Description
Gustav Holst wrote this piece at the age of twenty six, and it became his first published composition. Originally scored for women’s voices the piece points the way towards his more mature style, with long flowing lines and gentle dissonances; a far cry from the dense chromatiscism of Wagner and the solid textures of Victorian church music. All parts in this arrangement cross the break, but the slow tempo and easier key signature put this piece well within the grasp of intermediate players. It also works very well antiphonally, with clarinets 1-4 being separated from clarinets 5-8.
