Imogen Holst (1907-84)
Composer; Editor; Writer; Teacher
Works published by MoV
A Hymne to Christ (SATB)
A Hymne to Christ (SATB)
This is a setting of the first two verses of John Donne’s poem, A Hymne to Christ, at the Author’s last going into Germany, written shortly before he went to Germany in 1619 as chaplain to the Earl of Doncaster. It speaks of his search for God’s love to replace the love he has to leave behind. Imogen Holst’s homophonic and largely syllabic setting of the poem allows for clarity of meaning, and the use of identical harmony in verse two makes for an efficient rehearsal process. Composed in 1940, the sumptuous harmonies belie the inevitable comparisons between Donne’s perilous sea journey, and the horrors being endured, at home and abroad, since the outbreak of the Second World War.
A Hymne to Christ (SATB)
This work is published in our anthology Volume 1
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Perusal score coming soon
(August 2025)
Imogen Holst (1907–84)
Imogen Holst was born in Richmond, Surrey, and studied at St Paul’s Girls’ School and the Royal College of Music. She won several prizes during her study, including the Cobbett prize for a Phantasy string quartet and a travelling scholarship upon leaving the College in 1930. In 1931, she embarked upon a career as a freelance musician; composing, editing and writing, particularly about her father Gustav. Her biography of her father was published in 1938. She was an inspirational teacher and between 1940 and 1942 she worked in the southwest of England encouraging music-making amongst civilians in rural areas. Then in 1943, she started a music training course at Dartington Hall in Devon, which eventually became Dartington College. She returned to freelance music in 1951, soon to be asked by Benjamin Britten to work with him at the Aldeburgh Festival, where she served as his musical assistant and eventually Artistic Director from 1956 to 1977. She felt particularly responsible for her father’s music, and supervised and conducted recordings, revised editions and compiled a thematic catalogue. She died in Aldeburgh in March 1984 and is buried in the parish churchyard.
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