Editing Gustav Holst (section)

===Full flowering===
====''The Planets''====
{{Main|The Planets}}
[[File:Holst-Planets-Saturn-score.jpg|thumb|The opening of "Saturn", the fifth movement of ''The Planets'']]
Holst conceived the idea of ''The Planets'' in 1913, partly as a result of his interest in astrology,{{refn|Holst was reading [[Alan Leo]]'s booklet ''What is a Horoscope?'' at the time.<ref>Short, p. 122</ref>|group=n}} and also from his determination, despite the failure of ''Phantastes'', to produce a large-scale orchestral work.<ref name=dnb/> The chosen format may have been influenced by Schoenberg's [[Five Pieces for Orchestra|''Fünf Orchesterstücke'']], and shares something of the aesthetic, Matthews suggests, of [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]]'s ''[[Nocturnes (Debussy)|Nocturnes]]'' or ''[[La mer (Debussy)|La mer]]''.<ref name=grove/><ref>Dickinson (1995), p. 169</ref> Holst began composing ''The Planets'' in 1914; the movements appeared not quite in their final sequence; "Mars" was the first to be written, followed by "Venus" and "Jupiter". "Saturn", "Uranus" and "Neptune" were all composed during 1915, and "Mercury" was completed in 1916.<ref name=grove/>

Each planet is represented with a distinct character; Dickinson observes that "no planet borrows colour from another".<ref>Dickinson (1995), p. 168</ref> In "Mars", a persistent, uneven [[Cell (music)|rhythmic cell]] consisting of five beats, combined with trumpet calls and harmonic dissonance provides battle music which Short asserts is unique in its expression of violence and sheer terror, "...&nbsp;Holst's intention being to portray the reality of warfare rather than to glorify deeds of heroism".<ref>Short, p. 123</ref> In "Venus", Holst incorporated music from an abandoned vocal work, ''A Vigil of Pentecost'', to provide the opening; the prevalent mood within the movement is of peaceful resignation and nostalgia.<ref name=Matthews84/><ref>Short, pp. 126–127</ref> "Mercury" is dominated by uneven metres and rapid changes of theme, to represent the speedy flight of the winged messenger.<ref>Dickinson (1995), pp. 121–122</ref> "Jupiter" is renowned for its central melody, "[[Thaxted (tune)|Thaxted]]", in Dickinson's view "a fantastic relaxation in which many retain a far from sneaking delight".<ref name=Dickinson123>Dickinson (1995), pp. 123–124</ref> Dickinson and other critics have decried the later use of the tune in the patriotic hymn "[[I Vow to Thee, My Country]]"—despite Holst's full complicity.<ref name=dnb/><ref name=Dickinson123/>{{refn|Alan Gibbs, who edited Dickinson's book, remarks in a footnote that, perhaps fortunately, neither Dickinson nor Imogen was alive to hear the "deplorable 1990s version" of the Jupiter tune, sung as an anthem at the Rugby World Cup.<ref name=Dickinson123/>|group=n}}

For "Saturn", Holst again used a previously composed vocal piece, ''Dirge and Hymeneal'', as the basis for the movement, where repeated chords represent the relentless approach of old age.<ref>Short, pp. 128–129</ref> "Uranus", which follows, has elements of [[Hector Berlioz|Berlioz]]'s ''[[Symphonie fantastique]]'' and [[Paul Dukas|Dukas]]'s ''[[The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Dukas)|The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]'', in its depiction of the magician who "disappears in a whiff of smoke as the sonic impetus of the movement diminishes from [[Dynamics (music)#Dynamic markings|fff to ppp]] in the space of a few bars".<ref>Short, pp. 130–131</ref> "Neptune", the final movement, concludes with a wordless female chorus gradually receding, an effect which Warrack likens to "unresolved timelessness&nbsp;... never ending, since space does not end, but drifting away into eternal silence".<ref name=dnb/> Apart from his concession with "I Vow to Thee..."', Holst insisted on the unity of the whole work, and opposed the performance of individual movements.<ref name=dnb/> Nevertheless, Imogen wrote that the piece had "suffered from being quoted in snippets as background music".<ref name=H663>Holst (1980), p. 663</ref>

