Concert band (Piccolo, 1st Flute, 2nd Flute, 1st/2nd Oboes*, Eb Clarinet*, 1st B...(+)
Concert band (Piccolo,
1st Flute, 2nd Flute,
1st/2nd Oboes*, Eb
Clarinet*, 1st Bb
Clarinet, 2nd Bb
Clarinet, 3rd Bb
Clarinet, Eb Alto
Clarinet*, Bb Bass
Clarinet, 1st/2nd
Bassoon, 1st Eb Alto
Saxophone, 2nd Eb Alto
Saxophone, Bb Tenor
Saxophone, Eb Baritone
Saxophone*,) - grade 5
SKU: CN.R10018
Composed by J. Curnow.
Arranged by James Curnow.
Band Music. Score and
parts. Duration 11:15.
Published by G & M Brand
Music Publishers
(CN.R10018).
The melodies in
Songs of the West differ
in styles, keys, and
tempos. The nautical
nature of the coastal
region is evident in many
of the melodies.
Gustav Holst did
not have much success in
getting his early
compositions published.
In 1905, he began a
career as a gifted
teacher when he was
appointed Director of
Music at St. Paul's Girls
School in Hammersmith. It
was also a time when he
developed the friendship
of Ralph Vaughan Williams
and the two developed an
interest in English folk
music. This became a
turning point in Holst's
style as he left behind
the heaviness of the
Wagnerian style for the
simplicity of folk
melodies. Vaughan
Williams wrote 'we were
dazzled, we wanted to
preach a new gospel, we
wanted to rhapsodise on
these tunes just as Liszt
and Grieg had done on
theirs - we simply were
fascinated by the tunes.'
Enthusiastic archivist
Cecil Sharp, of the Folk
Song Society, encouraged
Holst to write 'Two
Selections of Folk Songs'
based on material Sharp
had collected in the West
of England. Songs of the
West was the first of the
pair noted as Opus 22 was
written in 1906; A
Somerset Rhapsody was
completed the following
year. The melodies in
Songs of the West differ
in styles, keys, and
tempos. The nautical
nature of the coastal
region is evident in many
of the melodies.
Originally written for
orchestra, noted composer
James Curnow was
commissioned in 1986 to
arrange the work for
concert band.
Gustav Holst, 1906
