146-581: The Grand Pump Room is a historic building in the Abbey Churchyard, Bath, Somerset , England. It is adjacent to the Roman Baths and is named because of water that is pumped into the room from the baths' hot springs. Visitors can drink the water or have other refreshments while there. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building since 1950. Along with the Lower Assembly Rooms , it formed
292-401: A World Heritage Site , recognising its international cultural significance. Between 1991 and 2000, Bath was the scene of a series of rapes committed by an unidentified man dubbed the " Batman rapist ". The attacker remains at large and is the subject of Britain's longest-running serial rape investigation. He is said to have a tights fetish , have a scar below his bottom lip and resides in
438-507: 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
584-468: 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
730-526: 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
876-613: 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
1022-541: A city in Somerset , England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths . At the 2021 Census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon , 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Bristol . The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later added to the transnational World Heritage Site known as the " Great Spa Towns of Europe " in 2021. Bath
1168-523: A complex where social activity was centred, and where visitors to the city gathered. The present building replaced an earlier one on the same site, designed by John Harvey at the request of Beau Nash , Bath's master of ceremonies, in 1706, before the discovery of Roman remains nearby. The main block, built of Bath stone , was begun by Thomas Baldwin , and the foundations of a Roman temple precinct were discovered during preparatory excavations. The North Colonnade of nine bays , with un fluted Ionic columns,
1314-503: 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
1460-433: 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
1606-537: A filming location in screen adaptations of both novels. Mr Pickwick and his friends retire to a private sitting-room in "The Pickwick Papers" by Charles Dickens, "at the White Hart Hotel, opposite the Great Pump Room, Bath, where the waiters, from their costume, might be mistaken for Westminster boys, only they destroy the illusion by behaving themselves much better". In addition to adaptations of Austen's novels,
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#17328488353091752-763: 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
1898-527: 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
2044-510: 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
2190-774: 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
2336-417: A large degree sought to better accommodate the motor car, including the idea of a traffic tunnel underneath the centre of Bath. Though criticised by conservationists, some parts of the plan were implemented. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was recognised that conservation of historic buildings was inadequate, leading to more care and reuse of buildings and open spaces. In 1987, the city was selected by UNESCO as
2482-468: 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
2628-557: 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
2774-405: 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
2920-426: 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
3066-470: 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
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#17328488353093212-490: A pianist. There has been music in the Pump Room since the opening of the original building in 1706, when Beau Nash put together his own band to perform there. A "Pump Room Orchestra" later came into being, with Gustav Holst being one of its guest conductors during the early 20th century. The novelist Jane Austen was familiar with the Pump Room, which is used as a setting in her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion . It
3358-456: A practice in the city in 1668. He was interested in the curative properties of the waters, and he wrote A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water in 1676. It brought the health-giving properties of the hot mineral waters to the attention of the country, and the aristocracy arrived to partake in them. Several areas of the city were developed in
3504-514: 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
3650-550: 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
3796-681: 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
3942-616: A royal borough ( burh ) of Alfred the Great , and was reformed into a municipal borough in 1835. It has formed part of the county of Somerset since 878, when ceded to Wessex , having previously been in Mercia (the River Avon had acted as the border between the two kingdoms since 628). However, Bath was made a county borough in 1889, independent of the newly created administrative county and Somerset County Council . Bath became part of Avon when
4088-504: 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
