Gustav Holst as a Choral Composer: His Life, Factors Influencing His Compositions, His Place in English Music, and a Consideration of the Principal Stylistic Elements of His Choral Music

"An amiable personality, not himself an unusually passionate man, HoIst has excited more violent passions than any other contemporary English composer. How difficult he is to assess as a creative artist is perhaps indicated by the extraordinary fluctuations in his reputation." For a number of years he was completely unknown and ignored, living a quiet and unhurried life as an obscure teacher. Then with a momentary flash, after outstanding works such as "The Planets," and the "Ode to Death," he was caught up in a wave of public approval that made him, for a time, the recipient of national and even international honors. He was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Philharmonic Society, was made a Fellow of the Royal Col.ege of Music, and was offered honorary degrees by American universities.