Holst: Vocal Works

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Explore the complete catalog of Vocal compositions by Holst. This curated list includes composition years, historical Wikipedia context, and interactive audio to add specific tracks directly to your listening queue.

Title Year Actions
2 Eastern Pictures, for chorus and harp

The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1917. In the last movement the orchestra is joined by a wordless female chorus. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System and reflects its astrological significance. The premiere of The Planets was at the Queen's Hall, London, on 29 September 1918, conducted by Holst's friend Adrian Boult before an invited audience of about 250 people. Three concerts at which movements from the suite were played were given in 1919 and early 1920. The first complete performance at a public concert was given at the Queen's Hall on 15 November 1920 by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Albert Coates. The innovative nature of Holst's music caused some initial hostility among a minority of critics, but the suite quickly became and has remained popular, influential and widely performed. The composer conducted two recordings of the work, and it has been recorded at least 80 times subsequently by conductors, choirs and orchestras from the UK and internationally.

2 Motets, op. 43, H.159-160

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

2 Psalms, for chorus, strings and organ, H.117

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

3 Carols, H.133

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

4 Old English Carols, op. 20b, H.82

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

4 Songs, for soprano and violin, op. 35, H.132

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

4 Songs, op. 4. H.14

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

6 Choral Folk Songs, op. 36b, H.136

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

6 Songs, for soprano and piano, op. 16, H.69

Johannes Brahms (; German: [joˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms] ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied yet expressive contrapuntal textures. He adapted the traditional structures and techniques of a wide historical range of earlier composers. His œuvre includes four symphonies, four concertos, a Requiem, much chamber music, and hundreds of folk-song arrangements and Lieder, among other works for symphony orchestra, piano, organ, and choir. Born to a musical family in Hamburg, Brahms began composing and concertizing locally in his youth. He toured Central Europe as a pianist in his adulthood, premiering many of his own works and meeting Franz Liszt in Weimar. Brahms worked with Ede Reményi and Joseph Joachim, seeking Robert Schumann's approval through Joachim. He gained both Robert and Clara Schumann's support and guidance. Brahms stayed with Clara in Düsseldorf, becoming devoted to her amid Robert's insanity and institutionalization. The two remained close, lifelong friends after Robert's death. Brahms never married, perhaps in an effort to focus on his work as a musician and scholar. He was a self-conscious, sometimes severely self-critical composer. Though innovative, his music was considered relatively conservative within the polarized context of the War of the Romantics, an affair in which Brahms regretted his public involvement. His compositions were largely successful, attracting a growing circle of supporters, friends, and musicians. Eduard Hanslick celebrated them polemically as absolute music, and Hans von Bülow even cast Brahms as the successor of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven, an idea Richard Wagner mocked. Settling in Vienna, Brahms conducted the Singakademie and Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, programming the early and often "serious" music of his personal studies. He considered retiring from composition late in life but continued to write chamber music, especially for Richard Mühlfeld. Brahms's contributions and craftsmanship were admired by his contemporaries like Antonín Dvořák, whose music he enthusiastically supported, and a variety of later composers. Max Reger and Alexander Zemlinsky reconciled Brahms's and Wagner's often contrasted styles. So did Arnold Schoenberg, who emphasized Brahms's "progressive" side. He and Anton Webern were inspired by the intricate structural coherence of Brahms's music, including what Schoenberg termed its developing variation. It remains a staple of the concert repertoire, continuing to influence composers into the 21st century.

7 Partsongs, for soprano, female chorus and strings, op. 44, H.162

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in 1931.

A Choral Fantasia, for soprano, chorus, organ, strings, brass, and percussion, op. 51, H.177

This is a list of composers who have written symphonies, listed in chronological order by year of birth, alphabetical within year. It includes only composers of significant fame, notability or importance who have Wikipedia articles. For lists of music composers by other classifications, see Lists of composers.

A Dirge for Two Veterans, for male chorus, brass, and percussion, H.121

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

Ave Maria, for female chorus, op. 9b, H.49

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

Bring us in Good Ale, op. 34, no. 4, H.131

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, op. 26, H.97-100

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

Christmas Day, H.109

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

First Choral Symphony, op. 41

The BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London. It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though it performs with other national and international orchestras.

