Holst - Second Suite in F
December 2, 2022
Shawn Vondran leads the Symphonic Band in a performance of Gustav Holst's Second Suite in F, presented 100 years after the work's premiere.
(00:17) March
(04:50) Song Without Words
(07:34) Song of the Blacksmith
(08:47) Fantasia on the “Dargason”
Program Note
Second Suite in F is based entirely on material from folk songs and Morris dances. The opening March utilizes three tunes: a lively Morris dance, the lyrical melody of “Swansea Town”, and the lilting style of “Claudy Banks”. Th e second movement is a slow, tender setting of an English love song, “I’ll Love My Love,” a story of two lovers separated by their parents and the deep love they would always have for each other. Song of the Blacksmith, the third movement, demonstrates Holst’s inventive scoring with a lively rhythm imitating the sound of a blacksmith’s anvil. The final movement, Fantasia on the “Dargason,” is based on an English country-dance and folk song dating from the 16th century.