The first major study of Gustav Holst’s “Indian” works

Holst’s interest in India has been known for a long time, but this is the first publication entirely devoted to the subject. It briefly traces the history of the contact between Britain and India and puts it into the context of cultural understanding in the years 1899 - 1914.

Holst’s interest in the vedic hymns, the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Upanishads eventually resulted in a corpus of work equalled by no other composer of the time or since. Unaccountably, the work has been little researched or appreciated.

There are three analytical sections on the “Indian” works explaining why he was interested in Indian literature and how this affected the music that was composed:

1. Maya to the grand opera Sita.

2. The Vedic Hymns - choral and solo.

3. The opera Savitri to the cantata The Cloud Messenger based upon Kalidasa’s Meghudutta.

Attention is given to all the Indian works.

This study should be of genuine interest to all those who are interested in the music of Gustav Holst and East/ West relations.

A4, 35 pages: title page, foreword, acknowledgements, 8 illustrations: 5 col, 3 b/w, 10 musical examples.

Hard copy: £12.50 Buy    PDF by email: £7.50 Buy

"This book is the ideal summary for the student, commentator or presenter" Alan Gibbs- musicweb-international.com, July 2012

"in this delightful and fascinating monograph..Raymond Head sets us onthe way to obliterating that  ignorance...I for one will be rushing back to the substantial clutch of India-inspired works to appreciate them afresh"    Andrew Green - Classical Music Magazine

September 8th 2012

" an important addition to critical work on Holst!"  Clement Jewitt TEMPO  Vol. 67  no.263  January 2013