Gustav Holst: Symphony in F Major "The Cotswolds" (1900)

Gustav Holst (1874-1934): Symphony in F Major, op.8 H.47 "The Cotswolds" (1900).
I. Allegro con brio
II. Elegy (in memoriam William Morris): Molto Adagio [03:36]
III. Scherzo [12:14]
IV. Finale: Allegro moderato [17:12]
Ulster Orchestra diretta da JoAnn Falletta.
***
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[@neilmassey2932]

My mum always loved the cotswolds. Went there as much as she could The first time in 1962 There must be a symphony . And there is. Always holds a special place in my ❤ For obvious reasons.

[@keiththomas4367]

having listened to classical music for decades I am amazed that the Cotswold symphony has eluded me. it reminds me though what an underrated composer Holst is.

[@RadicalShiba1917]

So sad that Planets gets ALL the attention. Not that Planets isn't amazing, it is, but he did so much other, quality work

[@davidgriffiths7215]

Totally agree. A Somerset Rhapsody and Egdon Heath turn up occasionally but otherwise the lack of performance of Holst's music apart from the Planets is disgraceful. At least we have good recordings and You Tube to make up for it.

[@marsvltor2]

Planets is his best known work because it is in the mainstream 'symphonic' European tradition. The rest of his œuvre is very, very English (and very special because of it). Can one really imagine this recorded by Karajan's BPO? I doubt it!!!

[@DieFlabbergast]

Not by me, he isn't. (I have over two CDs worth of music by Holst, not counting two performances of the Planets.) And he certainly wasn't underrated by his good friend Ralph Vaughan Williams!

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

@@RadicalShiba1917 it seems that curators of music, or any art, have access to the media and can 'fetishize" the works considered to be intrinsic to their "canon". Presently, Van Gogh is all over my Facebook feed. Beethoven's 9th is glorious, but has been upvoted to the stratosphere. Mona Lisa is nauseatingly overexposed. The Orchestra performer culture can only handle learning so many works due to any and all constraints, so we get to hear the War Horse Chestnuts in any given symphony season, plus the one New Work they were gifted the budget to program per season. Thoughts?

[@chrisamies2141]

Always used to listen to Holst on a Saturday morning when I was living in West Kensington (close to St Paul's School where he taught; viz. St Paul's Suite, Brook Green Suite, 'Hammersmith' - home was the first two and also the third at least officially). Now I'm in the midst of a move to Cheltenham (where he was born) in the Cotswolds (q.v.). So it's Saturday morning, and Holst time.

[@urbangrouse]

I traveled to The Cotswolds years ago; with this music I am again sipping a pint in that little inn where I stayed. I can almost hear the sheep:-)

[@Canithe]

It s wonderful to discover this. Many thanks. Returning to the Shire after a fourteen year absence this month, what a wonderful way to mark my return to my beloved Cotswolds. And oh, to see Broadway Tower. On a fine day we see right across the Cotswolds and the engraved map shows fourteen counties. Thank you again. IBM

[@jimsonisolation]

That's a wonderful image, even if the memory is not mine!

[@beethomozart]

I've listened to this symphony for the first time, knowing Holst basically for his THE PLANETS, but what a nice finding , really beautiful

[@geoffshilvock8991]

This is Broadway Tower in Worcestershire. It was built as a folly.

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

And saw it utilized as a set for a recent Father Brown episode.

[@khowweeting]

How I wish I’d heard of this symphony before visiting the Cotswolds 5 years ago. Listening to this, I could visualise myself traipsing across the multi coloured fields with sheep.

[@jmarshell1]

I agree with the previous posting. So nice to hear something other than The Planets. This piece is a nice surprise, romantic, lush, with a touch of grandeur.

[@calgarywino]

Have you listened to his works for brass/military bands? They're worth finding, he was also a musicologist, travelling and preserving folk melodies which may otherwise have been lost.

[@jmarshell1]

@@calgarywino Yes, like most musicians I was raised on the Holst military suites. The Eastman Wind Ensemble recordings were a regular part of my musical diet, and in my opinion the best around. As my music interests evolved, I came to appreciate Holst's Cloud Messenger, an odd rendering of Kali-dasa's poem, but the score rivals The Planets in scope and quality.

