Menoizikul; Midweek Musicalisms

A September baby who has long been one of my favourite composers is Gustav Holst. He was a third-generation Briton, his grandfather having migrated there from St Petersburg in the 18th Century. The paternal family was of mixed Swedish, Latvian and German ancestry, and on the maternal, principally English. When I was 11 and showing a strong interest in classical music, I was given my first-ever LP for my birthday... The Planets! I still have the disc, though nothing to play it on. Oh my word, how tempting it was to give you four movements from that incredible suite. 

But NO! Without doubt, that was his masterpiece, but Holst wrote lots of other music, all of easy listening and unchallenging to the ear. This could be taken as being a bit "muzak", and, perhaps, that's true. Nevertheless, it is that very inoffensiveness, the lyrical and undemanding quality, that can make these pieces worth having on one's playlists. Great for working to, like knitting, editing photos, writing blog posts........... Let's start with the shortest of my four choices for the month. A bittersweet love song. Watch how the different parts are providing offset lyrics, and only occasionally are all four voices in verbal unison.