Hidden Holst II: Japanese Suite, op.33 (1915)

Gustav Holst’s Japanese Suite, op.33 (H126) is one of the ‘forgotten gems’ of his opus. This beautifully written piece sits well beside The Planets. The Japanese dancer Michio Itō required some Asian sounding orchestral music for his dancing appearances. Holst broke off his work on The Planets to oblige.

Michio Itō (1892-1961) was born in Tokyo, moved to Paris in 1911, then to London on the outbreak of the First World War. In 1916 he relocated to the United States, where he remained until after the attack on Pearl Harbour, when he was interned and then deported to Japan as part of a prisoner of war exchange. He had a working relationship with W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound. For the former he provided the balletic elements of At the Hawk’s Well, which, although based on the tales of Cuchulain, the mythological hero of ancient Ulster, used many of the features of the Japanese Noh Play.

The Japanese Suite uses music mainly derived from ancient Japanese tunes which were supplied by Itō. They were whistled to Holst, who jotted them down, and realised them for full orchestra.

The Suite is made up of four movements with an introduction and interlude. The opening bassoon solo in the Prelude: Song of the Fisherman nods towards Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. The prelude continues with a serene passage, supported by a complex harp figuration. This is followed by a rhythmic, but also pesante, Ceremonial Dance. The Dance of the Marionette was an original Holst tune that suggests Mercury from the Planets. Look out for the illusory changes of metre between 6/8 and 3/4, as well as the use of the glockenspiel and xylophone. This short number nods more to Petrushka, than any incipient orientalism. The short Interlude: Song of the Fisherman, re-presents the gorgeous romantic phrase from the opening section. Sadly, it lasts for less the fifty seconds. The fourth movement is a Dance under a Cherry Tree, which magically evokes the blossom of Japan’s iconic tree, whether seen in London or Kyoto. The initially grumpy Dance of the Wolves brings the suite to a rumbustious conclusion with a compelling accelerando.

The listener may argue to what extent this Suite reflects any Japanese musical aesthetic. Safe to say that it is really a Western musician’s view of what this would/should/could sound like. Michael Kennedy wrote that it “is more reminiscent of the Mendelssohn of the Hebrides Overture, with occasional idiosyncratic touches of harmony.”

As an exercise in orchestration, it is a masterpiece. Despite being a short composition, Holst deploys a broad range of instruments including the piccolo, flutes, oboe, English horn, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, sleigh bells, bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, xylophone, gong, harp, and strings. The large orchestra required has been one of the factors that has led to this brief suite being ignored by concert promoters.

According to Imogen Holst, the Suite was “possibly” staged at the Coliseum Theatre, London during 1916. I was unable to find a reference to this performance in the contemporary media. The first concert performance was given during a Promenade Concert at the Queen’s Hall, London on 1 September 1919. The composer conducted the New Queen’s Hall Orchestra.

Three recordings of Holst’s Japanese Suite have been made:

1. London Symphony Orchestra/Adrian Boult, (Lyrita, SRCD.222, 1972/1992)
2. Ulster Orchestra/JoAnn Falletta, (Naxos 8.572914, 2012)
3. Manchester Chamber Choir/Andrew Davis, (Chandos CHSA 5086, 2011)

The Naxos Edition can be heard on YouTube, here.