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104-661: The Holst Singers are an amateur choir based in London, England. The choir is named indirectly after the English composer Gustav Holst , taking its name from the Holst Room at St Paul's Girls' School , the venue for rehearsals during the choir's early years. The musical director is the English conductor Stephen Layton . The countertenor James Bowman was the president of the choir. The Holst Singers devote much of their attention to performing and recording new works by living composers such as

208-507: A Saturday message during the service that there should be a greater political commitment from those who participated in the church activities; his claim that several of Holst's pupils (implicitly those from St Paul's Girls' School) were merely "camp followers" caused offence. Holst, anxious to protect his students from being embroiled in ecclesiastical conflict, moved the Whitsun Festival to Dulwich , though he himself continued to help with

312-487: A bridge treatment until symptoms respond to corticosteroids. Several different malignancies, particularly small-cell lung cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma , are associated with a paraneoplastic neuritis. This carcinomatous polyneuropathy is associated with the presence of antibodies against onconeural antigen, Hu, Yo, amphiphysin, or CV2/CRMP5, which recognize and bind to both tumor cells and peripheral nervous system neurons. This paraneoplastic syndrome may present as either

416-468: A capable rather than a virtuoso player he won the praise of the leading conductor Hans Richter , for whom he played at Covent Garden. His salary was only just enough to live on, and he supplemented it by playing in a popular orchestra called the "White Viennese Band", conducted by Stanislas Wurm. Holst enjoyed playing for Wurm, and learned much from him about drawing rubato from players. Nevertheless, longing to devote his time to composing, Holst found

520-526: A cappella carol, " This Have I Done for My True Love ", was dedicated to Noel in recognition of his interest in the ancient origins of religion (the composer always referred to the work as "The Dancing Day"). It received its first performance during the Third Whitsun Festival at Thaxted in May 1918. During that festival, Noel, who would become a staunch supporter of Russia's October Revolution , demanded in

624-503: A composer benefited almost at once from his release from other work. His works from this period include the Choral Symphony to words by Keats (a Second Choral Symphony to words by George Meredith exists only in fragments). A short Shakespearian opera, At the Boar's Head , followed; neither had the immediate popular appeal of A Moorside Suite for brass band of 1928. In 1927 Holst

728-697: A disease classically associated with a central demyelinating process; however, it also presents with a painful peripheral neuropathy. Treatment of vitamin deficiencies focuses around repletion of specific deficiencies, recovery is often prolonged and some of the damage is often permanent. Many classes of medication may have toxic effects on peripheral nerves, these iatrogenic neuropathies are an increasingly common form of neuritis. Broad categories of medications associated with toxic effects on nerves include: antineoplastic agents , antibiotics , immunosuppressants , and cardiac medications. Management of these medication induced neuropathies center around discontinuation of

832-433: A fellow-pupil, Herbert Howells , as "the one man who could get any one of us out of a technical mess", but he found that his fellow students, rather than the faculty members, had the greater influence on his development. In 1895, shortly after celebrating his twenty-first birthday, Holst met Ralph Vaughan Williams , who became a lifelong friend and had more influence on Holst's music than anybody else. Stanford emphasised

936-763: A former pupil, was a talented singer and pianist. They had two sons; Gustav's younger brother, Emil Gottfried, became known as Ernest Cossart , a successful actor in the West End , New York and Hollywood . Clara died in February 1882, and the family moved to another house in Cheltenham, where Adolph recruited his sister Nina to help raise the boys. Gustav recognised her devotion to the family and dedicated several of his early compositions to her. In 1885 Adolph married Mary Thorley Stone, another of his pupils. They had two sons, Matthias (known as "Max") and Evelyn ("Thorley"). Mary von Holst

1040-506: A general rule HIV-associated neuropathy will improve with continued antiretroviral therapy while medicated associated neuropathy will worsen. Multiple sclerosis and Neuromyelitis optica are autoimmune diseases which both frequently present with optic neuritis , an inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy of the optic nerve . Multiple sclerosis is a disease of unknown etiology which is characterized by neurological lesions "disseminated in time and space". Neuromyelitis optica, once considered

1144-527: A good deal of expression and poetic feeling". Occasional successes notwithstanding, Holst found that "man cannot live by composition alone"; he took posts as organist at various London churches, and continued playing the trombone in theatre orchestras. In 1898 he was appointed first trombonist and répétiteur with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and toured with the Scottish Orchestra . Though

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1248-510: A great teacher. A sense of comradeship rather than political conviction led him, while still a student, to join the Socialist League which met at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith ." At Kelmscott House , Morris's home, Holst attended lectures by his host and Bernard Shaw . His own socialism was moderate in character, but he enjoyed the club for its good company and his admiration of Morris as

1352-725: A holiday together in the Cotswolds . His health declined, and he withdrew further from musical activities. One of his last efforts was to guide the young players of the St Paul's Girls' School orchestra through one of his final compositions, the Brook Green Suite , in March 1934. Holst died in London on 25 May 1934, at the age of 59, of heart failure following an operation on his ulcer. His ashes were interred at Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, close to