Hymns from the Rig Veda, op. 24, H.90

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

I Vow to Thee, My Country, H.148

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

In the Bleak Midwinter, for chorus and organ, H.73

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

Lullay My Liking, for soprano and chorus, op. 34, no. 2, H.129

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

My Sweetheart's Like Venus, arranged for chorus

RCA Camden was a budget record label launched by RCA Victor in 1955. Initially a classical label, it later expanded to include re-releases of older pop records, including those of Elvis Presley.

Nunc dimittis, H.127

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

O Lady, Leave that Silken Thread, H.4/2

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

O Lady, Leave That Silken Thread, part-song for unaccompanied mixed chorus, H.4/1
Ode to Death, op. 38, H.144

Ode to Death, H. 144, Op. 38, is a musical composition for chorus and orchestra written by English composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) in 1919. It is a setting of a passage from Walt Whitman's 1865 elegy When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, which was written to mourn the death of American president Abraham Lincoln. After World War I, Gustav Holst turned to the last section of Whitman's elegy to mourn friends killed in the war in composing his Ode to Death. Holst saw Whitman "as a New World prophet of tolerance and internationalism as well as a new breed of mystic whose transcendentalism offered an antidote to encrusted Victorianism." Sullivan also says, "Holst invests Whitman's vision of 'lovely and soothing death' with luminous open chords that suggest a sense of infinite space....Holst is interested here in indeterminacy, a feeling of the infinite, not in predictability and closure." In the Ode to Death, the quiet, resigned mood is seen by Matthews as an "abrupt volte-face" after the life-enhancing spirituality of the Hymn. Imogen Holst believed the Ode expressed Holst's private attitude to death. According to fellow composers Ralph Vaughan Williams and Ernest Walker it is considered by many to be Holst's most beautiful choral work.

Personent hodie

"Personent hodie" is a Christmas carol originally published in the 1582 Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a volume of 74 Medieval songs with Latin texts collected by Jacobus Finno (Jaakko Suomalainen), a Swedish Lutheran cleric, and published by T.P. Rutha. The song book had its origins in the libraries of cathedral song schools, whose repertory had strong links with medieval Prague, where clerical students from Finland and Sweden had studied for generations. A melody found in a 1360 manuscript from the nearby Bavarian city of Moosburg in Germany is highly similar, and it is from this manuscript that the song is usually dated.

Short Partsongs, H.13

Quintuple meter or quintuple time is a musical meter characterized by five beats in a measure, whether variably or equally stressed. Like the more common duple, triple, and quadruple meters, it may be simple, with each beat divided in half, or compound, with each beat divided into thirds. The most common time signatures for simple quintuple meter are 54 and 58; compound quintuple meter is most often written in 158.

Sing Me the Men ere This, op. 43, no. 2, H.160

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

Songs from The Princess, for female chorus, op. 20a, H.80

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

The Autumn is Old, H.1

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

The Cloud Messenger, op. 30, H.111

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

The Evening-watch, op. 43, no. 1, H.159

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

The Heart Worships, H.95

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

The Hymn of Jesus, for 2 choruses, female semi-chorus, and orchestra, op. 37, H.140

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

The Mystic Trumpeter, for soprano and orchestra, op. 18, H.71

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

The Wandering Scholar, op. 50, H.176

Imogen Clare Holst (née von Holst; 12 April 1907 – 9 March 1984) was a British composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist and festival administrator. The only child of the composer Gustav Holst, she is particularly known for her educational work at Dartington Hall in the 1940s, and for her 20 years as joint artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival. In addition to composing music, she wrote composer biographies, much educational material and several books on the life and works of her father. From a young age Holst showed precocious talent in composing and performance. After attending Eothen School and St Paul's Girls' School, she entered the Royal College of Music, where she developed her skills as a conductor and won several prizes for composing. Unable to follow her initial ambitions to be a pianist or a dancer for health reasons, Holst spent most of the 1930s teaching, and as a full-time organiser for the English Folk Dance and Song Society. These duties reduced her compositional activities, although she made many arrangements of folksongs. After serving as an organiser for the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts at the start of the Second World War, in 1942 she began working at Dartington. In her nine years there she established Dartington as a major centre of music education and activity. In the early 1950s Holst became Benjamin Britten's musical assistant, moved to Aldeburgh, and began helping with the organisation of the annual Aldeburgh Festival. In 1956 she became joint artistic director of the festival, and during the following 20 years helped it to a position of pre-eminence in British musical life. In 1964 she gave up her work as Britten's assistant to resume her own compositional career and to concentrate on the preservation of her father's musical legacy. Her own music is not widely known and has received little critical attention; much of it is unpublished and unperformed. The first recordings dedicated to her works, issued in 2009 and 2012, were warmly received by critics. She was appointed CBE in 1975 and received numerous academic honours. She died at Aldeburgh and is buried in the churchyard there.