4234-404: A single channel. Periodic flooding, which shortened the life of many buildings in the lowest part of the city, was normal until major flood control works were completed in the 1970s. Kensington Meadows is an area of mixed woodland and open meadow next to the river which has been designated as a local nature reserve . Water bubbling up from the ground as geothermal springs originates as rain on
4380-524: 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
4526-669: 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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4672-474: 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
4818-481: Is also elected. The coat of arms includes a depiction of the city wall , and two silver stripes representing the River Avon and the hot springs. The sword of St. Paul is a link to Bath Abbey. The supporters, a lion and a bear, stand on a bed of acorns , a link to Bladud , the subject of the Legend of Bath. The knight's helmet indicates a municipality and the crown is that of King Edgar (referencing his coronation at
4964-575: Is also the largest city and settlement in Somerset. The city became a spa with the Latin name Aquae Sulis ("the waters of Sulis ") c. 60 AD when the Romans built baths and a temple in the valley of the River Avon, although hot springs were known even before then. Bath Abbey was founded in the 7th century and became a religious centre; the building was rebuilt in the 12th and 16th centuries. In
5110-590: Is now open to the public as a bathing spa, as part of the Thermae Bath Spa project. Next to the main street entrance to the Roman Baths , visitors can drink the waters from the warm spring which is the source of the baths. The building now also houses a restaurant, where afternoon tea can be taken. Music in the restaurant is provided by the Pump Room Trio — the longest established resident ensemble in Europe — or by
5256-560: Is typical. November to March have the highest mean wind speeds, and June to August have the lightest winds. The predominant wind direction is from the southwest. Bath is fully enclosed by green belt as a part of a wider environmental and planning policy first designated in the late 1950s, and this extends into much of the surrounding district and beyond, helping to maintain local green space, prevent further urban sprawl and unplanned expansion towards Bristol and Bradford-on-Avon , as well as protecting smaller villages in between. Suburbs of
5402-807: The 2017 general election and retained her seat at the 2019 general election. Howlett had replaced the retiring Liberal Democrat Don Foster at the 2015 general election . Foster's election was a notable result of the 1992 general election , as Chris Patten , the previous Member (and Cabinet Minister ) played a major part, as Chairman of the Conservative Party , in re-electing the government of John Major , but failed to defend his marginal seat. The fifteen electoral wards of Bath are: Bathwick , Combe Down , Kingsmead , Lambridge, Lansdown , Moorlands, Newbridge , Odd Down , Oldfield Park, Southdown, Twerton , Walcot , Westmoreland , Weston and Widcombe & Lyncombe . These wards are co-extensive with
5548-718: The Bath Blitz , more than 400 people were killed, and more than 19,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. Houses in Royal Crescent , Circus and Paragon were burnt out along with the Assembly Rooms . A 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) high explosive bomb landed on the east side of Queen Square , resulting in houses on the south side being damaged and the Francis Hotel losing 24 metres (79 ft) of its frontage. The buildings have all been restored although there are still signs of
5694-521: The Cotswold Way , Limestone Link route, Pennyquick Park, Little Solsbury Hill , and Primrose Hill. According to the 2021 census , Bath, together with North East Somerset, which includes areas around Bath as far as the Chew Valley , had a population of 193,400 (up 9.9% from 2011). Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst ; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934)
5840-566: The Elizabethan era , when the city experienced a revival as a spa . The baths were improved and the city began to attract the aristocracy. A Royal charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1590 confirmed city status . James Montagu, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1608, spent considerable sums in restoring Bath Abbey and actively supported the Baths themselves, aware that the 'towne liveth wholly by them'. In 1613, perhaps at his behest, Queen Anne visited
5986-544: 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
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6132-594: The Hwicce , perhaps using the walled area as its precinct. Nennius , a 9th-century historian, mentions a "Hot Lake" in the land of the Hwicce along the River Severn , and adds "It is surrounded by a wall, made of brick and stone, and men may go there to bathe at any time, and every man can have the kind of bath he likes. If he wants, it will be a cold bath; and if he wants a hot bath, it will be hot". Bede described hot baths in