1456-468: A lectureship for the first six months of 1932. Arriving via New York he was pleased to be reunited with his brother, Emil, whose acting career under the name of Ernest Cossart had taken him to Broadway ; but Holst was dismayed by the continual attentions of press interviewers and photographers. He enjoyed his time at Harvard, but was taken ill while there: a duodenal ulcer prostrated him for some weeks. He returned to England, joined briefly by his brother for

1560-557: A lectureship in composition at the University of Reading and joined Vaughan Williams in teaching composition at their alma mater the RCM. Inspired by Adrian Boult's conducting classes at the RCM, Holst tried to further pioneer music education for women by proposing to the High Mistress of St Paul's Girls' School that he should invite Boult to give classes at the school: "It would be glorious if

1664-468: A lymphocytic meningitis . The nerve inflammation seen in neurological lyme disease is associated with a lymphoctyic infiltrate without evidence of direct infection of peripheral nerves. While commonly self-limiting, treatment with antibiotics may hasten resolution of symptoms. Diphtheria , a once common childhood respiratory infection, produces a neurotoxin which can result in a biphasic neuropathy. This neuropathy begins with paralysis and numbness of

1768-407: A lymphocytic inflammation of peripheral nerves which results in a painful symmetric polyneuropathy. Immune dysfunction over the course of infection may also result in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy or vasculitis induced mononeuritis multiplex . Identifying HIV-associated neuropathy is confounded by the neurotoxic nature of many of the antiretrovirals used to manage the disease, as

1872-405: A man. His ideals were influenced by Morris's but had a different emphasis. Morris had written, "I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few. I want all persons to be educated according to their capacity, not according to the amount of money which their parents happen to have". Holst said, "'Aristocracy in art'—art is not for all but only for the chosen few—but

1976-441: A much more positive long term prognosis than other etiologies. Bacterial, viral, and spirochete infections all have been associated with inflammatory neural responses. Some of the bacterial agents most associated with neuritis are leprosy , lyme disease , and diphtheria . Viral causes of neuritis include herpes simplex virus , varicella zoster virus , and HIV . Leprosy is frequently characterized by direct neural infection by

2080-426: A new spirit appeared and the music of Morley College, together with its offshoot the 'Whitsuntide festival' ... became a force to be reckoned with". Before Holst's appointment, Morley College had not treated music very seriously (Vaughan Williams's "bad tradition"), and at first Holst's exacting demands drove many students away. He persevered, and gradually built up a class of dedicated music-lovers. According to

2184-400: A painful sensory neuropathy with muscle weakness and atrophy. Deficiency of niacine, vitamin B 3 , causes pellagra which can present with various peripheral neuropathies in addition to keratotic skin lesions. Vitamin B 6 , pyridoxine, has been associated with peripheral nerve damage both in cases of deficiency and excess. Deficiency of vitamin B 12 causes subacute combined degeneration ,

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2288-470: A parting present consisting of the Queen's Hall, full of the Queen's Hall Orchestra for the whole of a Sunday morning. So we're going to do The Planets , and you've got to conduct'." There was a burst of activity to get things ready in time. The girls at St Paul's helped to copy out the orchestral parts, and the women of Morley and the St Paul's girls learned the choral part in the last movement. The performance

2392-514: A pretty house overlooking the Thames at Barnes , but the river air, frequently foggy, affected his breathing. For use at weekends and during school holidays, Holst and his wife bought a cottage in Thaxted , Essex, surrounded by mediaeval buildings and ample rambling opportunities. In 1917 they moved to a house in the centre of the town, where they stayed until 1925. At Thaxted, Holst became friendly with

2496-550: A professional musician, and his wife, Clara Cox, née Lediard. She was of mostly British descent, daughter of a respected Cirencester solicitor; the Holst side of the family was of mixed Swedish, Latvian and German ancestry, with at least one professional musician in each of the previous three generations. One of Holst's great-grandfathers, Matthias Holst, born in Riga, Latvia, was of German origin ; he served as composer and harp-teacher to

2600-514: 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

2704-681: A role. He formally changed "von Holst" to "Holst" by deed poll in September 1918. He was appointed as the YMCA's musical organiser for the Near East, based in Salonica . Holst was given a spectacular send-off. The conductor Adrian Boult recalled, "Just before the Armistice, Gustav Holst burst into my office: 'Adrian, the YMCA are sending me to Salonica quite soon and Balfour Gardiner, bless his heart, has given me

2808-504: A score for a British film, The Bells (1931), and was amused to be recruited as an extra in a crowd scene. Both film and score are now lost. He wrote a "jazz band piece" that Imogen later arranged for orchestra as Capriccio . Having composed operas throughout his life with varying success, Holst found for his last opera, The Wandering Scholar , what Matthews calls "the right medium for his oblique sense of humour, writing with economy and directness". Harvard University offered Holst

