Notes on the text-setting of Holst’s “Hymn for Jesus”.

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Eleanor Dye 13-2

Notes on the text-setting of Holst’s “Hymn for Jesus”.

        In this essay, I aim to explore the text-setting of Holst’s “Hymn for Jesus”.

        The work incorporates a double choir (SATBSATB) in the second hymn, and a semi-chorus throughout which consists initially (in the first hymn) of trebles and later of tenors and baritones, and then (in the second hymn) of trebles and altos. The semi-choruses in the first hymn sing in unison, giving a monophonic vocal texture – added to the orchestra, the overall texture is homophonic.

        Throughout the first hymn, the music is homorhythmic – the text is set to quavers, with crotchets on the last note of each phrase being the only exception to this rule. Adding to this impression of regularity and preciseness is the use of phrases of very similar lengths. However, as the music of the first hymn is in free time, the perceived note values of a performance of the work would differ from those notated.

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        The minor tonality of the first hymn, added to the thin texture (due to the choir semi-choruses singing in union) gives a melancholy, sombre mood to the music. However, the music modulates to Bb major in the third bar after figure 3, and later the texture thickens in the sixth bar after figure 4, with block chords played by the orchestra, and the music modulates from F minor (which it is in at figure 4) to C major at this point, which implies that the text is not as grave as the music would earlier have suggested.

        For the first ...

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