6278-474: The Mendip Hills . The rain percolates through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 9,000 to 14,000 ft (2,700 to 4,300 m) where geothermal energy raises the water's temperature to between 64 and 96 °C (approximately 147–205 °F). Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone. Hot water at a temperature of 46 °C (115 °F) rises here at
6424-534: The Mesolithic period. Several Bronze Age round barrows were opened by John Skinner in the 18th century. A long barrow site believed to be from the Early Bronze Age Beaker people was flattened to make way for RAF Charmy Down . Solsbury Hill overlooking the current city was an Iron Age hill fort and the adjacent Bathampton Camp may also have been one. Archaeological evidence shows that
6570-529: 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
6716-475: 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
6862-588: The Stothert & Pitt factory site, and the riverside Bath Quays office and business development. In 2021, Bath become part of a second UNESCO World Heritage Site, a group of spa towns across Europe known as the " Great Spas of Europe ". This makes it one of the only places to be formally recognised twice as a World Heritage site. Since 1996, the city has had a single tier of local government — Bath and North East Somerset Council . Bath had long been an ancient borough , having that status since 878 when it became
7008-521: The Stuart period, and more building took place during Georgian times in response to the increasing number of visitors who required accommodation. Architects John Wood the Elder and his son laid out the new quarters in streets and squares, the identical façades of which gave an impression of palatial scale and classical decorum. Much of the creamy gold Bath stone , a type of limestone used for construction in
7154-645: The Victoria Art Gallery , the Museum of East Asian Art , the Herschel Museum of Astronomy , Fashion Museum , and the Holburne Museum . The city has two universities – the University of Bath and Bath Spa University – with Bath College providing further education . Sporting clubs from the city include Bath Rugby and Bath City . The hills in the locality such as Bathampton Down saw human activity from
7300-574: The Wansdyke district and therefore includes a wider area than the city (the 'North East Somerset' element) including Keynsham which is home to many of the council's offices, though the council meets at the Guildhall in Bath. Bath was returned to the ceremonial county of Somerset in 1996, though as B&NES is a unitary authority, it is not part of the area covered by Somerset County Council. Bath City Council
7446-416: The non-metropolitan county was created in 1974, resulting in its abolition as a county borough, and instead became a non-metropolitan district with borough status . With the abolition of Avon in 1996, the non-metropolitan district and borough were abolished too, and Bath has since been part of the unitary authority district of Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). The unitary district included also
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#17328488353097592-456: The unreformed House of Commons , as an ancient parliamentary borough. From 1832 until 1918 it elected two MPs and then was reduced to one. Historically the constituency covered only the city of Bath; however, it was enlarged into some outlying areas between 1997 and 2010. The constituency since 2010 once again covers exactly the city of Bath and is currently represented by Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse who beat Conservative Ben Howlett at
7738-414: The 13th century. Around 1200, the first mayor was appointed. By the 15th century, Bath's abbey church was dilapidated and Oliver King , Bishop of Bath and Wells, decided to rebuild it on a smaller scale in 1500. The new church was completed just a few years before Bath Priory was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII . The abbey church became derelict before being restored as the city's parish church in
7884-487: The 17th century, claims were made for the curative properties of water from the springs, and Bath became popular as a spa town in the Georgian era . Georgian architecture , crafted from Bath stone , includes the Royal Crescent , Circus , Pump Room , and the Assembly Rooms , where Beau Nash presided over the city's social life from 1705 until his death in 1761. Many of the streets and squares were laid out by John Wood,
8030-727: The Abbey). A mural crown , indicating a city , is alternatively used instead of the helmet and Edgar's crown. The Arms bear the motto "Aqvae Svlis", the Roman name for Bath in Latin script; although not on the Arms, the motto "Floreat Bathon" is sometimes used ("may Bath flourish" in Latin). Bath and North East Somerset Council has established the Bath City Forum, comprising B&NES councillors representing wards in Bath and up to 13 co-opted members drawn from
8176-660: 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
8322-541: 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
8468-468: The Bath area or knows it very well. He has also been linked to the unsolved murder of Melanie Hall , which occurred in the city in 1996. Although the offender's DNA is known and several thousand men in Bath were DNA tested, the attacker continues to evade police. Since 2000, major developments have included the Thermae Bath Spa , the SouthGate shopping centre, the residential Western Riverside project on