2912-689: A sensory neuropathy, affecting primarily the dorsal root ganglion, resulting in a progressive sensory loss associated with painful paresthesias of the upper limbs, or a mixed sensorimotor neuropathy which is also characterized by progressive weakness. Treatment of paraneoplastic syndromes aim for both elimination of tumor tissue via conventional oncologic approach as well as immunotherapy options such as steroids, plasmapheresis or IVIG. Metabolic abnormalities and deficiencies in certain vitamin, particularly B vitamins, are associated with inflammatory degeneration of peripheral nerves. Deficiency of vitamin B 1 , thiamine , causes beriberi which can be associated with

3016-579: A subtype of multiple sclerosis, is characterized by neuromyelitis optica IgG antibodies which selectively bind to aquaporin-4. Optic neuritis is associated monocular vision loss, often initially characterized by a defect in color perception (dyschromatopsia) followed by blurring of vision and loss of acuity. Optic neuritis is also commonly associated with periocular pain, phosphenes, and other visual disturbances. Treatment of acute optic neuritis involves corticosteroids, plasmapheresis, and IV immunoglobulins in additions to disease modifying immunotherapies to manage

3120-524: A symphony (from 1892). His main influences at this stage were Mendelssohn , Chopin , Grieg and above all Sullivan . Adolph tried to steer his son away from composition, hoping that he would have a career as a pianist. Holst was oversensitive and miserable. His eyes were weak, but no one realized that he needed to wear spectacles. Holst's health played a decisive part in his musical future; he had never been strong, and in addition to his asthma and poor eyesight he suffered from neuritis , which made playing

3224-669: A tale from the Mahabharata ; four groups of Hymns from the Rig Veda (1908–14); and two texts originally by Kālidāsa : Two Eastern Pictures (1909–10) and The Cloud Messenger (a setting of the Meghadūta , 1910, premiered in 1913). Towards the end of the nineteenth century, British musical circles had experienced a new interest in national folk music. Some composers, such as Sullivan and Elgar , remained indifferent, but Parry, Stanford, Stainer and Alexander Mackenzie were founding members of

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3328-417: Is a common reaction to biological insult, many conditions may present with features of neuritis. Common causes include autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis ; infection, either bacterial, such as leprosy , or viral, such as varicella zoster ; post-infectious immune reactions, such as Guillain-Barré syndrome ; or a response to physical injury, as frequently seen in sciatica . While any nerve in

3432-444: Is a common virus which latently resides in neuronal ganglia between active infections. HSV-1 commonly resides in cranial nerve ganglia, particularly the trigeminal ganglia , and may cause painful neuralgias during active periods. It has also been associated with Bell's palsy , and vestibular neuritis . HSV-2 frequently lies within lumbosacral ganglia and is associated with radiculopathies during active infection. Herpes reactivation

3536-474: Is above all an orchestral composer, and that sure touch which distinguishes his orchestral writing is due largely to the fact that he has been an orchestral player; he has learnt his art, both technically and in substance, not at second hand from text books and models, but from actual live experience." With a modest income secured, Holst was able to marry Isobel; the ceremony was at Fulham Register Office on 22 June 1901. Their marriage lasted until his death; there

3640-437: Is associated with a broad range of neurological manifestations, both during acute infection and during the progression of the disease. During acute infection, both direct peripheral nervous involvement, most commonly bilateral facial palsy, and an acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy ( Guillian-Barré syndrome ) have been reported. As the disease process progresses, diffuse infiltrative lymphocytosis syndrome may include

3744-526: Is contrary to the popular identification of Holst with The Planets , which Matthews believes has masked his status as a composer of genuine originality. Against charges of coldness in the music, Imogen cites Holst's characteristic "sweeping modal tunes mov[ing] reassuringly above the steps of a descending bass", while Michael Kennedy points to the 12 Humbert Wolfe settings of 1929, and the 12 Welsh folksong settings for unaccompanied chorus of 1930–31, as works of true warmth. Neuritis As inflammation

3848-425: Is often treated with acyclovir, although evidence for its efficacy in controlling peripheral neurological manifestation of disease remain poor. Varicella zoster virus , the cause of chickenpox, can be found dormant throughout the nervous system after an initial infection. Reactivation of the virus cause herpes zoster , commonly known as shingles, is seen in a dermatomal or cranial nerve distribution corresponding to

3952-494: The Folk-Song Society . Parry considered that by recovering English folk song, English composers would find an authentic national voice; he commented, "in true folk-songs there is no sham, no got-up glitter, and no vulgarity". Vaughan Williams was an early and enthusiastic convert to this cause, going round the English countryside collecting and noting down folk songs. These had an influence on Holst. Though not as passionate on

