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Japanese Suite

Japanese Suite
Orchestral composition
by Gustav Holst
The composer in his mid-twenties, c. 1901
Opus33
Composed1915
DedicationTo the Amanuensis (Vally Lasker)
Performed1 September 1919: London
MovementsSix

Japanese Suite, Op. 33 is a short orchestral work by the English composer Gustav Holst, completed in 1915.[1] It was the first of Holst's works to be performed at a Queen's Hall Promenade Concert, on 1 September 1919, with the composer conducting the New Queen's Hall Orchestra. After this there were a small number of performances in the British provinces.[2]

The suite resulted from Holst's collaboration with the dancer Michio Itō, who intended to use it as an accompaniment for one of his London performances. On the title page of the score, kept in the British Library, Holst wrote "I composed this piece for the Japanese dancer Michio Ito, who provided the themes for the parts other than the marionette dance."[3]

Japanese folk tunes

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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.[4]

The work is divided into four dance pieces, and includes a prelude, interlude and finale:[5]

  • Prelude: Song of the Fisherman
  • I – Ceremonial Dance
  • II – Dance of the Marionette
  • Interlude: Song of the Fisherman
  • III – Dance under the Cherry Tree
  • IV – Finale: Dance of the Wolf

Itō supplied all the themes except for the third movement.[6] Japanese themes include Edo Lullaby which is referenced in Dance Under the Cherry Tree.[3] In Holst's autograph sketch, Dance of the Wolf is entitled Dance of the Fox.[3] One of Itō's dance pieces at the Coliseum was entitled Moonlight Foxes.[3]

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

In his book Britten and the Far East, Mervyn Cooke describes it as an attempt by Holst to 'integrate Japanese modality' with the composer's own European harmonic approach. Cooke observes that Holst was working on the suite concurrently with 'Mercury' from his suite The Planets Op. 32.[7] Writing in The Guardian, Andrew Clements suggests that, like The Planets, the work displays some modernist influences.[8]

An early available recording from 1971 was conducted by Adrian Boult, who had maintained a lifelong friendship with Holst.[9]

Holst drew upon Edo Lullaby for Dance Under the Cherry Tree.

Origin of the work

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In his paper, The Dancer Itō Michio and Japonisme: A Driving Force for the Formation of a New Genre, Midori Takeishi says that Holst attended one of Itō's short performances at the London Coliseum in the period from 10 to 22 May 1915. In one of Holst's notebooks from this period, Ito's residential address has been written in the dancer's handwriting. Takeishi says that for these performances, the dancer had hurriedly arranged a small-scale musical accompaniment, possibly using Japanese instruments or a piano.[3]

Takeishi also observes that the young dancer was very short of money, even pawning his belongings, and would not have been able to pay Holst a fee. According to Takeishi, there is no evidence to suggest that Itō ever used the work in a performance. By September 1916, Itō had moved from London to New York.[3]

Reception

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Writing in Musical Times in December 1919, Edwin Evans reviewed Holst's development as a composer after the end of his 'Sanskrit period', with recent major works such as The Planets and The Hymn of Jesus. Evans mentioned the Japanese Suite along with several other minor works, and said that while originally planned for a Michio Itō performance at the Coliseum, it had '...now taken its place in the repertoire'.[10]

In the same publication, Richard Capell in 1927 described it as among the most likeable of Holst's smaller instrumental works, along with A Fugal Concerto and the St Paul's Suite.[11]

In 1921, Holst was commissioned to write a ballet, The Lure, and modelled one of its dances on Dance of the Marionette from this suite.[12]

Instrumentation

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Holst scored the Japanese Suite for two piccolos, cor anglais, timpani, glockenspiel, gong, xylophone, cymbals, sleigh bells, bass drum, harp and strings.[13] A typical performance takes from 10 to 12 minutes. John Boyd has arranged a version for concert band.[14]

Score

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Japanese Suite at the IMSLP Petrucci Music Library

Recordings

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Orchestra Conductor Year Venue Label
London Symphony Orchestra Sir Adrian Boult 1971 Walthamstow Assembly Hall Lyrita
Philharmonia Orchestra Djong Victorin Yu 1998 Royal Festival Hall Exton
BBC Philharmonic Andrew Davis 2011 BBC Manchester studio Chandos
Ulster Orchestra JoAnn Falletta 2012 Ulster Hall Naxos
Argovia Philharmonic Douglas Bostock 2015 Kultur & Kongresshaus, Aarau, Switzerland MBM Musikproduktion
BBC National Orchestra of Wales Barry Wordsworth 2024 BBC Studio 2, Maida Vale, London BBC Music Magazine

Alternative arrangements

  • In 2015, a version for saxophone quartet was recorded by Japanese saxophonist Masataka Hirano and the Blue Aurora Saxophone Quartet (label: Naxos).[15]
  • In 2016, Stephen W. Pratt conducted the Indiana University Wind Ensemble in a recording of John Boyd's arrangement for concert band (University streaming service).[16]
  • In 2024, Marc Reift conducted the Philharmonic Wind Orchestra in a recording with a new arrangement by John Glenesk Mortimer (label: Marcophon).

Sources: WorldCat and Apple Classical

References

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  1. ^ Rayborn, Tim (2016-04-27). A New English Music: Composers and Folk Traditions in England's Musical Renaissance from the Late 19th to the Mid-20th Century. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-2494-5.
  2. ^ "Gustav Holst - Japanese Suite op. 33, (1915)". repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  3. ^ a b c d e f 武石, みどり; タケイシ, ミドリ (2000-12-20). "伊藤道郎の日本的舞踊". 研究紀要 (in Japanese). 24: 35–60.
  4. ^ Heffer, Simon (2019-09-19). Staring at God: Britain in the Great War. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4735-5596-9.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Short, Michael (1974). Gustav Holst, 1874-1934: A Centenary Documentation. White Lion Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7285-0000-6.
  7. ^ Cooke, Mervyn (1998). Britten and the Far East: Asian Influences in the Music of Benjamin Britten. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85115-830-3.
  8. ^ Clements, Andrew (2012-07-04). "Holst: Whitman Overture; Cotswolds Symphony; Indra; Japanese Suite, etc – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  9. ^ Huismann, Mary Christison (2011-04-26). Gustav Holst: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-84526-1.
  10. ^ Evans, Edwin. “Modern British Composers. VI.-Gustav Holst (Concluded).” The Musical Times, vol. 60, no. 922, 1919, pp. 657–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3701919. Accessed 30 June 2025.
  11. ^ Capell, Richard (1927-01-01). "Gustav Holst: Notes for a Biography (II)". The Musical Times. 68 (1007): 17. doi:10.2307/913569.
  12. ^ Matthews, Colin (1984). "Some Unknown Holst". The Musical Times. 125 (1695): 269. doi:10.2307/961565.
  13. ^ "Gustav Holst - Japanese Suite". www.boosey.com. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  14. ^ Ind.), WFIU (Radio station : Bloomington (2004). Directions in Sound. Radio and Television Service of Indiana University.
  15. ^ "グスターヴ・ホルスト : V. Dance under the Cherry Tree - 3837682 - NML ナクソス・ミュージック・ライブラリー". ml.naxos.jp. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  16. ^ "Indiana University Wind Ensemble, Stephen W. Pratt, Tiffany J. Galus, conductors (2016-04-05) | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2025-06-21.

Further reading

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  • Authors: 武石, みどり., David Pacun / Midori Takeishi. Japanese elements in Michio Ito's early period (1915-1924) : meetings of East and West in the collaborative works. Gendai Tosho, Tōkyō, 2006. ISBN 9784906666935.
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The Holst Society