8614-593: The Elder , and in the 18th century the city became fashionable and the population grew. Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century. Further building was undertaken in the 19th century and following the Bath Blitz in World War II. Bath became part of the county of Avon in 1974, and, following Avon's abolition in 1996, has been the principal centre of Bath and North East Somerset . Bath has over 6 million yearly visitors, making it one of ten English cities visited most by overseas tourists . Attractions include
8760-627: 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,
8906-401: The Pump Room has been used in films such as The Music Lovers (1969), The Nelson Affair (1973) and television series such as Bonekickers . The neighbouring Abbey Churchyard was used in the filming of Other People's Children (2000) and Bertie & Elizabeth (2002). Bath, Somerset Bath ( RP : / b ɑː θ / ; local pronunciation: [ba(ː)θ] ) is
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#17328488353099052-458: The Pump Room have a facade on Stall Street , with Corinthian half columns thought to have been influenced by the design of the Temple at Bassae . Willey Reveley , a contemporary expert on Greek architecture , was consulted about Palmer's revised plans. However, the aspect of the building was altered by the construction in 1897 of a concert hall designed by J M Brydon. The interior of the Pump Room
9198-399: 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
9344-581: 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
9490-425: 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
9636-583: 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
9782-433: The UK. Three of the springs feed the thermal baths. Along with the rest of South West England , Bath has a temperate climate which is generally wetter and milder than the rest of the country. The annual mean temperature is approximately 10 °C (50.0 °F). Seasonal temperature variation is less extreme than most of the United Kingdom because of the adjacent sea temperatures. The summer months of July and August are
9928-494: 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
10074-432: 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
10220-458: The abolition of Abbey ward, the merger of Lyncombe and Widcombe wards, the creation of Moorlands ward, and the replacement of Oldfield with Oldfield Park, as well as considerable changes to boundaries affecting all wards. Bath is in the Avon Valley and is surrounded by limestone hills as it is near the southern edge of the Cotswolds , a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , and the Mendip Hills rise around 7 miles (11 km) south of
10366-440: The appearance of parliamentary forces the gates were thrown open and the city surrendered. It became a significant post for the Western Association army under William Waller . Bath was retaken by the royalists in July 1643 following the Battle of Lansdowne and occupied for two years until 1645. Luckily, the city was spared the destruction of property and starvation of its inhabitants unlike nearby Bristol and Gloucester . During
10512-848: 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
10658-576: The bishop's palace beside it. New baths were built around the three springs. Later bishops returned the episcopal seat to Wells while retaining the name Bath in the title, Bishop of Bath and Wells . St John's Hospital was founded around 1180 by Bishop Reginald Fitz Jocelin and is among the oldest almshouses in England. The 'hospital of the baths' was built beside the hot springs of the Cross Bath , for their health-giving properties and to provide shelter for
10804-509: The bombing. A postwar review of inadequate housing led to the clearance and redevelopment of areas of the city in a postwar style, often at variance with the local Georgian style. In the 1950s, the nearby villages of Combe Down , Twerton and Weston were incorporated into the city to enable the development of housing, much of it council housing . In 1965, town planner Colin Buchanan published Bath: A Planning and Transport Study , which to
10950-473: 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
11096-621: The city bordering the green belt include Batheaston , Bathford , Bathampton , the University of Bath campus, Ensleigh, Twerton , Upper Weston , Odd Down , and Combe Down . Parts of the Cotswolds AONB southern extent overlap the green belt north of the city, with other nearby landscape features and facilities within the green belt including the River Avon, Kennet and Avon Canal, Bath Racecourse , Bath Golf Club, Bathampton Down , Bathampton Meadow Nature Reserve, Bristol and Bath Railway Path,
11242-452: The city's social life from 1704 until his death in 1761, drew up a code of behaviour for public entertainments. Bath had become perhaps the most fashionable of the rapidly developing British spa towns, attracting many notable visitors such as the wealthy London bookseller Andrew Millar and his wife, who both made long visits. In 1816, it was described as "a seat of amusement and dissipation", where "scenes of extravagance in this receptacle of
