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HOLST – March (from the First Suite, in Eb Major) – FOUR CELLOS

Other Identification:
The First Suite in E-flat by Gustav Holst is now considered one of the masterworks and cornerstones of the band literature. Although completed in 1909, the suite didn’t receive its official premiere until 11 years later on 23rd June, 1920, by an ensemble of 165 musicians at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall (near London). However, the work was originally conceived to be performed by ensembles significantly smaller than the one at Kneller Hall. During this time period there was no standardized instrumentation among the hundreds of British military bands of the day, and as a result no significant literature had been previously written for the band medium; most British bands up to then performed arrangements of popular orchestral pieces.

In order to ensure the suite would be accessible to as many bands as possible, Holst ingeniously scored the work so that it could be played by a minimum of 19 musicians, with 16 additional parts that could be added or removed without compromising the integrity of the work.

– Fully crediting the excellent programme notes by Esmail Khalili

Movements or sections:
The March – the THIRD movement of the four in the Suite – begins suddenly, almost abruptly. It consists of two themes, the first of which is a march ‘light’ in character. The second theme is composed of a long, lyrical line reminiscent of the original Chaconne melody. The movement concludes with both themes intertwining as the band crescendos to a climax.

Instrumentation:
QUARTET OF FOUR CELLOS
Original Transcription: Boris Korolyov
Preparation for 4 Solo Cellos: David Johnstone

2 PDFs:
1] – General Score
2] – All individual parts

Approximate difficulty:
Difficult – advanced for all cello parts, due to the high speed (minim/half-note at least = metronome 120), but is well playable by fairly ‘agile’ players!

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