David Bacon

Annotated Bibliography
Thesis: It is widely agreed upon that Gustav Holst composed two suites that are some
of the best wind band composing to this day. His two suites, in E-flat and F respectively,
were written for military bands in the early 1900s. These are two of the very few works
that have been transcribed from band to orchestra, and were revolutionary at the time. In
my paper, I will discuss Holsts personal biography as well as the history behind his two
suites and their impact on the wind band. I will also provide a musical analysis of the
movements that are contained in each piece. I feel that this topic is interesting because in
music history, much of the musical credit goes to composers of pieces for orchestra,
voice, and piano. However, because of my musical experience, I find wind band to be
equally interesting and aesthetically pleasing. I wish to share knowledge about wind
band-Holst specifically- and how his music shaped the musical world.
Sources:
Cummings, Robert. "Holst, Gustav 1874-1934." Oxford Music Online, 2012. Accessed
November 8, 2014.
The Oxford Online Music Database has an extensive collection of recordings,
biographies, and scores to look at for a large list of composers. This source not
only had accurate biographies, but I also found many recordings to listen to that
gave me a further understanding of the analysis of the piece. More specifically, I
found that this source enlightened me to a lot of Holsts early life including his
childhood and early works. It also alluded to how he came up with some of his
materials, including a section on his folksong influence that came from the
English Vaughan-Williams.
Garofalo, Robert Joseph. Folk Songs and Dances in Second Suite in F by Gustav Holst.
Silver Spring, Md.: Whirlwind Music, 2011.
In this source, the author uncovered some of the English influence that Holst uses
in his second suite. He iterates that dances and folksongs are appearing
throughout Holsts piece to create contrast between movements as well as to
bring a familiar element to the English listener. This source was helpful in seeing
how Holst grew from his English influences. This source was also much more
specific than my other sources, which have a broader context of Holst as a
person. I appreciated the authors insight into the deeper elements of the piece
rather than just surface comments and plan to allude to those in my paper.
Holst, Gustav. First Suite in E-Flat, Op. 28, No. 1. Edwardsvile, IL: Serenissima Music,
2012.
This recording of Holsts first suite was helpful to my research because I was

able to pinpoint many of the folksongs and English characteristics that I read
about in my other sources. While this is not the only recording I have heard of
this piece, this is the recording that I used for analyzing the piece, and I believe
that based on what I have read, this recording is very accurate to what Holst
wanted accomplished with his piece.
Holst, Gustav. Second Suite in F, Op. 28, No. 2. Edwardsvile, IL: Serenissima Music,
2012.
Similar to the recording of the first suite, this recording was helpful in my
research because I was able to hear many of the folksongs and dances that are
present within the movements of this piece. This ensemble was able to retain a
lot of Holsts original intent with the music, and within that, I have been able to
correlate my knowledge of the piece with an actual performance of the piece.
For my paper, this will be helpful for analysis purposes as well as identifying
specific folk songs and dances that are heard throughout the piece.
Holst, Imogen. Gustav Holst. London: Oxford University Press, 1938.
Imogen Holst is Gustav Holsts daughter. Her biography on him was more
personal than the other biographies that are included in my bibliography. I
appreciated the personal notes because they revealed another aspect of who Holst
was as a father. This source will be useful in comparing information from my
various biographies to make sure that all of the information matches. This source
also included inspirations for pieces, and went into depth about Holsts love of
the folksong. That will be useful to include in my analyses of his two suites,
both of which include the use of folksong.
Huddleston, Howard. Holsts First Suite in Eb for Military Band: An Analysis.
Kansas State University. 1969. Web. 8 Nov 2014.
This source has been helpful because it contains references to sources that I have
previously used for my own research. Mr. Huddleston and I have shared similar
sources, which has made the condensing of my biographical information simpler.
I also think that this source is useful because it goes further in depth into his first
suite, which balances out with my previous source about the second suite. While
I have done my own listening and analyses, it has been helpful to see what other
scholars have heard in Holsts pieces.
Lace, Ian. "A Biography of Gustav Holst." The Gustav Holst Website. 2007. Accessed
November 21, 2014.
While this website might not have the same scholarly value as my others, I felt
that it was worthy of including because of the biographical information that Mr.
Lace gave to his readers. I felt that it was extremely in depth on Holst as a
person and as a composer. There was a plethora of information on other pieces

that Holst wrote as well as his family life, career, and what made him a name in
history. Similarly, I will use this source to consolidate as much accurate
biographical information as I can before I turn my focus to his two suites. As I
see information re-appearing in sources, I have been able to decide which parts
of his biography are very important to include.
Matthews, Colin. Analyses- Gustav Holst, First Suite in E Flat, Op. 28a (1909).
Oklahoma City University. 2011. Web. 8 Nov 2014.
I appreciated this source for the musical analysis that was provided of Holsts first
suite. It discusses a lot of in-depth materials such as chord structure, repeated
melodies that are inverted, return of melodic material, and form. While my other
source on the first suite had references to other sources, this author has come up
with the majority of his materials on his own, which has added a new perspective
to my research. I plan to read his thoughts on an analysis of the piece once I have
solidified my own analytical thougths.
Mitchell, Jon C. From Kneller Hall to Hammersmith: The Band Works of Gustav Holst.
Tutzing: Verlegt Bei Hans Schneider, 1990.
This source, similar to others, contains a significant amount of background
information on Holst as a person. Where this source differs is the emphasis that
it places on his band compositions. I especially liked how this source highlights
the importance of Holsts compositional process for band. Unlike many
composers at the time, Holst did not try to achieve an orchestral sound with a
wind band. He went in a different direction and created something that would set
the standard of whatever came after it. I have used this source to compile more
information on the finer points of Holsts career as a band composer.
Rapp, Will. The Wind Band Masterworks of Holst, Vaughan Williams, and Grainger.
Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications, 2005.
Similar to the previous source by Mitchell, this source offers more information
on the English style of band composition that came from Vaughan Williams,
Grainger, and Holst. There is significant overlap in how these composers used
materials, especially folk songs, and I believe that the information that the author
presents about that is very important for understanding Holsts two suites. While
my paper will solely be about Holst, learning about the style of the other
composers has helped me to see a trend of wind band composers at this time. I
plan to discuss that in my paper and highlight the importance of their common
compositional characteristics.
Short, Michael. Gustav Holst: The Man and His Music. London: Oxford University
Press, 1990.
Short presents a biography focused on both Holst as a man and as a composer. I

liked this biography for the dual perspectives that it revealed. Like others on my
list, I appreciated how there was a contrast between who Holst was apart from
his music. In my research, gaining many biographical perspectives gives me the
best ideas of what Holsts life was really like, which makes it possible for me to
put together an accurate representation of his life and compositions. This book
also includes updated information from what was found in the biography that
Holsts daughter Imogen wrote. It was helpful for me to have a fresher
perspective for research purposes.
Williams, Ralph, and David Manning. Vaughan Williams on Music. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2008.
While the title of this book might imply that Host is not discussed, this book
actually contains some of Vaughan Williams perspective on music. Within the
book, he discusses Holst extensively and sheds light on to the similarities between
the two composers. This can be useful in my research because it further
highlights the English characteristics of music that both Vaughan Williams and
Holst utilized in their compositions.