11388-524: The city, except that Newbridge includes also two parishes beyond the city boundary. These wards return a total of 28 councillors to Bath and North East Somerset Council ; all except two wards return two councillors (Moorlands and Oldfield Park return one each). The most recent elections were held on 4 May 2023 and all wards returned Liberal Democrats except for Lambridge and Westmoreland which returned Green Party and independent councillors respectively. Boundary changes enacted from 2 May 2019 included
11534-521: The city, was obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines owned by Ralph Allen (1694–1764). Allen, to advertise the quality of his quarried limestone, commissioned the elder John Wood to build a country house on his Prior Park estate between the city and the mines. Allen was responsible for improving and expanding the postal service in western England, for which he held the contract for more than forty years. Although not fond of politics, Allen
11680-606: The city. The hills that surround and make up the city have a maximum altitude of 781 feet (238 metres) on the Lansdown plateau. Bath has an area of 11 square miles (28 square kilometres). The floodplain of the Avon has an altitude of about 59 ft (18 m) above sea level , although the city centre is at an elevation of around 25 metres (82 ft) above sea level. The river, once an unnavigable series of braided streams broken up by swamps and ponds, has been managed by weirs into
11826-753: The communities of the city. The first meeting of the Forum was held on 13 October 2015, at the Guildhall, where the first chair and vice-chair were elected. In 2021, this was re-launched as the Bath Area Forum. Bath is one of the oldest extant parliamentary constituencies in the United Kingdom, being in continuous existence since the Model Parliament of 1295. Before the Reform Act 1832 , Bath elected two members to
11972-424: 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
12118-453: 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
12264-532: 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
12410-581: 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
12556-436: 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
12702-474: The electoral wards that cover Bath ( see below ) are the trustees, and they elect one of their number as their chair and mayor. The mayor holds office for one municipal year and in modern times the mayor begins their term in office on the first Saturday in June, at a ceremony at Bath Abbey with a civic procession from and to the Guildhall. The 794th mayor, who began her office on 6 May 2021, is June Player. A deputy mayor
12848-463: The first decade of the 5th century, the baths fell into disrepair and were eventually lost as a result of rising water levels and silting. In March 2012, a hoard of 30,000 silver Roman coins, one of the largest discovered in Britain, was unearthed in an archaeological dig. The coins, believed to date from the 3rd century, were found about 150 m (490 ft) from the Roman baths. Bath may have been
12994-577: The geographical introduction to the Ecclesiastical History in terms very similar to those of Nennius. King Offa of Mercia gained control of the monastery in 781 and rebuilt the church, which was dedicated to St. Peter . According to the Victorian churchman Edward Churton , during the Anglo-Saxon era Bath was known as Acemannesceastre ('Akemanchester'), or 'aching men's city', on account of
13140-485: 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
13286-507: 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 ;
13432-417: 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
13578-415: The mud to provide a stable foundation, and surrounded the spring with an irregular stone chamber lined with lead. In the 2nd century, the spring was enclosed within a wooden barrel-vaulted structure that housed the caldarium (hot bath), tepidarium (warm bath), and frigidarium (cold bath). The town was later given defensive walls , probably in the 3rd century. After the failure of Roman authority in
13724-614: The music gallery, and in another at the East an excellent time-piece, over which is a marble statue of king Nash, executed by Hoare, at the expense of the corporation. In the Centre of the South-side is a marble vase from which issue the waters, with a fire-place on each side. The marble vase from which visitors could drink the waters for medicinal purposes is also mentioned in Tunstall's 1860 guide to taking
13870-474: 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
14016-407: 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
14162-475: The occupation, the finances of the Bath City Council took a drubbing with council spending, rents and grants all falling. The billeting of soldiers in private houses also contributed to disorder and vandalism. Normality to the city quickly recovered after the war when the city council achieved a healthy budget surplus. Thomas Guidott , a student of chemistry and medicine at Wadham College, Oxford , set up
14308-476: 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
14454-533: 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
14600-493: 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
