In terms of published material, Imogen Holst is best known in the field of folk song arrangement, either for educational purposes or for the English Folk Dance and Song Society. She wrote and arranged for bamboo pipes, piano, string classes and of course voices – ‘useful music’ as she would put it. Music for pipes resulted in arrangements including country dance tunes from Playford's Dancing Master, music of Morley, Purcell, Lawes and Weekes, and of Gustav Holst, all of which served to extend the musical experience of a novice as well as being suitable for their primary function. The piano pieces resulted from her teaching during the 1930s, and approached matters of fingering and independence of hands in two lovely volumes of simple compositions along with some arrangements.
She also arranged for larger ensembles, and by all accounts she undertook a good deal of such work, though little survives. She first arranged traditional country dance tunes for brass and military bands, and she also arranged for ensembles to lead country dancing by members of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Indeed, some public recognition resulted from the occasional BBC broadcast of concerts and festivals promoted by the EFDSS, and also from the 78’s of her arrangements, made for the Gramophone Company in 1934.
The small amount of material for string classes came from the years at Dartington when she had Sybil Eaton, violinist, on her staff. The Six Canons for Violin Classes appeared in 1946, and the note in the front of the copy states that ‘the least experienced players will be able to take an easy part in contrapuntal music that is not confined to the familiar tonic and dominant seventh...’
Later on, recorder music became ever more prominent within her arrangements, much of it during the 1950s, as a joint venture with Benjamin Britten. The combination of Britten, an enthusiastic player, and IH with her extensive teaching experience resulted in a highly successful collaboration and publications from Boosey and Hawkes.
Following her visit to India in an exploration of its indigenous folk music in 1951, one might have expected a variety of arrangements based on Indian tunes to follow; in fact she produced just one such collection, the Ten Indian Folk Tunes for recorder in 1953.
Imogen Holst turned to choral arrangement and not least that for SSA during the 1930s. Judging by the amount of time she spent on such arrangements over the next twenty five years, either her appetite for choral arrangements was insatiable or the offer from publishers too generous to refuse! Many of these, largely of popular folk songs, were published; her approach is simple, never self indulgent, resulting in a plain and natural treatment of the original modal material (Dorian being the most common in arrangements). The arrangements retain the strophic or strophic variation forms of their originals, and this contrasts with her vocal and choral compositions which avoid strophic form and are usually through-composed, following the texts which were of such importance to her.
Further stylistic hallmarks include oblique motion away from and back to the unison, the tonal centre E and some notable rhythmic invention. Her style is more linear in approach than much of the heavy, chordal work around in England at the time! Gypsy Davy (1970) is an arrangement of a southern Appalachian song and was written for Russell Burgess’s Wandsworth School Choir. Changes of time signature, difficult intervals, arresting harmonies and unpredictable dynamic contrasts collectively sustain fever pitch. This free arrangement has a more potent compositional element than is customary within the arrangements.
Towards the end of her life she turned more to composition – please see the relevant section on this website for further information.
© Christopher Tinker 2007