4056-529: The Passmore Edwards Settlement , where among other innovations he gave the British premieres of two Bach cantatas. The two teaching posts for which he is probably best known were director of music at St Paul's Girls' School , Hammersmith , from 1905 until his death, and director of music at Morley College from 1907 to 1924. Vaughan Williams wrote of the former establishment: "Here he did away with

4160-475: The Rig Veda hymns. He found the existing English versions of the texts unconvincing, and decided to make his own translations, despite his lack of skills as a linguist. He enrolled in 1909 at University College, London , to study the language. Imogen commented on his translations: "He was not a poet, and there are occasions when his verses seem naïve. But they never sound vague or slovenly, for he had set himself

4264-682: The Temple Church and St John's Smith Square . In June 2003 the Holst singers premièred Tavener's epic 8-hour work, The Veil of the Temple at the Temple Church. They performed an abridged concert version in the BBC Proms in 2004. The choir has previously performed with the Hilliard Ensemble , The Academy of Ancient Music and soloists such as James Bowman and Ian Bostridge . Critical assessment of

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4368-419: The soft palate and pharynx as well as bulbar weakness several days to weeks after the initial upper respiratory infection, followed by an ascending flaccid paralysis caused by an acute inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy after several more weeks. While antibiotics are effective at eradicating the bacterium, neurological sequelae of infection must be treated with diphtheria antitoxin. Herpes simplex virus

4472-422: The 1997 Ikon CD) Tormis – Choral Music Pierre Villette Choral Music The Veil of the Temple (world première recording) Ikon Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore 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

4576-660: The Algerian streets. Vaughan Williams wrote of this exotic work, "if it had been played in Paris rather than London it would have given its composer a European reputation, and played in Italy would probably have caused a riot." In June 1911 Holst and his Morley College students gave the first performance since the seventeenth century of Purcell's The Fairy-Queen . The full score had been lost soon after Purcell's death in 1695, and had only recently been found. Twenty-eight Morley students copied out

4680-541: The American performance, Holst conducted the City of Birmingham Orchestra in the British premiere. The Times acknowledged the bleakness of the work but allowed that it matched Hardy's grim view of the world: " Egdon Heath is not likely to be popular, but it says what the composer wants to say, whether we like it or not, and truth is one aspect of duty." Holst had been distressed by hostile reviews of some of his earlier works, but he

4784-568: The British composer John Tavener , and Estonian composers Arvo Pärt and Veljo Tormis . The choir also focuses on works by Alexander Gretchaninov , Alfred Schnittke , and Russian Orthodox music, as well as the core choral repertoire of part-songs by Gustav Holst , Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten , and works such as Bach's Mass in B minor and Spem in Alium by Thomas Tallis . The Holst Singers perform regularly in London venues such as

4888-948: The Holst Singers' output has generally been favourable, with recent recitals commended by British newspapers such as the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph . Holst Singers recordings have also been given positive reviews by critics in publications such as the Times , Gramophone , and on CD Review (BBC Radio 3). The Holst Singers have made a number of recordings with Hyperion Records as well as with RCA and Decca . CD releases include The Tavener Collection (Decca), Schnittke's Choir Concerto (Hyperion), Gretchaninov's Vespers, settings of Three Shakespeare Songs and English folk songs by Vaughan Williams, and music by Pärt, Sviridov , Górecki and Tchaikovsky . Ikon II (sequel release to

4992-627: The Imperial Russian Court in St Petersburg . Matthias's son Gustavus, who moved to England with his parents as a child in 1802, was a composer of salon-style music and a well-known harp teacher. He appropriated the aristocratic prefix "von" and added it to the family name in the hope of gaining enhanced prestige and attracting pupils. Holst's father, Adolph von Holst, became organist and choirmaster at All Saints' Church , Cheltenham; he also taught, and gave piano recitals. His wife, Clara,

5096-399: The RCM were Frederick Sharpe (piano), William Stephenson Hoyte (organ), George Case (trombone), Georges Jacobi (instrumentation) and the director of the college, Hubert Parry (history). After preliminary lessons with W. S. Rockstro and Frederick Bridge , Holst was granted his wish to study composition with Charles Villiers Stanford . To support himself during his studies Holst played

5200-705: The Rev Conrad Noel , known as the "Red Vicar", who supported the Independent Labour Party and espoused many causes unpopular with conservative opinion. Noel also encouraged the revival of folk-dancing and processionals as part of church ceremonies, innovations which caused controversy among traditionally-minded churchgoers. Holst became an occasional organist and choirmaster at Thaxted Parish Church. He started an annual music festival at Whitsuntide in 1916; students from Morley College and St Paul's Girls' School performed together with local participants. Holst's

5304-516: The SPGS turned out the only women conductors in the world!" In his soundproof room at SPGS he composed the Ode to Death , a setting of a poem by Whitman, which according to Vaughan Williams is considered by many to be Holst's most beautiful choral work. Holst, in his forties, suddenly found himself in demand. The New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra vied to be the first to play The Planets in

