Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Download not available
Gustav Holst's The Cloud Messenger, Op. 30, of 1913, is all but forgotten. A giant choral-orchestral setting of an epic Sanskrit love poem, the work was, in Holst's mind, to be a major expansion of the music on Indian subjects he had been pursuing since the first years of the century. Unfortunately, the premiere was sunk by a ghastly error (no semi-choir was provided, and the singers attempted to sight-read the music, with predictably disastrous results), and the work fell out of the repertory, eclipsed by more modernist concepts. Even today, it's a substantial budgetary undertaking for even the big British choirs Holst imagined. Hence this chamber arrangement for 15 players by Joseph Fort: the idea is to revive the work, which is doubtless interesting. The piece, unlike some others by Holst of the period, doesn't include much reference to actual Indian music, but it does have an attractively romantic-mystical atmosphere that survives the reduction in forces. The tale recounts the efforts of a king to have a cloud take a message to his wife in the Himalayan mountains. The paean to marital love was a bit out of fashion in the year of The Rite of Spring, but Holst's airy score, coming to rest in quiet ecstasy at the end, reflects the ancient text well. The Choir of King's College London and the Strand Ensemble achieve the right transparent texture, and the choir also does well with the encore, the Five Partsongs, Op. 12, also of a romantic nature. Certainly of interest to Holst buffs, this album will also attract those exploring the question of India in the British cultural mind.
© TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr124,99/month
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - Caitlin Goreing, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Gustav Holst, Composer - The Choir of King's College London, MainArtist - Paul Baxter, Producer - Joseph Fort, MainArtist - The Strand Ensemble, Orchestra - Delphian Records Ltd., MusicPublisher
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Album review
Gustav Holst's The Cloud Messenger, Op. 30, of 1913, is all but forgotten. A giant choral-orchestral setting of an epic Sanskrit love poem, the work was, in Holst's mind, to be a major expansion of the music on Indian subjects he had been pursuing since the first years of the century. Unfortunately, the premiere was sunk by a ghastly error (no semi-choir was provided, and the singers attempted to sight-read the music, with predictably disastrous results), and the work fell out of the repertory, eclipsed by more modernist concepts. Even today, it's a substantial budgetary undertaking for even the big British choirs Holst imagined. Hence this chamber arrangement for 15 players by Joseph Fort: the idea is to revive the work, which is doubtless interesting. The piece, unlike some others by Holst of the period, doesn't include much reference to actual Indian music, but it does have an attractively romantic-mystical atmosphere that survives the reduction in forces. The tale recounts the efforts of a king to have a cloud take a message to his wife in the Himalayan mountains. The paean to marital love was a bit out of fashion in the year of The Rite of Spring, but Holst's airy score, coming to rest in quiet ecstasy at the end, reflects the ancient text well. The Choir of King's College London and the Strand Ensemble achieve the right transparent texture, and the choir also does well with the encore, the Five Partsongs, Op. 12, also of a romantic nature. Certainly of interest to Holst buffs, this album will also attract those exploring the question of India in the British cultural mind.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 23 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:52
- Main artists: The Choir of King's College London Joseph Fort
- Composer: Gustav Holst
- Label: Delphian Records
- Genre: Classical
(C) 2020 Delphian Records LTD (P) 2020 Delphian Records LTD
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.
