In 1928, Gustav Holst was mature in what scholars call his “late” style. He had recently premiered Egdon Heath, a work which was seen so stark and uncompromising it had left the London critics in a state of bafflement (Though if you’ve heard Andre Previn’s recording, you’d reconsider that assessment!). When the BBC approached him with a commission for their Wireless Military Band, Holst perhaps found himself needing of a technical “warm-up” before tackling his next major project, Hammersmith.

The choice of J.S. Bach’s Fugue in G major (BWV 577) was driven by Holst recalling his student days as a young organist, simmering with a belief that this specific fugue was “clumsy and ineffective” on the very instrument for which it was written (Short, Gustav Holst: The Man and His Music, p. 262).

The Moment: This was the dawn of the golden age of radio. The BBC was hungry for high-quality repertoire that could cut through the static of early airwaves. Holst’s intent was purely practical: he wanted to liberate Bach from the “trap” of the organ loft and give the music the articulate, dancing voice he felt it had always been denied. It was an interesting time, and it gave Holst a catalyst to create something which would potentially reach many people through a relatively new medium.

The “gigue” (or jig) is a dance of vibrant energy, and this work lives up to the name with a relentless, skipping momentum. Holst was adamant about the title. He included a disclaimer in the printed score noting that while Fugue à la Gigue perfectly described the joyful spirit of the piece, there was no historical evidence that J.S. Bach had ever sanctioned the name (Short, p. 262).

The wind version premiered over the BBC radio waves in the summer of 1928, but the orchestral version found its true home in Holst’s birthplace of Cheltenham on February 24, 1930. The reception was overwhelming; the applause was so persistent that Holst was forced to encore the entire piece immediately, something rare in his later career (Short, p. 268).

It is Bach interpreted through a colorful, 20th-century British lens: vibrant, lean, and entirely invigorated.

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Bibliography

• Short, Michael. Gustav Holst: The Man and His Music. Oxford University Press, 1990. (Specifically regarding the 1928 commission and the 1930 Cheltenham encore).
• Holst, Imogen. The Music of Gustav Holst. Oxford University Press, 1968.