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5408-691: The Thaxted choir and to play the church organ on occasion. At the outbreak of the First World War, Holst tried to enlist but was rejected as unfit for military service. He felt frustrated that he could not contribute to the war effort. His wife became a volunteer ambulance driver; Vaughan Williams went on active service to France as did Holst's brother Emil; Holst's friends the composers George Butterworth and Cecil Coles were killed in battle. He continued to teach and compose; he worked on The Planets and prepared his chamber opera Savitri for performance. It

5512-539: The US, lecturing and conducting at the University of Michigan . After he returned he found himself more and more in demand, to conduct, prepare his earlier works for publication, and, as before, to teach. The strain caused by these demands on him was too great; on doctor's orders he cancelled all professional engagements during 1924, and retreated to Thaxted. In 1925 he resumed his work at St Paul's Girls' School, but did not return to any of his other posts. Holst's productivity as

5616-485: The US. The success of that work was followed in 1920 by an enthusiastic reception for The Hymn of Jesus , described in The Observer as "one of the most brilliant and one of the most sincere pieces of choral and orchestral expression heard for some years." The Times called it "undoubtedly the most strikingly original choral work which has been produced in this country for many years." To his surprise and dismay Holst

5720-848: The baton of Richard Strauss at the Queen's Hall . Like many musicians of his generation, Holst came under Wagner 's spell. He had recoiled from the music of Götterdämmerung when he heard it at Covent Garden in 1892, but encouraged by his friend and fellow-student Fritz Hart he persevered and quickly became an ardent Wagnerite. Wagner supplanted Sullivan as the main influence on his music, and for some time, as Imogen put it, "ill-assimilated wisps of Tristan inserted themselves on nearly every page of his own songs and overtures." Stanford admired some of Wagner's works, and had in his earlier years been influenced by him, but Holst's sub-Wagnerian compositions met with his disapprobation: "It won't do, me boy; it won't do". Holst respected Stanford, describing him to

5824-800: The body may undergo inflammation, specific etiologies may preferentially affect specific nerves. The nature of symptoms depends on the specific nerves involved, neuritis in a sensory nerve may cause pain , paresthesia (pins-and-needles), hypoesthesia (numbness), and anesthesia , and neuritis in a motor nerve may cause paresis (weakness), fasiculation , paralysis , or muscle wasting . Treatment of neuritis centers around removing or managing any inciting cause of inflammation, followed by supportive care and anti-inflammatory or immune modulatory treatments as well as symptomatic management. Both active infections and post-infectious autoimmune processes cause neuritis. Rapid identification of an infectious cause of neuritis dictates treatment approach and often has

5928-461: The causative organism, mycobacterium leprae . Leprosy presents with a heterogeneous clinical picture dictated by bacterial titer and inborn host resistance. Tuberculoid leprosy , seen in cases where host immunity is high, is not commonly associated with neuritis. It presents with a low number of anesthetic, anhydrotic skin plaques with few bacilli, the result of a granulomatous process which destroys cutaneous nerves. Lepromatous leprosy , seen when

6032-473: The childish sentimentality which schoolgirls were supposed to appreciate and substituted Bach and Vittoria ; a splendid background for immature minds." Several of Holst's pupils at St Paul's went on to distinguished careers, including the soprano Joan Cross and the oboist and cor anglais player Helen Gaskell. Of Holst's impact on Morley College, Vaughan Williams wrote: "[A] bad tradition had to be broken down. The results were at first discouraging, but soon

6136-424: The complete vocal and orchestral parts. There were 1,500 pages of music and it took the students almost eighteen months to copy them out in their spare time. A concert performance of the work was given at The Old Vic , preceded by an introductory talk by Vaughan Williams. The Times praised Holst and his forces for "a most interesting and artistic performance of this very important work". After this success, Holst

6240-453: The composer Edmund Rubbra , who studied under him in the early 1920s, Holst was "a teacher who often came to lessons weighted, not with the learning of Prout and Stainer , but with a miniature score of Petrushka or the then recently published Mass in G minor of Vaughan Williams". He never sought to impose his own ideas on his composition pupils. Rubbra recalled that he would divine a student's difficulties and gently guide him to finding

6344-532: The composition scholarship for that year was won by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor . Holst was accepted as a non-scholarship student, and Adolph borrowed £100 to cover the first year's expenses. Holst left Cheltenham for London in May 1893. Money was tight, and partly from frugality and partly from his own inclination he became a vegetarian and a teetotaller. Two years later he was finally granted a scholarship, which slightly eased his financial difficulties, but he retained his austere personal regime. Holst's professors at

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6448-581: The conductorship of the Bourton-on-the-Water Choral Society, which offered no extra remuneration but provided valuable experience that enabled him to hone his conducting skills. In November 1891 Holst gave what was perhaps his first public performance as a pianist; he and his father played the Brahms Hungarian Dances at a concert in Cheltenham. The programme for the event gives his name as "Gustav" rather than "Gustavus"; he

