Holst's discovery in the near-death experience should be attributed to his decades of efforts. Indeed, he has expressed his calm supernatural power in OdetoDeath (written in 19 19). The first three reasons for his gratitude are not surprising. Since childhood, music has completely occupied his life. When he carefully composed "Ode to Jesus" (19 17) in the soundproof room of Sao Paulo Girls' School, when he listened to an excellent wind band playing his suite happily, when he conducted Boston Symphony Orchestra to play Haydn's symphony, or when he led thousands of war-weary soldiers to sing love songs in the Middle East, all these showed that his life was indeed. In fact, he regarded the fame and attention brought by the Planets (1914-16) in the 20th century as a very troublesome thing. He once told his students: "Every artist should pray for himself not to succeed.". If you fail, you will have a better chance to concentrate and exert all your abilities to create the best works. " This is really his heart. The Cotswolds are just south of Seto, holst's hometown. Holst's grandfather, a second-generation immigrant of Scandinavian-Russian descent, came here from 65438 to 1940s, became a musician and teacher in the town, and passed on his major to his son. Before leaving school and entering the Royal Conservatory of Music in London, holst worked as an organist or choir director in several villages in the Cotswolds. He kept his first job by walking back and forth. Although he can turn a blind eye to the surrounding scenery, long-distance walking always makes him "think about new music melodies"
Holst first met Vaughan Williams while studying at 1895 Royal Conservatory of Music. Their relationship developed rapidly and eventually became the most fruitful friendship in the history of British music. They are obsessed with walt whitman's fantasy poems, are keen on William Morris's socialist creed, insist on education as the foundation, and advocate that artists are public servants of society. They all directly participated in the exploration and excavation of Tudor church music and Purcell music, and this enthusiasm was also passed on to later composers such as Tippett and Britten. In fact, they are more supportive and complementary to each other. Because when they met, holst was already a professional performer. He plays trombone in orchestras and street bands in different theaters. At first, he learned to play the trumpet to treat his asthma. Vaughan Williams makes a living by providing technical guidance for other people's orchestral composition. On the other hand, it is the English Hymns written by Vaughan Williams through field investigation and two years' work that aroused holst's great interest in folk dance music and folk songs, one-part hymns and hymn poetics.
For a period of time in the 20th century, they seemed to have some artistic estrangement, but their personal friendship never lost. 1934 in may, holst successfully underwent an operation for gastric ulcer, but died unexpectedly due to heart failure a few days later. The news made Vaughan Williams dizzy. He wrote: "The only thing I can think of now is which way I should go. What would we do without him? Everything reminds me of him: what is Gustav thinking, what advice will he make ...? "
What is holst's fourth reason for gratitude "being familiar with the objective laws of orchestral performance"? For many band players, especially string players, this problem is the most annoying thing in their band life after all. This involves a mystery about holst's character. All the accounts about him, including the biography written by his daughter Imogen, say that he is a generous, kind and approachable person, who is very simple intellectually and socially. He only likes to entertain his friends with steak and beer at George's house on Broadway in hammersmith. But through these kind acts, many people still feel his "other side", as if his inner self was completely different.
Holst has a stepmother who loves theism after her mother died very early. When I was in my twenties, I was attracted by Indian mythology and began to learn Sanskrit to translate Rigveda myself. The creation of Planet is inspired by the infinite charm of astrology. His interest in such mysterious and profound things stems from his "other" personality. At the beginning of the 20th century, quite a few artists shared this otherness, such as scriabin, Kandinsky or Ye Zhi, and they became an integral part of the modernist subculture. As far as holst is concerned, he seems to attribute the objective stream of consciousness to a supernatural socialism. He said: "I firmly believe that the environment in which we live has made us to a great extent, and we can't do anything in isolation. Everything worth doing is the result of the cooperation of several minds. " Therefore, the composer's role is not only to serve the society as a carrier, but also to express his personal potential musical feelings from the surrounding environment. It is quite important that holst basically maintains the agnostic view. Holst's selfless attitude made him lose some utilitarian consciousness. Composers such as elgar, Walton, Tippett, Britten and even Vaughan Williams all tried their best to create first-class masterpieces. 1903, holst tried to enter the field of music education, and almost finished his life. At that time, he not only taught in two girls' schools, but also in several colleges for working-class adults, such as the night school department of Murray College. He organized students' performances, such as 19 1 for the first time, Pentecost in Thaxter during World War I, and TheFairyQueen by purcell. It is also difficult to give too much evaluation to holst's achievements. Whether it's the formal examination and the opening of "Music Appreciation Class", or the existing learning content in the school is so boring, holst can devote himself to his work. Even if students have only the most elementary level of playing and singing skills, they will be arranged to participate in performances as much as possible. If he can't find suitable works, he will create some by himself, or guide students to create. Now it seems that this is the core of heuristic music education. They made useful attempts more than 90 years ago and became practical pioneers.
Holst's work made him exhausted, which not only made him suffer from neurasthenia in 1923, but also greatly restricted his own creation. He can only compose music on sundays and a few weeks in summer, which leads to his own work going on and off. hall
When he was a student, Scott was completely immersed in Wagner's music. Later, as an "early melancholy" in his twenties, he stayed away from romantic works. However, his passionate vocal poem Indra (1903) and imaginative poem Themysticdrummer (1904) all reflect his unique creation. If the scenery description in "AsomersetRhapsody" (1907) shows holst's "long-term" concern for folk songs, then "Oriental Suite Benimora" (19 10) and the large chorus "The Cloud Messenger". The most surprising thing is Planet, which comes from Schoenberg style. Undoubtedly, the musical concept and many details are influenced by Schoenberg's revolutionary five orchestral works, such as the use of Arabic piano in Venus and the strange harmony in Neptune. Schoenberg's five orchestral works caused a sensation in London before the First World War. In any case, Planet is the pinnacle of holst's first creative period. This work filled holst with new self-confidence, which was quickly expressed in the extraordinary masterpiece The Hymn of Jesus (1917). But we also feel sorry for his illness in the next few years. His health hindered his creation. In addition, his "Egdon Heath" (1927) and "Lyric Movement for Viola and Small Orchestra" (1933) adapted ancient folk music into novel and unforgettable simple and beautiful music. Choral Fantasia (1930) and Hammer Smith (1930) written for military bands embody his strong experimental consciousness and paranoid spirituality in the use of harmony and counterpoint. Perhaps in his passionate scherzo for the symphony orchestra (1933-4), there is a hint that he will die at such a bad time.
There is no doubt that holst's music creation has become an incomplete system because of the shortening of his life. Perhaps this reflects its outstanding characteristics-the mixture of simplicity and initiative, the interweaving of enthusiasm and brilliance with rationality and wisdom-all of which made composers of that period such as elgar, Vaughan Williams and Bacchus fall behind. Now it seems that this is its historical significance. If holst is regarded as a driving force of Britten's music creation, if Jesus' hymns inspire Tippett's fantasy tendency, and if Egdon wasteland helps Birtwistle show the indifference of the terrain, can we be sure that holst's potential influence has now developed normally?