Editing Gustav Holst (section)

====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>