Gustav Holst

b. 1874 - d. 1934

Gustav Theodore Holst was was born in Cheltenham, England on 14th September 1874. He studied composition under C.V. Stanford at the Royal College of Music in London (where he was also later to teach) and began his musical career as a professional trombonist. In 1905, he was appointed as the Director of Music at the St. Paul's Girl's School in Hammersmith.

A good friend, Ralph Vaughan Williams, was an early influence on his writing, but Holst's music is highly original. Other than a few solo songs, Stainer & Bell primarily published his choral works including The Hymn of Jesus (1920), The Cloud Messenger (1910-12) and the Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (1908-1912).