====Maturity====
[[File:Holst-by-rothenstein-1920.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.6|alt=pencil drawing of Holst in middle age|Holst drawn by [[William Rothenstein]], 1920]]
During and after the composition of ''The Planets'', Holst wrote or arranged numerous vocal and choral works, many of them for the wartime Thaxted Whitsun Festivals, 1916–18. They include the ''Six Choral Folksongs'' of 1916, based on [[West Country]] tunes, of which "Swansea Town", with its "sophisticated tone", is deemed by Dickinson to be the most memorable.<ref>Dickinson (1995), pp. 96—97</ref> Holst downplayed such music as "a limited form of art" in which "mannerisms are almost inevitable";<ref>Short, p. 137</ref> the composer Alan Gibbs, however, believes Holst's set at least equal to Vaughan Williams's ''Five English Folk Songs'' of 1913.<ref>Gibbs, p. 128</ref>

Holst's first major work after ''The Planets'' was ''[[The Hymn of Jesus]]'', completed in 1917. The words are from a [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] text, the apocryphal [[Acts of John#Section B|Acts of John]], using a translation from the Greek which Holst prepared with assistance from Clifford Bax and Jane Joseph.<ref>Dickinson (1995), p. 25</ref> Head comments on the innovative character of the ''Hymn'': "At a stroke Holst had cast aside the Victorian and Edwardian sentimental oratorio, and created the precursor of the kind of works that [[John Tavener]], for example, was to write in the 1970s".<ref name=Hymn>{{cite journal|last= Head|first= Raymond|title= The Hymn of Jesus: Holst's Gnostic Exploration of Time and Space|jstor= 946668|journal= Tempo|issue= 209|date= July 1999|pages= 7–13}}</ref> Matthews has written that the ''Hymn''{{'}}s "ecstatic" quality is matched in English music "perhaps only by Tippett's ''The Vision of Saint Augustine''";<ref name=grove/> the musical elements include plainsong, two choirs distanced from each other to emphasise dialogue, dance episodes and "explosive chordal dislocations".<ref name=Hymn/>

In the ''Ode to Death'' (1918–19), the quiet, resigned mood is seen by Matthews as an "abrupt volte-face" after the life-enhancing spirituality of the ''Hymn''.<ref name=grove/> Warrack refers to its aloof tranquillity;<ref name=dnb/> Imogen Holst believed the ''Ode'' expressed Holst's private attitude to death.<ref name=H663/> The piece has rarely been performed since its premiere in 1922, although the composer [[Ernest Walker (composer)|Ernest Walker]] thought it was Holst's finest work to that date.<ref>Dickinson (1995), p. 36</ref>

The influential critic [[Ernest Newman]] considered ''The Perfect Fool'' "the best of modern British operas",<ref>{{cite news|last=Newman|first=Ernest|title=The Week in Music|newspaper=The Manchester Guardian|date=30 August 1923|page=5}}</ref> but its unusually short length (about an hour) and parodic, whimsical nature—described by ''The Times'' as "a brilliant puzzle"—put it outside the operatic mainstream.<ref name=timespf>{{cite news|title=The Perfect Fool|newspaper=The Times|date=15 May 1923|page=12}}</ref> Only the ballet music from the opera, which ''The Times'' called "the most brilliant thing in a work glittering with brilliant moments", has been regularly performed since 1923.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Unfamiliar Holst|newspaper=The Times|date=11 December 1956|page=5}}</ref> Holst's libretto attracted much criticism, although [[Edwin Evans (music critic)|Edwin Evans]] remarked on the rare treat in opera of being able to hear the words being sung.<ref>Short, p. 214</ref>