfield) (1916/2014)
- Jupiter (arr. Brown) (1916)
- Jupiter (tr. Curnow) (1916/1990)
- Jupiter (arr. Deterling) (Flex instrumentation) (1916/2020)
- Jupiter (arr. Hurt) (1916)
- Jupiter (arr. Owens) (1916/2006)
- Jupiter (arr. Pay and Smith) (1916/1924)
- Jupiter (arr. Smith and Story) (1916/2007)
- Jupiter Hymn (arr. de Meij) (1916/1921/1990)
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Adaptable Band) (arr. Fisher) (1916/2020)
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (tr. McAlister; ed. Reed) (1916/2003)
- March (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1911/2010)
- March from "First Suite for Military Band" (arr. Story) (2011)
- March from "First Suite in Eb" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1909/2015)
- March from Second "Suite in F Major" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fisher) (1911/2018)
- Marching Song (1906/1930)
- Marching Song (arr. Moss) (1906/2006)
- Marching Song (ed. Reynish) (1906/1983)
- March on Three Folk Tunes (ed. Binney) (c. 1913/2005)
- Mars (arr. Bocook) (1916/1998)
- Mars (arr. Owens) (1916/2009)
- Mars from "The Planets" (tr. Pay and Smith) (1916/1924)
- Mars, from "The Planets" (tr. Singleton) (1916/2001)
- Mars (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Vinson) (1916/2009)
- Midwinter (arr. Phillips) (2012)
- Moorside March (arr. Jacob) (1928/1960)
- A Moorside March (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Wright; ed. M. Brand) (1928/2021)
- A Moorside Suite (arr. Wright)
- Morris Dance Tunes (arr. Wagner) (1910/2010)
- Old Brenton Carol (arr. Smith). See: Holst Winter Suite
- On This Day Earth Shall Ring (arr. Smith). See: Holst Winter Suite
- The Perfect Fool (arr. Short) (1922/2005)
- The Planets (tr. Inagaki) (1916)
- The Planets (tr. Janssen) (1916/2017)
- The Planets (tr. Patterson) (1916/1998)
- The Planets (tr. Schrijvers) (1916/2005)
- The Planets (tr. Smith) (1916/1921)
- The Planets (tr. Vives) (1916/2007?)
- Scherzo (tr. Patterson) (1933/2021)
- Second Suite in F (ed. Fennell; score assembly Schissel) (1911/2006)
- Second Suite in F (arr. Johnston) (1911/2011)
- Second Suite in F (ed. Matthews) (1911)
- Second Suite in F (ed. Neumann) (1911)
- Second Suite in F (ed. Ito) (1911/1922/2012)
- Second Suite in F (adapt. Longfield) (1911/2007)
- Second Suite in f minor / F Major (ed. Hauswirth and Schmidt) (1911/2014)
- A Somerset Rhapsody (tr. Grundman) (1906/1927/1980)
- The Song of the Blacksmith (arr. Loest) (1911/2011)
- Songs from the "Second Suite" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Stanton) (1911/2012)
- Songs of the West (arr. Curnow) (1907/1986)
- St. Paul's Suite (arr. Sparke) (1912-1913/2017)
- Suite from "The Planets" (arr. Custer) (1916/1991)
- Suite from "The Planets" (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Vinson) (1916/2018)
- Themes from "First Suite in E-flat" (arr. Sweeney) (1909/2006)
- Three Folk Tunes (arr. Wagner) (c. 1913/2007)
- Two Songs Without Words (arr. Erickson) (1906/1996)
- Uranus (tr. Curnow) (1916/1991)
- Winter Suite (arr. Smith). See: Holst Winter Suite
Resources
- Band Music PDF Library
- Gustav Holst. Wikipedia. Accessed 6 August 2023
- "Holst, Gustav." G. & M. Brand Publications. Web. Accessed 18 February 2021
- Holst, Imogen. (1938). Gustav Holst: A Biography. London: Oxford University Press.
- Gustav Holst website
- Miles, Richard B., and Larry Blocher. (2010). Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 1. Chicago: GIA Publications. pp. 821.