Holst: Sāvitri

 Day 255

Holst: Sāvitri

Soloists

Purcell Singers

English Chamber Orchestra

Imogen Holst

Like most people my first experience of Holst was The Planets - I think that it was the first or second LP that I ever purchased. I've played it a couple of time since. I also played the two splendid suites for military band in the youth wind band and conducted the ballet music to the Perfect Fool. I've heard other bits and pieces over the years but have never explored his music in depth.

Apparently Holst had many attempts at writing an opera before embarking on Sāvitri. He had tried writing very large scale opera before tuning to this this early example of a chamber opera - for 3 solo voices, female chorus. double string quartet, double bass, two flutes and cor anglais.  I thought that it was a very effective piece, particularly in this performance led by the incomparable Janet Baker. It is quite unlike much of the music being written in England at the time (1916). The textures are light and there is considerable rhythmic freedom. I particularly enjoyed the very inventive music for the wordless female chorus -a reminder that Holst was working on The Planets, which of course uses a wordless female chorus in the final movement.

The only passages which didn't quite come off for me were the occasional moments for the full ensemble , where one detected traces of the Wagnerian influence that Holst had come under earlier in his life and which had not quite worked though his system. But all in all it was a fascinating work and I can understand why so many commentators have rated it highly. Perhaps the very stilted language of the libretto (the composer's own) might get in the way for some modern listeners but that is a small price to pay for some really absorbing music.