[@calgarywino]

I agree with you about the Eastman Wind Ensemble, those recordings are the best I've heard. It's a bit of a marathon, but if you're interested there's a posting of Frederick Fennell taking the US navy band through a very long rehearsal of Lincoln's hire Posy by Percy Grainger. I was quite fascinated.

[@andywjackson1135]

Fabulously got me in the mood for fresh air and a walk,thank you so much for sharing such beautiful tune , from 'one of our awesome composer's 🌈☯️🎶🌈🍀☯️

[@notaire2]

Wunderschöne Interpretation dieser spätromantischen Sinfonie mit farbenreichen und perfekt balancierten Töne aller Instrumente. Der zweite Satz klingt echt lyrisch. Die geniale Dirigentin leitet das perfekt trainierte Orchester angemessenen Tempo mit angenehmer Dynamik. Echt verborgener Schatz!

[@mohammedakram4529]

Whenever we hear Holst, its always the planets. At last I've found other compositions ! What a treat ! And there I was thinking only the planets ? Can't be !

[@myeyeshurt1877]

Go back to mosque.

[@mohammedakram4529]

Talk about planets, mosque church synagogue, we all know.

[@AdamThomasMusic]

What a brilliant Symphony!!

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

I discovered this a few years back while caregiving for a friend in Lompoc Ca. Now it will always evoke the bucolic farms and beautiful skies of that region of the California central coast...they have the best clouds. This work sounds like a travelogue; Holst clacking on a train through the country side, stopping to meditate in a peaceful dale.

[@Insperato62]

Look up photoes or films of rural Glos. (Gloucestershire). Absolutely stunning. If you ever visit England, don't bother with London - there is sooooo much more! Train to Gloucester then, get on a bus and just go around the county. I do not recommend that Americans drive along our country lanes - when we say "narrow and twisty" we mean just that, and we drive on the left, assuming the lane is that wide. Ha ha.

[@heterosectional]

WOW! Only on KZbin can these musical treasures be found. CHEERS! I didn't know Holst wrote a symphony.

[@klausbaden]

Roger Regor He wrote some years also a Symphony in c-minor. But the score is still unpublished.

[@annemoore1092]

Absolutely magnificent - like other commenters, I had not heard it before - so transporting, like Butterworth; Elgar and Gurney - I shall play it over and over again. Thank you.

[@geevanh4200]

♫♪♥

[@erikeriknorman]

this is my first time hearing this piece, the second movement is breathtaking...

[@leoholder7839]

Why haven’t I heard this before? Why hasn’t this got the attention it has deserved for so long??

[@MrBandit85205]

Simply beautiful

[@deerhound1952]

I've lived and worked in the Cotswolds for the past 20 years and never come across this piece before. It's added another beautiful element to the wonderfully scenic place I now call home. Thanks for posting this on KZbin.

[@calgarywino]

You're a very lucky man John!

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

Aside from the fact that I adore this work, I saw this castle featured in a 2020 episode of "Father Brown that was rerun tonight! Somehow the music still evokes road tripping in England.

[@manchestertart5614]

It’s Broadway Tower

[@lucamarcassoli129]

Beautiful, beautiful music. Pure, genuine, powerful.

[@quinnriutta]

I've never really listened to much of Holst or really any of the early or late romantic era composers, but I must say I really quite enjoy this, and will definitely be looking into more.

[@paulhalpin6301]

Thanks for this* I never heard it before... yet I'm a church organist in Wiltshire!

[@barrydavis987]

A perfect upl;oad with no cue 'blips. The sound is forward and clear. Many thanks for uploading this masterpiece.

[@naufala93]

"The Cotswolds" by Gustav Holst reminds me of rural Cotswolds with hills, wheat fields and villages

[@evanever]

Would be a shame if it didn't!

[@futurewarrior1]

More pure genius from Gustav Holst! This is a beautiful, expressive recording...thank you for sharing!

[@josealejandroguzman7146]

Thank you for posting this work. I have been a Holst fan for many years yet was totally unfamiliar with this and several other of the works posted here. I am looking forward to conducting the symphony this December. I was told by the publisher that it might be and American premier.

[@javierbravo4688]

could you recommend holst's songs?

[@calgarywino]

Very good to hear!

