The Planets is undeniably Holst's most popular composition, but this album's goal is to put it into the larger context of his output by including one orchestral piece written a few years before it and one piece written at about the same time. Both of the less familiar pieces have exotic themes -- Beni Mora, subtitled "Oriental Suite," and Japanese Suite -- but they avoid the fake orientalism of so much post-Romantic music, even though the second work uses some authentic Japanese tunes. They are solidly crafted, attractive ...
Read More
The Planets is undeniably Holst's most popular composition, but this album's goal is to put it into the larger context of his output by including one orchestral piece written a few years before it and one piece written at about the same time. Both of the less familiar pieces have exotic themes -- Beni Mora, subtitled "Oriental Suite," and Japanese Suite -- but they avoid the fake orientalism of so much post-Romantic music, even though the second work uses some authentic Japanese tunes. They are solidly crafted, attractive pieces, but they lack the thematic distinctiveness that characterizes all of the movements of The Planets. The final movement of Beni Mora is intriguing in its repetition of a single accompanimental figure that continues almost through the work's entire length. The pieces are a logical extension of Holst's ongoing interest in Asian cultures and the integration of the aesthetic he had expressed in pieces like the opera Sávitri and the choral Hymn from the Rig Veda. Andrew Davis leads...
Read Less
