Holst , Hammersmith

[jamsav]

for band...anything scary in the tuba part ? anybody have a scan ?

[Cameron Gates]

Hammersmith? It's mostly on off-beats if I recall, nothing difficult

I think you might be thinking of another piece of music.

It is not called the Holst Concerto for Tuba for nothing. The opening and the closing of the piece are a lot of work, yet totally rewarding when all goes right. Everything in between is like the fun étude one keeps coming back to.


Audiences hate it
Clarinetists hate it
Tuba players love it.

Sounds like a 10 to me.

[MikeMason]

Probably thinking of song of the blacksmith,2nd movement of holst 1st suite,I think...

[king2ba]

Probably thinking of song of the blacksmith,2nd movement of holst 1st suite,I think...

3rd mvt...2nd suite.

[Jay Bertolet]

Thank you SO much Dale for posting that recording, it is WONDERFUL!

This piece is one of a handful of band pieces that is every bit as good (quality of composition, quality and use of scoring, emotional content, creative ideas and melodies, etc.) as any other piece of music you will ever play or listen to. My advice is to search for the meaning in this piece. As another has suggested, this is a very cerebral piece of music and there are some very interesting writings about it. Just about everyone has a take on what Holst was trying to portray in this music and the journey of wading through those ideas is almost as interesting as the piece. Ultimately, this piece is a real test for just about any ensemble. Enjoy!

P.S.> By the way, the OP asked if there is anything scary in this part. The answer is YES! Get the music and study the part with a good recording. I've heard plenty of good musicians have real problems with this piece. It will test lots of facets of your playing, be prepared.

[jamsav]

DP- thx for posting , not your 2nd suite for sure...crap- sounds like Grainger and Shoenberg had a love child who became a composer ! Is there a scan out there ? I ll be a one man tuba section with strong tbones and euphs....

[Kevin Hendrick]

http://www.gustavholst.info/composition ... php?work=7
http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/catalogu ... ilsid=2414

[Jay Bertolet]

I did a quick internet search and came up with this link:

http://ml.oxfordjournals.org/content/37 ... eid=musicj" target="_blank

This is an article written by Robert Cantrick who conducted the second performance ever of the band version of Hammersmith. His interpretation (as expressed near the end of this article) of the piece is really interesting and gives a good idea of what Holst was trying to convey. Enjoy!

[UDELBR]

I did a quick internet search and came up with this link:

http://ml.oxfordjournals.org/content/37 ... eid=musicj" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Excellent find. Thanks Jay!

This piece always reminded me of Hindemith.

[Chuck Jackson]

Odd fact: this is one of the FEW pieces that started its life as a band work and later found itself reincarnated as an orchestral work. it absolutely does not work in the orchestral version, but the band work is one of the finest pieces of music written for any medium in the 20th Century. For the OP: PLEASE practice playing a pianissimo low F as much as humanly possible, the play a SLOW F natural minor scale, 2 ocatves slurred, in half notes as soft as possible. This will help IMMENSELY if you have to play the opening statement. When you get the part, you'll get why I advise it.

This whole thread brought on one of those wonderful Proustian moments. The ONLY time I have had the pleasure of playing this work was in the 1977 NYSSMA All-State Wind Ensemble conducted by Fred Fennell (all you New Yorkers, remember when those things were held at the Concord Hotel at Lake Kiameisha?). Needless to say, it was a life changing experience. I am proud to say that I was granted a solo bow at the end. I never knew the opening was hard, I just played it. Ah, Youth. I listen to the recording about once a year just to remember that being brash and full of oneself isn't necessarily always a bad thing. But, then again, ones youthful exuberance can be forgiven. Thank God.

Chuck

[Kevin Hendrick]

Here's the band version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ne3U04Fw-8