This Have I Done for My True Love, op. 34, no. 1, H.128

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style. There were professional musicians in the previous three generations of Holst's family, and it was clear from his early years that he would follow the same calling. He hoped to become a pianist, but was prevented by neuritis in his right arm. Despite his father's reservations, he pursued a career as a composer, studying at the Royal College of Music under Charles Villiers Stanford. Unable to support himself by his compositions, he played the trombone professionally and later became a teacher—a great one, according to his colleague Ralph Vaughan Williams. Among other teaching activities he built up a strong tradition of performance at Morley College, where he served as musical director from 1907 until 1924, and pioneered music education for women at St Paul's Girls' School, where he taught from 1905 until his death in 1934. He was the founder of a series of Whitsun music festivals, which ran from 1916 for the remainder of his life. Holst's works were played frequently in the early years of the 20th century, but it was not until the international success of The Planets in the years immediately after the First World War that he became a well-known figure. A shy man, he did not welcome this fame, and preferred to be left in peace to compose and teach. In his later years his uncompromising, personal style of composition struck many music lovers as too austere, and his brief popularity declined. Nevertheless, he was an important influence on a number of younger English composers, including Edmund Rubbra, Michael Tippett and Benjamin Britten. Apart from The Planets and a handful of other works, his music was generally neglected until the 1980s, when recordings of much of his output became available.

Wassail Song, H.182

Below is a sortable list of compositions by Gustav Holst. The works are categorized by genre, H. catalogue number (A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music by Imogen Holst, London, Faber Music Ltd., 1974), opus number, date of composition and title.

Winter and the Birds 2, App. 1/40:2

There have been 919 modern Olympians and Paralympians (including Summer Olympic athletes and artists, Summer Paralympians, and Winter Olympians and Paralympians) who have identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, non-binary, and/or queer, or who have openly been in a same-sex relationship. The first Olympic or Paralympic Games in which an athlete now known to be LGBTQ competed was the 1900 Summer Olympics, also the first LGBTQ Para/O-lympic medalist and first contemporaneously out Para/O-lympian. LGBTQ Para/O-lympians have contested events across over 60 sports, as well as several artistic events. The majority of LGBTQ Para/O-lympians are female. The Olympic or Paralympic sport with the most LGBTQ participants is football. The nation with the most out LGBTQ Olympians and Paralympians is the United States, including two who have also competed for other nations. The most decorated LGBTQ Olympian and/or Paralympian is British Paralympic equestrian Lee Pearson, with 17 medals including 14 golds; the most decorated LGBTQ Olympian is Dutch speed skater Ireen Wüst, with 13 medals including 6 golds; the most decorated LGBTQ Summer Olympian is Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe, with 9 medals including 5 golds. LGBTQ Olympians who hold Olympic records include Wüst; footballers Pia Sundhage and Vivianne Miedema; rower Emma Twigg; and triple jumper Yulimar Rojas, who also holds the world record. At least 420 LGBTQ Para/O-lympians are medalists (45.70% of LGBTQ Para/O-lympians), of whom 197 have at least one gold medal (21.44%).

World In Union, for voice and orchestra

"World in Union" is a theme song for the Rugby World Cup. The song's lyrics are by Charlie Skarbek, set to the melody "Thaxted" by Gustav Holst. Skarbek was commissioned to write the song by World Rugby (then the International Rugby Football Board) for the 1991 Rugby World Cup, held in England. It was first performed by New Zealand soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, and has since been performed and recorded by various other musicians. The song's melody, "Thaxted", was originally written in 1914 as the middle section of "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity", a movement from Holst's orchestral suite The Planets. Although the melody was originally wordless, it was later adapted as a hymn tune by Holst for its use in the 1921 British/Anglican patriotic hymn, "I Vow to Thee, My Country", using words by Sir Cecil Spring Rice. The melody has subsequently been paired with numerous other religious texts and secular lyrics.