„Music, being identical with heaven, isn’t a thing of momentary thrills, or even hourly ones. It’s a condition of eternity.“ Gustav Holst
The English composer Gustav Holst is known to many music lovers for just one symphonic work: The Planets. This orchestral suite, first performed in its entirety in 1920, was certainly his greatest success during his lifetime, but it reflects only one small aspect of the composer and his intellectual world. Holst's chamber-music works, full of consummate grace and still written in the late-romantic vein, prove that his work deserves much greater attention.
The Sextet in E Minor from 1900 for mixed strings and woodwinds, which is recorded here for the first time, fills a gap in the repertoire. It was not until the start of our century that Helge Bartholomäus unearthed this work, composed towards the end of Holst's student days, in the British Library archives and published it. The sextet has something of the lightness of a serenade, and in many passages sounds like a double trio for woodwinds and strings. A true find!
Press review
The Whole Note
... These "vivace" performances of very ingratiating music showcase a seldom-heard but rewarding side of a composer still known mainly for his single "greatest hit. Michael Schulman, 30 May 2017
BBC Music Magazine
An enjoyable jaunt through 30 years of rarely heard Holst chamber music, from the affable Quintet in A minor to the sinewy Terzetto for flute, oboe and clarinet. JP, May 2017
Gramophone
... these artists are clearly all on the same page, leaning into the music with a bright-eyed enthusiasm that doesn't preclude either a sense of mystery in the Terzetto or an unforced instinct fort he music's poetry: the way they let the Adagio of the Wind Quintet sink imperceptibly into slumber is particularly lovely. It's a joy, too, to hear works usually dismissed as juvenilia really played rather than patronised, and I found myself returning to this disc with increasing pleasure. Richard Bratby, July 2017
Crescendo Magazine
Chaudement recommandé! Bernard Postiau, 20.05.2017