14746-524: The poor infirm. Administrative systems fell within the hundreds . The Bath Hundred had various names including the Hundred of Le Buri. The Bath Foreign Hundred or Forinsecum covered the area outside the city and was later combined into the Bath Forum Hundred. Wealthy merchants had no status within the hundred courts and formed guilds to gain influence. They built the first guildhall probably in
14892-456: The rate of 1,170,000 litres (257,364 imp gal) daily, from the Pennyquick geological fault . In 1983, a new spa-water bore-hole was sunk, providing a clean and safe supply for drinking in the Pump Room. There is no universal definition to distinguish a hot spring from a geothermal spring, although, by several definitions , the Bath springs can be considered the only hot springs in
15038-430: The regional average of 1,600 hours. In December 1998 there were 20 days without sun recorded at Yeovilton. Most of the rainfall in the south-west is caused by Atlantic depressions or by convection . In summer, a large proportion of the rainfall is caused by sun heating the ground, leading to convection and to showers and thunderstorms. Average rainfall is around 700 mm (28 in). About 8–15 days of snowfall
15184-549: The reign of Edward the Elder coins were minted in Bath based on a design from the Winchester mint but with 'BAD' on the obverse relating to the Anglo-Saxon name for the town, Baðum, Baðan or Baðon, meaning "at the baths", and this was the source of the present name. Edgar of England was crowned king of England in Bath Abbey in 973, in a ceremony that formed the basis of all future English coronations . William Rufus granted
15330-478: The reputation these springs had for healing the sick. By the 9th century, the old Roman street pattern was lost and Bath was a royal possession. King Alfred laid out the town afresh, leaving its south-eastern quadrant as the abbey precinct. In the Burghal Hidage , Bath is recorded as a burh (borough) and is described as having walls of 1,375 yards (1,257 m) and was allocated 1000 men for defence. During
15476-465: 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
15622-449: The sacred spring by archaeologists. The tablets were written in Latin , and laid curses on personal enemies. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he might write a curse against the suspects on a tablet to be read by the goddess. A temple was constructed in AD ;60–70, and a bathing complex was built up over the next 300 years. Engineers drove oak piles into
15768-521: The scheme from 1793, altering Baldwin's design of the northern elevation, moving the location of the capitals that had been intended for the portico. The building was opened by the Duchess of York on 28 December 1795 and was finally finished in 1799. The South Colonnade (completed 1789) is similar to the North Colonnade but had an upper floor added in the late 19th century. The colonnades and side wall of
15914-607: The site of the Battle of Badon ( c. 500 AD), in which Arthur , the hero of later legends, is said to have defeated the Anglo-Saxons . The town was captured by the West Saxons in 577 after the Battle of Deorham ; the Anglo-Saxon poem The Ruin may describe the appearance of the Roman site about this time. A monastery was founded at an early date – reputedly by Saint David although more probably in 675 by Osric , King of
16060-572: The site of the Roman baths' main spring may have been treated as a shrine by the Britons , and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis , whom the Romans identified with Minerva ; the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, appearing in the town's Roman name , Aquae Sulis (literally, "the waters of Sulis"). Messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets , have been recovered from
16206-408: 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
16352-519: The spas, canal boat tours, Royal Crescent, Bath Skyline , Parade Gardens and Royal Victoria Park which hosts carnivals and seasonal events. Shopping areas include SouthGate shopping centre , the Corridor arcade and artisan shops at Walcot , Milsom , Stall and York Streets. There are theatres, including the Theatre Royal , as well as several museums including the Museum of Bath Architecture ,
16498-528: 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
16644-512: 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
16790-563: The top. Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia spent four years in exile, from 1936 to 1940, at Fairfield House in Bath. During World War II , between the evening of 25 April and the early morning of 27 April 1942, Bath suffered three air raids in reprisal for RAF raids on the German cities of Lübeck and Rostock , part of the Luftwaffe campaign popularly known as the Baedeker Blitz . During
16936-468: The town to take the waters: the Queen's Bath was named after her. The cue for the visit may have been the completion of the restoration work to Bath Abbey, the last instalment of which had been paid for two years previously. Anne of Denmark came to Bath in 1613 and 1615. During the English Civil War , the city was garrisoned for Charles I . Seven thousand pounds was spent on fortifications, but on
