Holst Concert on 6 July 2024 at All Saints Church

The Gustav Holst Concert

On the 6th of July the Invicta Wind Orchestra will be giving a concert at All Saints Church at 7.00 pm to commemorate the life of the famous composer, Gustav Holst.

The concert is being organised by The Friends of Ulcombe Church and the profits of the concert will be shared between the Invicta Wind Orchestra and The Friends.

Gustave Holst

Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham in 1874. His father was a local musician and he rapidly showed talent as a pianist. He also started composing at an early age and after study at local schools and practical experience on church organs and in amateur orchestras he eventually entered the Royal College of Music. There he became a life long friend of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Whilst he continued to compose, he played the trombone to earn money, notably in seaside bands during the summer. He carved a career as a music educator, and is well known for his work at Morley College in London, which offered music and drama classes for working people, and as director of music at St Paul’s Girls School. There his talent as a composer as well as a teacher was recognised and he had a sound proof music room where he could concentrate on composing during the school holidays – and that was where he wrote “The Planets”, the orchestral work for which he is most well known. “The Planets” was just one of many works he wrote that were widely performed in his lifetime and he became well known as composer, teacher and festival promoter. His music was part of a new wave of composers with a distinctly English musical language, influenced by using the melodies and harmonies of traditional folk songs, and the simplicity and clarity of old English composers such as Purcell.

Holst wrote three major pieces for wind band, which Invicta Wind Orchestra will perform at Ulcombe on July 6th. Inspired by his experience on seaside bandstands and determined to provide appropriate, original and idiomatic music for the bandsman he wrote two suites. Both are packed with good tunes and feature regularly on classical broadcasts, so you will know them already when you come to hear them live. The first suite uses Holst’s own melodies but is clearly influenced by folk song and Purcell – there’s a splendid repeated bass chaconne in the first movement. The second suite is packed with folk songs, including the famous finale which mixes Greensleeves with the Dargason, and then there’s the catch you out rhythm in the Song of the Blacksmith.

Holst’s third piece is the hauntingly beautiful and descriptive Hammersmith, which depicts the slow moving River Thames and contrasts it with the fast paced excited crowds and the bustle of the market place, complete with firecrackers and street calls.

To balance these three pieces we will also be performing music by Percy Grainger and Ernest Tomlinson, who were more recent exponents of the English folk style, using folk music and undoubtedly influenced by Holst in writing attractive tuneful music, much of which may be known to us even if we can’t name the composer.

We do hope you will join us for an evening of tuneful music, much of which will be familiar!

The Invicta Wind Orchstra.

Invicta Wind Orchestra was founded in 1989 by Jeremy Cooper, giving its first concert in Folkestone in September that year. The group meets several times each year for a day of rehearsals followed by a formal evening concert. We aim to play adventurous music for wind band and members come from as far afield as north London, Oxford, West Sussex and Surrey, as well as from all over Kent. Players include former military musicians and teachers as well as some of the best local players. The group was originally set up by former members of the county youth wind orchestra. We have up to 50 players depending upon the type of programme and the availability of players.

Tickets

Tickets price £10. Can be obtained at the door or in advance from Molly Poulter (phone - 01622 842988 or email - mollycpoulter@gmail.com