Holst--British Music Collection: Buyer Beware

Music Lane

It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes.

I recently purchased the two-disc set of Holst's music in the Decca British Music Collection series. The album is a useful way to acquire a good sampling of the non-Planets Holst. Much of the music included in the set is vocal/choral: Savitri, the Hymn of Jesus, various partsongs, etc. But I was severely disappointed to discover that the CD booklet contains no texts whatsoever for any of these pieces!! This is a crippling weakness, IMO. Savitri isn't exactly La Boheme; i.e., you're not likely to have another copy in your collection whose libretto you can use. The booklet notes are brief and a bit perfunctory. It is increasingly common for record labels to make libretti available on-line to their customers. I'm not crazy about this practice, but it's certainly better than nothing, which is what Decca gives us here.
It must be said that the discs themselves are quite enjoyable: wonderful repertoire, good performances, generally excellent sound. So I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't buy this set. But the lack of texts must definitely be counted as a significant shortcoming.

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Topic - Holst--British Music Collection: Buyer Beware - Doktor Brahms 06:06:14 03/01/07 (1)

British Music Collection: Another Recommendation... - SE 11:45:50 03/01/07 (0)

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