17082-457: The town, abbey and mint to a royal physician, John of Tours , who became Bishop of Wells and Abbot of Bath, following the sacking of the town during the Rebellion of 1088 . It was papal policy for bishops to move to more urban seats, and John of Tours translated his own from Wells to Bath. The bishop planned and began a much larger church as his cathedral, to which was attached a priory, with
17228-445: 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
17374-483: 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
17520-456: The warmest, with mean daily maxima of approximately 21 °C (69.8 °F). In winter, mean minimum temperatures of 1 or 2 °C (33.8 or 35.6 °F) are common. In the summer, the Azores high pressure affects the south-west of England bringing fair weather; however, convective cloud sometimes forms inland, reducing the number of hours of sunshine. Annual sunshine rates are slightly less than
17666-446: The waters, which also gives admission prices for the Pump Room and the adjoining King's and Queen's Baths. Works by local artists William Hoare (died 1792) and Thomas Gainsborough (died 1788) were also displayed there. Original drawings by Palmer were discovered during the 1990s, which revealed how he and his predecessor Baldwin had planned the Cross Bath , which has since been restored in keeping with their intentions. The Cross Bath
17812-550: The wealthy and the idle, the weak and designing" were habitual. The population of the city was 40,020 at the 1801 census, making it one of the largest cities in Britain. William Thomas Beckford bought a house in Lansdown Crescent in 1822, and subsequently two adjacent houses to form his residence. Having acquired all the land between his home and the top of Lansdown Hill , he created a garden more than 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) in length and built Beckford's Tower at
17958-408: 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
18104-471: 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
18250-585: Was a civic-minded man and a member of Bath Corporation for many years. He was elected mayor for a single term in 1742. In the early 18th century, Bath acquired its first purpose-built theatre, the Old Orchard Street Theatre . It was rebuilt as the Theatre Royal , along with the Grand Pump Room attached to the Roman Baths and assembly rooms . Master of ceremonies Beau Nash , who presided over
18396-407: Was a meeting place for fashionable people, where "Every creature in Bath [...] was to be seen in the room at different periods of the fashionable hours". It is here that Catherine Morland, the heroine of Northanger Abbey first meets Henry Tilney, another principal character in the novel. In Persuasion , Admiral Croft retires to Bath to take the waters, because of his gout . The Pump Room was used as
18542-468: Was abolished in 1996, along with the district of Bath, and there is no longer a parish council for the city. The City of Bath's ceremonial functions, including its formal status as a city, its twinning arrangements, the mayoralty of Bath – which can be traced back to 1230 – and control of the city's coat of arms , are maintained by the charter trustees of the City of Bath. The councillors elected by
18688-411: 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
18834-595: 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
18980-466: 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
19126-503: 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,
19272-521: 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
19418-462: 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)
19564-535: Was built by Baldwin in 1786–1790. Baldwin was dismissed, as a result of financial mismanagement in his handling of the large sums of money allocated to the purchase of raw materials such as timber and stone. Archaeological evidence reveals that he laid the foundations for a portico at the north front of the Pump Room, but this was never completed, and Baldwin was declared bankrupt in September 1793. Another Bath-based architect and Baldwin's long-time rival, John Palmer , took his place as city architect and continued
19710-429: 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
19856-732: 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
20002-604: Was described in Feltham ’s Guide to all the Watering and Sea-Bathing Places etc. (1813) as follows: This noble room was built in 1797 under the direction of Mr. Baldwin, architect. It is 60 feet long by 46 wide, and 31 feet high. The inside is set round with three quarter columns of the Corinthian order, crowned with an entablature, and a covering of five feet. In a recess at the West-end is
20148-462: 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
20294-634: 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
20440-535: 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
20586-499: 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
20732-520: 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
20878-649: 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
21024-567: 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
21170-655: 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
21316-514: 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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