6552-602: The disease process involves sensory, motor, or both sensorimotor nerves. After the lesion has been localized, a more focused investigation may use specific techniques appropriate for the involved nerves. Blood tests should be performed to evaluate blood glucose and serum B 12 levels with metabolites, additional measurement of specific vitamins or toxins may be performed as indicated if the history and physical exam are consistent. Medical tests which are often useful include: nerve biopsy , MRI , electromography , nerve conduction studies . fundoscopy , and lumbar punctures . However,

6656-422: The ganglion in which the latent virus resided. After the herpetic rash resolves, an additional period of postherpetic neuralgia may persist for weeks to months. Antiviral medications, including acyclovir, are effective at controlling viral reactivation. Management of ensuing neuropathic often requires further management possibly including gabapentin , amitriptyline , carbamazepine , or topical lidocaine . HIV

6760-606: The host lacks resistance to the organism, presents with widespread skin lesions and palpably enlarged nerves. Disease involvement in this form of leprosy characteristically progresses from cooler regions of the body, such as the tip of the nose and ear lobes, towards warmer regions of the body eventually resulting in extensive loss of sensation and destructive skin lesions. Rapid treatment is a critical component of care in patients affected with leprosy, delayed care results in permanent loss of sensation and tissue damage which requires an extensive treatment regime. Lyme disease , caused by

6864-485: The latter. At the age of twelve he took up the trombone at his father's suggestion, thinking that playing a brass instrument might improve his asthma . Holst was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School between 1886 and 1891. He started composing in or about 1886; inspired by Macaulay 's poem Horatius he began, but soon abandoned, an ambitious setting of the work for chorus and orchestra. His early compositions included piano pieces, organ voluntaries, songs, anthems and

6968-507: The lowest note of the double bassoon to the philosophy of Jude the Obscure . In 1949 he wrote of their relationship, "Holst declared that his music was influenced by that of his friend: the converse is certainly true." The year 1895 was also the bicentenary of Henry Purcell , which was marked by various performances including Stanford conducting Dido and Aeneas at the Lyceum Theatre ;

7072-417: The memorial to Thomas Weelkes, his favourite Tudor composer. Bishop George Bell gave the memorial oration at the funeral, and Vaughan Williams conducted music by Holst and himself. Holst's absorption of folksong, not only in the melodic sense but in terms of its simplicity and economy of expression, helped to develop a style that many of his contemporaries, even admirers, found austere and cerebral. This

7176-474: The necessity of playing for "the Worm" or any other light orchestra "a wicked and loathsome waste of time". Vaughan Williams did not altogether agree with his friend about this; he admitted that some of the music was "trashy" but thought it had been useful to Holst nonetheless: "To start with, the very worst a trombonist has to put up with is as nothing compared to what a church organist has to endure; and secondly, Holst

7280-407: The need for his students to be self-critical, but Holst and Vaughan Williams became one another's chief critics; each would play his latest composition to the other while still working on it. Vaughan Williams later observed, "What one really learns from an Academy or College is not so much from one's official teachers as from one's fellow-students ... [we discussed] every subject under the sun from

7384-422: The offending agents, although patients will frequently continue to worsen for several weeks after cessation of administration. The accurate diagnosis and characterization of a neuritis begins with a thorough physical exam to characterize and localize any symptoms to a specific nerve or distribution of nerves. An exam will assess the time course, distribution, and severity and nerve dysfunction as well as whether

7488-476: The only thing to do was to spend it all at once on a holiday in Germany". While in Germany, Holst reappraised his professional life, and in 1903 he decided to abandon orchestral playing to concentrate on composition. His earnings as a composer were too little to live on, and two years later he accepted the offer of a teaching post at James Allen's Girls' School , Dulwich , which he held until 1921. He also taught at

7592-533: The only way to find those few is to bring art to everyone—then the artists have a sort of masonic signal by which they recognise each other in the crowd." He was invited to conduct the Hammersmith Socialist Choir, teaching them madrigals by Thomas Morley , choruses by Purcell, and works by Mozart , Wagner and himself. One of his choristers was (Emily) Isobel Harrison (1876–1969), a beautiful soprano two years his junior. He fell in love with her; she

7696-493: The piano difficult. He said that the affected arm was "like a jelly overcharged with electricity". After Holst left school in 1891, Adolph paid for him to spend four months in Oxford studying counterpoint with George Frederick Sims, organist of Merton College . On his return, Holst obtained his first professional appointment, aged seventeen, as organist and choirmaster at Wyck Rissington , Gloucestershire. The post brought with it

7800-464: 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

7904-450: The rate of recovery. Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) is an inflammatory neuropathy, which while pathophysiologically similar to AIDP, progresses over a much more protracted time scale. CIDP has an insidious onset and progresses over months to years, but is otherwise similar to AIDP in serological, CSF, and electrodiagnostic studies. Treatment consists of corticosteroids, with IV immunoglobulon or plasmapheresis as