[@jackwilmoresongs]

Thankyou, thankyou. It is good to hear some previously unknown Holst compositions besides the immensly popluar The Planets and a band piece here and there.

[@cynic150]

What a marvelous piece! Excellent orchestration and structure. Terrific use of the brass. This ought to be played more often. An English masterpiece. Bravo, Ulster Orchestra!

[@stefmethaudsw]

Holst used to be a trombone player, he traveled through England, playing with military bands, brass bands, theatre orchestras. He composed a lot for brass bands and military bands. One of his most famous piece for brass band, Moore Side Suite (1928) has been re-orchestrated later for orchestra

[@cynic150]

@@stefmethaudsw He also taught at a girls' school in Hammersmith (he composed a piece with this name). In my view, his harmony and counterpoint were second to none; he even advised Vaughan Williams on how to compose and orchestrate.

[@nickwright6034]

Excellent.

[@majorclassics2512]

Cotswold Symphony is one of my favourites!

[@radiootoo]

" ... At 20, Holst moved to London to continue his musical studies. He would spend the rest of his life in the city, but he always remembered and stayed faithful to his origins and often returned to revisit the familiar pathways and countryside. In 1900, aged 25, he completed ‘The Cotswolds’ symphony, during a period when he was touring as a trombonist with the Carl Rosa opera company." A powerful, prewar pastoral if ever one was. composed

[@theodiggers]

tromboner?

[@calgarywino]

@@theodiggers lol

[@dorotheekreidl6626]

@@theodiggers ü 8

[@jonbreen1]

Beautiful piece. Thank you for posting.

[@History-Channel44]

Thank you for posting that beautiful comment, 2 years ago...

[@grimefighter8867]

The first few notes is like what they play on the inside of a castle when the king arrives

[@hectorbarrionuevo6034]

The first movement is triumphant, optimistic, starting with a short, brassy, fanfare. Movement II is lyrical, elegiac, but also returns to the triumphant fanfare --which greatly features again in the joyous scherzo and triumphant finale. Love Holst style here !!!!

[@sightablestudiosofficial]

I vision a kingdom getting ready to celebrate.

[@radiootoo]

SIGHTABLE STUDIOS England would be at war in a few short years... (sigh!)

[@belych]

Восхитительно!!!

[@03noyakon35]

Thank you! I love it!

[@AlbertoSordiAlexander777]

Cotswolds: beautiful place, I was here.

[@johngeorge2285]

I went up the tower in 1968 never took photo, you didn't in those days, never seen it since thank you.

[@manchestertart5614]

Lots of KZbin videos of the Cotswolds available,why not take a virtual tour?

[@Belfreyite]

I agree and hear a distant likeness to Rachmaninov's Isle of the Dead around 10 minutes. Holst is a master of Brass sounds.

[@ziggurat-builder8755]

I have never heard this before!!

[@eyesandears6341]

Full of youthful exuberance (apart from the elegy)! The scherzo could have been by Arthur Sullivan. Like many, I have never come across it before. Thanks for posting.

[@quinnimon]

great track.

[@ProfessorSyndicateFranklai]

This sounds so much like it was used in some movie.

[@Rhoadssh4]

un medley de la musique hollywoodienne !!!

[@billhowells9142]

A rather nice rustic, market day jollity about it which is what appears to be the aim. Maybe more a tone poem than symphony perhaps?

[@saxon954]

So much of the rich inheritance provided by the English composers is ignored by the classical media because it does not fit in to the small minded niche that comprises solely of the European Masters so beloved by the Poseurs .

[@andrewpetersen5272]

Not quite sure why you would believe that. A great deal of British music has been recorded.

[@peterschorn1]

The swashbuckling air that starts about 17:17 sounds like Eric Korngold! Maybe it inspired "The Sea Hawk."

[@MariaGomez-xr7zi]

Nairobi ❤❤

[@tempusestiocundum3549]

It reminds me of Schubert's IX symphony!

[@Hb1290Logos]

from 0:00 it's like the opening of a movie

[@malcolmreeve7475]

I agree with Keith Thomas. I bet he was walking the Cotswolds when he composed this symphony.

[@edmundbloxam2714]

I just hope he didn't walk into a tree whilst doing it.

