This afternoon’s concert opens with the exciting and colourful ballet suite from Holst's comedic opera, The Perfect Fool which features three dances of changing tempo; fast, slow, fast. The Perfect Fool begins with a wizard's incantation impressively transferred to trombones, and throughout; ghostly figures build excitement and spirits are conjured through intricately shifting rhythms. Fabulous feats of virtuosity and hushed ecstatic harmonies combine in this piece resulting in an otherworldly and entirely unique soundworld that only Holst could have produced.
This afternoon also features a selection of William Walton’s unique and memorable work, Façade. This piece combines Edith Sitwell's striking poems and Walton's extraordinary music, and was written over the course of just three weeks.
We also hear John Ireland's tone poem The Forgotten Rite, which illustrates an atmospheric recital of the Pagan history of Jersey. This expressive and mystic poem tells of the island’s ancient magic and witchcraft.
The final piece this afternoon is another mythical tone poem by English composer Arnold Bax. This time inspired by the island belonging to Fand, the daughter of the lord of the ocean. A ship cast ashore, swelling seas and a shimmering island are all vividly depicted in Bax’s eloquent score – The Garden of Fand.