8008-751: The resolution of an acute infection, commonly an upper respiratory infection or gastroenteritis, due to molecular mimicry between peripheral nerve and microbial antigens. AIDP, which represents the vast majority of Guillain-Barré cases, classically presents with an acute onset, ascending paralysis which begins in the distal extremities. This paralysis may progress rapidly over the course of several days and lead to ventilatory failure requiring intubation. Symptoms will commonly spontaneously resolve after several weeks. Thus, management of Guillain-Barré relies upon supportive care to manage ventilation and feeding until symptoms remit. Adjunctive immunomodulation with plasmapharesis and IV immunoglobulin have both been shown to increase

8112-465: The rest of his life and referred to astrology as his "pet vice". In 1913, St Paul's Girls' School opened a new music wing, and Holst composed St Paul's Suite for the occasion. The new building contained a sound-proof room, handsomely equipped, where he could work undisturbed. Holst and his family moved to a house in Brook Green , very close to the school. For the previous six years they had lived in

8216-408: The solution for himself. "I do not recall that Holst added one single note of his own to anything I wrote, but he would suggest—if I agreed!—that, given such and such a phrase, the following one would be better if it took such and such a course; if I did not see this, the point would not be insisted upon ... He frequently took away [because of] his abhorrence of unessentials." As a composer Holst

8320-436: The spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi , is a tick-borne illness with both peripheral and central neurological manifestations. The first stage of Lyme disease frequently presents with a pathognomonic "bull's eye" rash, erythema migrans , as well as fever, malaise, and arthralgias. Roughly 15% of untreated patients will then develop neurological manifestations, classically characterized by cranial neuropathy, radiculoneuritis , and

8424-528: The subject as his friend, he incorporated a number of folk melodies in his own compositions and made several arrangements of folk songs collected by others. The Somerset Rhapsody (1906–07), was written at the suggestion of the folk-song collector Cecil Sharp and made use of tunes that Sharp had noted down. Holst described its performance at the Queen's Hall in 1910 as "my first real success". A few years later Holst became excited by another musical renaissance—the rediscovery of English madrigal composers. Weelkes

8528-512: The task of finding words that would be 'clear and dignified' and that would 'lead the listener into another world'". His settings of translations of Sanskrit texts included Sita (1899–1906), a three-act opera based on an episode in the Ramayana (which he eventually entered for a competition for English opera set by the Milan music publisher Tito Ricordi ); Savitri (1908), a chamber opera based on

8632-401: 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

8736-445: The trombone professionally, at seaside resorts in the summer and in London theatres in the winter. His daughter and biographer, Imogen Holst , records that from his fees as a player "he was able to afford the necessities of life: board and lodging, manuscript paper, and tickets for standing room in the gallery at Covent Garden Opera House on Wagner evenings". He secured an occasional engagement in symphony concerts, playing in 1897 under

8840-440: The underlying neuropathology associated with the acute inflammatory episode. Guillian-Barré Syndrome is a class of acute polyneuropathies that present with flaccid paralysis, they include acute inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (AIDP), acute motor axonal neuropathy (AMAN), acute ataxia, and Miller-Fisher syndrome . These disorders are post-infectious syndromes in which symptoms often present several weeks after

8944-532: The war neared its end, Holst finally had the prospect of a job that offered him the chance to serve. The music section of the YMCA 's education department needed volunteers to work with British troops stationed in Europe awaiting demobilisation. Morley College and St Paul's Girls' School offered him a year's leave of absence, but there remained one obstacle: the YMCA felt that his surname looked too German to be acceptable in such

9048-408: The work "as uncompromising in its way as Egdon Heath , discovering, in the words of Imogen Holst, 'in the middle of an over-crowded London ... the same tranquillity that he had found in the solitude of Egdon Heath'". The work was unlucky in being premiered at a concert that also featured the London premiere of Walton 's Belshazzar's Feast , by which it was somewhat overshadowed. Holst wrote

9152-471: The work profoundly impressed Holst, who over twenty years later confessed to a friend that his search for "the (or a ) musical idiom of the English language" had been inspired "unconsciously" by "hearing the recits in Purcell's Dido ". Another early influence was William Morris . In Vaughan Williams's words, "It was now that Holst discovered the feeling of unity with his fellow men which made him afterwards

9256-411: Was absorbed in theosophy and not greatly interested in domestic matters. All four of Adolph's sons were subject to what one biographer calls "benign neglect", and Gustav in particular was "not overburdened with attention or understanding, with a weak sight and a weak chest, both neglected—he was 'miserable and scared'." Holst was taught to play the piano and the violin; he enjoyed the former but hated

