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Japanese folk tunes

Most of the main melodies in the Japanese Suite are based on traditional Japanese folk tunes. Holst sat in Itō's dressing room and took notes, while the dancer whistled the tunes to him.^[1]

The work is divided into four dance pieces, and includes a prelude, interlude and finale:

1. Prelude; Song of the Fisherman
2. I – Ceremonial Dance
3. II – Dance of the Marionette
4. Interlude; Song of the Fisherman
5. III – Dance under the Cherry Tree
6. IV – Finale: Dance of the Wolf

^[2] Itō supplied all the themes except for the third movement.^[3]

 

Michio Itō, c. 1919. Photograph by Marcia Stein.

Japanese themes include Edo Lullaby which is referenced in Dance Under the Cherry Tree.^[4] In Holst's autograph sketch, Dance of the Wolf is entitled Dance of the Fox.^[4] One of Itō's dance pieces at the Coliseum was entitled Moonlight Foxes.^[4]

Movements

1. Prelude
2. O thou, who com'st from Heaven's king
3. In the city of the Great God
4. Bringer of rain
5. Rushing northward
6. See how all greet thee
7. Behold the villages
8. As the rain descends
9. Tarry not, O cloud, tarry not
10. Tarry not, O cloud
11. And hark!
12. Thou hast reached the snowy peaks
13. And see! The Great God himself
14. Chorus (Moderato maestoso)
15. When the dancers are weary
16. Wait near her flower-covered window
17. The Message (I, the bringer of the rain)
18. 'Beloved!'

^[5]

Movements

Prelude; O thou, who com'st from Heaven's king; In the city of the Great God; Bringer of rain; Rushing northward; See how all greet thee; Behold the villages; As the rain descends; Tarry not, O cloud, tarry not; Tarry not, O cloud; And hark!; Thou hast reached the snowy peaks; And see! The Great God himself; Chorus (Moderato maestoso); When the dancers are weary; Wait near her flower-covered window; The Message (I, the bringer of the rain); 'Beloved!'. ^[6]

Structure

The cantata, written in C minor, has seven movements.

1. Coro. Largo - Larghetto (C minor)
2. Recitativo. Presto (A minor)
3. Aria. Allegro maestoso - Allegro assai (D major)
4. Aria con Coro. Andante con moto (F major)
5. Recitativo. Largo (D minor)
6. Aria. Adagio con affetto (E♭ major)
7. Coro. Largo - Larghetto (C minor)

Give Us This Day – David Maslanka The words “Give us this day” are, of course, from the Lord’s Prayer, but the inspiration for this music is Buddhist. I have recently read a book by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hahn (pronounced “Tick Nat Hahn”) titled For a Future to be Possible. His premise is that a future for the planet is only possible if individuals become deeply mindful of themselves, deeply connected to who they really are. While this is not a new idea, and something that is an ongoing struggle for everyone, in my estimation it is the issue for world peace. For me, writing music, and working with people to perform music, are two of those points of deep mindfulness. Music makes the connection to reality, and by reality I mean a true awakeness and awareness. Give Us This Day gives us this very moment of awakeness and awareness so that we can build a future in the face of a most dangerous and difficult time. I chose the subtitle, “Short Symphony for Wind Ensemble,” because the music is not programmatic in nature. It has a full-blown symphonic character, even though there are only two movements. The music of the slower first movement is deeply searching, while that of the highlyenergized second movement is at times both joyful and sternly sober. The piece ends with a modal setting of the choral melody “Vater Unser in Himmelreich” (Our Father in Heaven) – No. 110 from the 371 four-part chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach. – David Maslanka

Capriccio – Gustav Holst Capriccio came about in 1932 as a result of a commission by Nathaniel Shilkret, a dance band conductor, composer, and clarinetist. He sought “a short radio piece, not longer than five or six minutes,” for a composers’ series on folk music themes. Originally titled “Jazz-Band Piece” or “Mr. Shilkret’s Maggot,” this piece did not make it into the composers’ series as it did not include a traditional English or American folk tune;Holst composed the tune himself. The piece went unfinished until Holst’s daughter, Imogen, revised the work for orchestra, and titled the work Capriccio.

1. Heffer, Simon (2019-09-19). Staring at God: Britain in the Great War. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4735-5596-9.
2. Mitchell, Jon C. (2001). A Comprehensive Biography of Composer Gustav Holst, with Correspondence and Diary Excerpts: Including His American Years. E. Mellen Press. ISBN 978-0-7734-7522-9.
3. Short, Michael (1974). Gustav Holst, 1874-1934: A Centenary Documentation. White Lion Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7285-0000-6.
4. Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. The Cloud Messenger, H111 recording by The Choir of King's College London — Apple Music Classical, retrieved 2025-08-11
6. The Cloud Messenger, H111 recording by The Choir of King's College London — Apple Music Classical, retrieved 2025-08-11