Gustav Holst : The Hymn of Jesus, for mixed choruses, female semi chorus and orchestra Op. 37 (1917)
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- Опубліковано 14 кві 2019
- Performed by the St Paul's Cathedral Choir, the London Symphony Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Groves.
Glorious --
I participated in a choral performance of this great work while a college student in 1973, but had no inkling of what the grand concepts in the text meant. All these years later, I am beginning to know --- and am humbly grateful that I've been allowed to live long enough to make that beginning... Glory to Thee, O Grace.
I think that, in addition to his other talents, Holst may be the greatest choral writer Britain has ever produced - able to conjure unearthly effects apparently effortlessly. It goes without saying that The Hymn of Jesus is truly visionary even after all these years - one minute, barnstorming in the traditional "English" sense - the next, pitching you into completely uncharted harmonic territory. What a piece!
Beautiful; the female voices remind me of the latter parts of Holst's "The Planets."
This is wonderful music plus Sir Charles puts his magic touch to it 👍
5:16
Thanks for sharing, Bill. I too participated in a performance of the "Hymn of Jesus" shortly after I arrived in my new home in San Francisco. I don't read a note of music, but I had a deep, resonant baritone voice and the director/conductor of the group insisted that the 6 months of rehearsals would prepare me. Just before the concert, the director assured us that we knew the piece, and implored us not to get lost in the music-look up and follow his direction. We first sang "Brahms: A German Requiem" (The "Hymn" was too short a piece to be a stand-alone concert.) For the first 5 or so minutes of the "Requiem", I felt like I was on a wild roller coaster-I was hanging on for dear life, grasping for each note directly from my score. When I finally looked up, the director sternly caught my eye, and indicated that he needed me to stay with him as he'd asked! With a chorus of 80 singers along with 14 musicians, he nonetheless missed my voice! Following intermission, by comparison, singing the "Hymn of Jesus" was like entering a light, pure ethereal realm. The audience was certainly transported along with us! But as Bill indicates, to be an integral part of such an experience was to be transported almost beyond the senses.
And like Bill, I had no idea about the depth of meaning. I've only recently acquired the "Acts of St. John" ( www.gnosis.org/library/actjohn.htm ) and become aware of the context: this is the core of John's account of The Last Supper! "Divine Grace is dancing... dance ye all!", "The heavenly spheres make music for us; The Holy Twelve dance with us; All things join in the dance! Ye who dance not, know not what we are knowing." But even back then, one line took my breath away in each of the 6 concerts we sang: "Behold in me a couch, Rest on me!" Finally learning more about the origins of this piece 38 years later, I'm even more thrilled to have had such an experience.
When the St Paul's Choir emerge over the Saturn-like slow tread of the orchestra during the opening minutes, it's like moving respectfully through a gateway to an unknown elsewhere, an intangible epiphany whose uncertain insight grows increasingly more powerful as the composition develops. This really is one of Holst's greatest works, the chorus and orchestra in perfect harmony, creating a purity ofsound that is utterly beautiful. A masterpiece? Quite possibly so.......The performance? Whew!!!
Another one I had on HMV Greensleeve with a slightly different set of works to that shown on the CD picture above; it omitted the Short Festival Te Deum included on a different Greensleeve issue) and included Previn's masterly account of "Egdon Heath".
A great work in an inspired and full of energy performance! It brings me many memories of nearly 35 years ago..
This brings back great memories for me as well, Yiannis. I sang in the New England Conservatory Chorus and we did this with the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa in 1973. It was magical.
@@paulheffron4836 Dear Paul, that's an incredible coincidence!! The first time I listened to this marvelous music and performance I was on a plane going to a greek island as a military doctor. The second cassette that I listened to on my portable Walkman was Bartok's Concert for orchestra with the..Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa..! I was under a..spell! I think that in that one-hour-and a half trip my decision to leave medicine for music started to..materialize..Today I'm rehearsing the Missa Solemnis of Beethoven and I am still under that..spell..
@@paulheffron4836 I was at that performance in the audience and , I swear, I nearly soiled myself when the first "Glory to Thee, Father !" sang out. I was so focused on the introduction and the beauty of the first part, I felt I was in Heaven. Then it was if a bolt of lightning came down and struck me. It was the first time I heard the piece but not the first time I heard Holst. Our church choir often performed "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" and "Turn Back, O Man." After the Boston Symphony concert I found the DG album of "The Planets" with William Stenberg conducting the Boston Symphony and the Women of the New England Conservatory Chorus. Lorna Cooke DeVaron was a great choral conductor.
@@washo2222 I'm glad you were there, Bill. I remember one of my fellow basses saying that he felt like we were singing something that was part of the soundtrack to a biblical Hollywood movie like "King of Kings" Listening to this again just now reminded me of this. You are so right about Mrs. deVaron. She passed away in October of 2018. I went to the last concert she conducted in 2006 in Jordan Hall when she retired. It was so nice to talk with her at the nice reception the conservatory had for her.