9360-642: Was all the public could absorb at first hearing, and he gave only five of the seven movements on that occasion. Holst enjoyed his time in Salonica, from where he was able to visit Athens, which greatly impressed him. His musical duties were wide-ranging, and even obliged him on occasion to play the violin in the local orchestra: "it was great fun, but I fear I was not of much use". He returned to England in June 1919. On his return from Greece, Holst resumed his teaching and composing. In addition to his existing work he accepted

9464-453: 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. Holst was born in Cheltenham , Gloucestershire, the elder of the two children of Adolph von Holst,

9568-521: Was at first unimpressed by him, but she came round and they were engaged, though with no immediate prospect of marriage given Holst's tiny income. In 1898 the RCM offered Holst a further year's scholarship, but he felt that he had learned as much as he could there and that it was time, as he put it, to "learn by doing". Some of his compositions were published and performed; the previous year The Times had praised his song "Light Leaves Whisper", "a moderately elaborate composition in six parts, treated with

9672-462: Was becoming famous. Celebrity was something wholly foreign to his nature. As the music scholar Byron Adams puts it, "he struggled for the rest of his life to extricate himself from the web of garish publicity, public incomprehension and professional envy woven about him by this unsought-for success." He turned down honours and awards proffered to him, and refused to grant interviews or sign autographs. Holst's comic opera The Perfect Fool (1923)

9776-429: Was called by the shorter version from his early years. In 1892 Holst wrote the music for an operetta in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan , Lansdown Castle, or The Sorcerer of Tewkesbury . The piece was performed at Cheltenham Corn Exchange in February 1893; it was well received and its success encouraged him to persevere with composing. He applied for a scholarship at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, but

9880-732: Was commissioned by the New York Symphony Orchestra to write a symphony. Instead, he wrote an orchestral piece Egdon Heath , inspired by Thomas Hardy's Wessex . It was first performed in February 1928, a month after Hardy's death, at a memorial concert. By this time the public's brief enthusiasm for everything Holstian was waning, and the piece was not well received in New York. Olin Downes in The New York Times opined that "the new score seemed long and undistinguished". The day after

9984-462: Was disappointed the following year by the lukewarm reception of his choral work The Cloud Messenger . He again went travelling, accepting an invitation from H. Balfour Gardiner to join him and the brothers Clifford and Arnold Bax in Spain. During this holiday Clifford Bax introduced Holst to astrology , an interest that later inspired his suite The Planets . Holst cast his friends' horoscopes for

10088-634: Was first given in December 1916 by students of the London School of Opera at the Wellington Hall in St John's Wood . It attracted no attention at the time from the main newspapers, though when professionally staged five years later it was greeted as "a perfect little masterpiece." In 1917 he wrote The Hymn of Jesus for chorus and orchestra, a work which remained unperformed until after the war. In 1918, as

10192-535: Was frequently inspired by literature. He set poetry by Thomas Hardy and Robert Bridges and, a particular influence, Walt Whitman , whose words he set in "Dirge for Two Veterans" and The Mystic Trumpeter (1904). He wrote an orchestral Walt Whitman Overture in 1899. While on tour with the Carl Rosa company Holst had read some of Max Müller 's books, which inspired in him a keen interest in Sanskrit texts, particularly

10296-499: Was given on 29 September to an invited audience including Sir Henry Wood and most of the professional musicians in London. Five months later, when Holst was in Greece, Boult introduced The Planets to the general public, at a concert in February 1919; Holst sent him a long letter full of suggestions, but failed to convince him that the suite should be played in full. The conductor believed that about half an hour of such radically new music

10400-570: Was his favourite of all the Tudor composers, but Byrd also meant much to him. Holst was a keen rambler . He walked extensively in England, Italy, France and Algeria. In 1908 he travelled to Algeria on medical advice as a treatment for asthma and the depression that he suffered after his opera Sita failed to win the Ricordi prize. This trip inspired the suite Beni Mora , which incorporated music he heard in

10504-649: Was indifferent to critical opinion of Egdon Heath , which he regarded as, in Adams's phrase, his "most perfectly realized composition". Towards the end of his life Holst wrote the Choral Fantasia (1930) and he was commissioned by the BBC to write a piece for military band; the resulting prelude and scherzo Hammersmith was a tribute to the place where he had spent most of his life. The composer and critic Colin Matthews considers

10608-567: Was one child, Imogen , born in 1907. On 24 April 1902 Dan Godfrey and the Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra premiered Holst's symphony The Cotswolds (Op. 8), the slow movement of which is a lament for William Morris who had died in October 1896, three years before Holst began work on the piece. In 1903 Adolph von Holst died, leaving a small legacy. Holst and his wife decided, as Imogen later put it, that "as they were always hard up

10712-597: 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

10816-514: Was widely seen as a satire of Parsifal , though Holst firmly denied it. The piece, with Maggie Teyte in the leading soprano role and Eugene Goossens conducting, was enthusiastically received at its premiere in the Royal Opera House . At a concert in Reading in 1923, Holst slipped and fell, suffering concussion . He seemed to make a good recovery, and he felt up to accepting an invitation to

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