[@johnwaller2886]

Makes me wish i could be there right now (18.25) Friday 25th October and wander like a tramp or gypsy forever!!!!

[@MrBandit85205]

I play second chair, cello quite beautiful

[@johnclarke1674]

The tower is Broadway Tower. It's a folly but three people were wrongly hanged there in the 1600s for the murder of a tax collector near Chipping Campden a few miles away even though his body was never found. The tax collector re-appeared one year later and claimed that he had been taken and sold as a slave to the Turks. The story is called the "Campden Wonder".

[@BruiserBailey1]

Thanks. I was wondering about the tower. Your story is certainly told a dark and eerie one. Since the tower was completed in 1798 I gather the story relates to the hill not the tower.

[@mccmusicus]

Did anyone mention, in connection with fine & under-exposed Holst works, Beni Mora of 1910? Of which RVW said that had it been premiered in Paris rather than London, it would have made Holst's reputation then & there (it certainly bears comparison with its near-contemporary, Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole, which did much to put Ravel sur le carte). If anyone is interested in eavesdropping on RVW and Holst talking about music (& dont know it already), the book 'Heirs and Rebels' is a collection of letters between the two and well worth digging out. . .

[@federicopalaciostrigo9739]

Ya sabía yo que Holst había compuesto algo más que la Suit de los Planetas(...)

[@joeboei]

13:37

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

Holst has other compositions?!

[@Musicrafter12]

+PairInstabilityType Holst himself was somewhat annoyed that the only piece anyone knew by him was the Planets. Beethoven was annoyed that the only piece everyone knew from him was the Moonlight Sonata (his comment on the subject was made prior to Fur Elise, the Fifth, and the Ninth). Lots of composers had their "famous hits" that they personally felt weren't their best work.

[@BlackSailPass_GuitarCovers]

***** Thanks, I will.

[@TibusHeth]

Tell it to Barber

[@JCaroleClarke]

I know - incredible isn't it! Not just the Cotswolds but St. Paul's Suite. Somerset Rhapsody. Far out. Hope it evokes the area and is not just a title put on an unnamed work.

[@Ohjeezno]

That is something lots of musicians have to deal with ;)

[@VeselovDS]

Класс! Английский рожок и валторны очень бодрят.

[@spacemanspud7073]

4:45 7:20 10:30 11:20 14:44

[@jackmccoy66]

17:26 22:19

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

This symphony written between 1899-1900 has 4 very different movements, almost unconnected, which is perhaps the reasons behind its lack of popularity or performance. It is not program music, neither does it relate to any particular area of the Cotswolds. The best movement for me is the Finale that shows influences of Brahms fused with English folk music. Brilliant signs of the inventiveness of what was to follow later.

[@ianfrancis777]

Who were the greatest English composers?

[@jackhousman6637]

Well, off the top of my head: There's John Dunstable, WIlliam Byrd, Thomas Weelkes, John Wilbey, John Dowland (possibly Irish, we don't know for sure), Orlando Gibbons, John Blow, John TaveRner, John Tavener, (not the same guy),Thomas Tallis, Henry Purcell, Ralph Vaughn Williams, Gustav Holst Arnold Bax, Michael Tippet, Frederick Delius, Edward Elgar, Ethel Smyth, Frank Bridge, York Bowen, Arthur Bliss. Lots more. Enjoy.

[@ianfrancis777]

I just want a list of the top two or three standouts. Your list makes my head swim and makes me feel like a music history illiterate. Also, weren't the English composers better known for their short pieces and the "song".

[@ianfrancis777]

Finally, where are the modern day Beethovens and Mozarts? I know part of the reason that this long form music would not go over because people are too busy and want the immediacy of a song or a short piece.

[@sophiewolff-wigley8039]

From what I have heard of these composers and the general opinion, Edward Elgar is up there as one of the greatest - and most popular - English composers. He wrote Pomp and Circumstance, Enigma Variations, etc. I personally also love Gustav Holst, especially his Seven Scottish Airs and St Paul's Suite.

[@ianfrancis777]

Thank you for you input, Sophie. I should know these things.

[@kwijibo33]

2:25 Theme of Superman??? :-)

[@Daikini0]

+Michael Hullin stolen from the best... Gustav Holst. Like from Gustav Holst - Planets: Star Wars, Skyrim

[@History-Channel44]

The theme of everything my friend :) the theme of everything...

[@plastique45]

Not even close, clean your ears.

[@WMAlbers1]

What building is that in the picture?

[@paulmclaughlin4106]

Broadway Tower in Gloucestershire

[@manchestertart5614]

Broadway Tower is in Worcestershire

[@nikitofin]

does anyone have the score for this symphony? i cant find it!!

[@johnsimmons3844]

I think it was 2-0

[@ShorkGamer]

damn trolling xD

[@geoffwalker9392]

It doesn't appear to be published - certainly not on the current Novello catalogue. But there must be a set of hire psrts somewhere although I can't see where. The Gustav Holst Society would know if anyone did.

[@danielsimmons7970]

fabermusic.com

[@goodmanmusica]

potrebbe essere di chiunque dell'epoca, ma bel pezzo.

[@History-Channel44]

fodasse caralho!

[@lucrezialucas3681]

II. Tristan?

[@melaninmaestro]

To any Americans listening in, 22:04 gave me a brief "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" reference. I doubt it was an influence, but it's possible, seeing the song was written 8 years later.

[@kevinavison9943]

+Jaman Dunn always possible! These thing live in the "ether" & pop up in unexpected places. Actually the melody of "Take Me Out.." is pretty simple & has similarities to a number of popular numbers (though les well-known than that one in the US). There is a musical hall song about going to the fair which is quite similar too. Holst himself manged to weave in lots of little quotations from British folk & popular songs while making them entirely his own!

[@Insperato62]

Actually, I hear a hint of Cotswold Morris - but then I was married to a Morris dancer for a couple of decades!

[@flemmingranch8777]

Det underlige sommerhus i Skotland. Besynderligt højt hus bygget som en del af en borg, men bygherren havde pludselig ikke råd til at bygge det færdigt. Derfor et halvt højt hus, der kun kan bruges om sommeren. Men udsigten er ret god.........

[@manchestertart5614]

It’s Broadway Tower in Worcestershire.

[@History-Channel44]

Where can I hear this symphony? I cant find it...

[@robertbettens1]

NAXOS 8. 572914: Title Walt Whitman Overture, Op.7,H42 / The Cotswolds Symphony in F major, Op.8, H47 / A Winter Idyll, H31 / Japanese Suite, Op.33, H126 / Indra, Symphonic Poem, Op.13, H66

[@heterosectional]

CHEERS TO KZbin!

[@271250cl]

Many have praised this piece here and it certainly is very pleasant, but it isn't at all representative of the mature, 'great' Holst. It's a nice, 'prentice-piece, wholly uncharacteristic of the man who wrote, Egdon Heath, The Hymn of Jesus, St Paul's Suite and The Planets.

[@radiootoo]

Colin Right. It predates The Great war by several years. The prewar pastorals of Gurney and Williams come to mind.

[@GarlandPollard]

Seems to suit the name and place... so glad to hear something other than planets and see how work evolved

[@jimsonisolation]

What you say, Colin, is completely true, but I still find this piece most joyous!

[@VastKrutEmpire]

The "period" of a composer's career when a piece is created is irrelevant to its worth. What matters is solely is the impact the piece has on the listener. Even if a piece is derivative of other composers' work, if is enjoyable and memorable, then it is enjoyable and memorable. What good is a "mature" piece of music if few enjoy listening to it?

[@Protonixum]

Assez classique et sans saveur à côté de la suite "les planètes". Dommage !

[@MrShanks021]

si tu veux des pieces avec que de l'action sans émotions douces alors écoute 1812 overture en boucle comme n'importe quelle débutant et n'insulte pas des chef-d'oeuvres stp

[@Protonixum]

Ha ha ha 🤣🤣 excellente ta réponse ! Il ne faut pas le prendre comme cela 😊. J'ai le droit d'être déçu quand même.

[@glbkstf6145]

@@MrShanks021 "N'importe quel débutant" c'est dingue quand même de faire des tiers-list des goûts de chacun pour se sentir supérieur

[@MrShanks021]

@@glbkstf6145 mon commentaire date de 5 ans hahaha j'avais 15 ans mon dude

[@glbkstf6145]

@@MrShanks021 Ahah oui j'avais pas vu mille excuses