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Students Guide

To

Chaconne from

First Suite in Eb for Military Band

Opus 28, No.1

Gustav Holst

By

Juan Rivera

Mus 110D

December 8, 2016

F.Heuser
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Unit Contents
I. Introductionpg. 2

II. Learning Goals...pg. 3

III. About the Work..pg. 4

IV. About the Composer..pg. 4

V. Assignments:

a. Listening Assignment..pg. 5
b. Practice Assignment.pg. 7
c. Creative Project..pg. 8

VI. Glossary of Terms.pg. 10

VII. Analyzed Score..pg. 11

Introduction
This guide to Gusatv Holsts First Suite in Eb for Military band is designed to

help students understand the historical, composition, and performance aspect of the

work. It includes everything you need to know including terms and a score analysis. Go

through all the sections at your own pace so that you can fully understand the concepts

before moving on. Have fun!

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Learning Goals:
By completing this guide, students will be able to:

1. Play your part of the Chaconne in the first suit in Eb.

2. Understand the history about the work

3. Understand the history of the composer

4. Identify the different compositional techniques used in the piece

5. Compose a short piece using these techniques

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About the Work

Written in 1909, this piece was the first composition written for military band. It was

also a driving force that helped spur some of the most prominent composers of the day

to write for the medium of concert band. Interestingly enough, the work wasnt

officially premiered until 1920 at the Royal Military School of Music on June 23, 1920. A

piece in three movements starts with the Chaconne which is a 16 note melody that

starts in the baritone and makes its way throughout the entire band. This is followed by

the Intermezzo and a march. Holsts style is different from other composers who would

generally write for the concert band as if it was and orchestra without strings. In

England, the term military band refers to a band with

mixed woodwinds, brass, and percussion as opposed to

a simple brass band.

About the Composer

Born in Cheltenham, England in 1874 to a musical

family of Swedish descent, Gustav Holst is regarded as

one of the best composers of western music. In 1893, he entered the Royal College of

Music where he developed a friendship with Ralph Vaughn Williams whom boht

became involved with the rediscovery of English folk songs. After graduating, Holst
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made a living as a professional trombonist for the Carl Rosa Opera Company and later

with the Scottish Orchestra. From 1904 until the end of his life in 1934, he was the

director of St. Pauls Girls School in London. Other notable works of Holst from the

concert band repertoire include the Second Suite in F (1911) and Hammersmith: Prelude

and Scherzo (Op. 52). Holsts most famous work was the Planets which was written

between 1914-16.

Listening Assignment
1. Listen to the Chaconne and answer the following questions. You can follow this

link to hear it online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLbP6qpl1YI

a. What did you like about the piece?

b. Did you hear any melodies reoccur throughout the piece

c. If so, was it played by the same instrument?

d. Was it played exactly the same way as before?

2. If you listened very carefully, you should have heard a reoccurring melody

happening throughout the piece. If you guessed it, good job!

What you hear is called a Chaconne. You may be asking yourself, what is a chaconne?

Good question. A chaconne is like a set of variations that are based on a repetitive chord

progression similar to a passacaglia usually in a triple meter major mode.

The melody in question consists of just 16 notes that make up the following melody:
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3. Listen to the recording again and write down the number of times you hear this

melody regardless of what instrument plays it.

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Practice Assignment
1. Warm-up by practicing the concert pitch scales and arpeggios that are used in

this movement. Ascending and descending.

Scale Arpeggio
Eb Major: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 3 5 8 5 3 1
Concert Pitch Instruments: Eb F G Ab Bb C D Eb Eb G Bb Eb Bb G Eb
Bb Transposing Instruments: F G A Bb C D E F F A C F C A F
Eb Transposing instruments: C D E F G A B C C E G C G E C
F Transposing instruments: Bb C D Eb F G A Bb Bb D F Bb F D Bb

C Minor:

Concert Pitch Instruments: C D Eb F G Ab B C C Eb G C G Eb C

Bb Transposing Instruments: D E F G A Bb C# D D F A D A F D
Eb Transposing instruments: A B C D E F G# A A C E A E CA
F Transposing instruments: G A B C D Eb F# G G Bb D G D Bb G

2. Practice the scales with the following meters and rhythms:.

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Creative Project
All of the thematic material (i.e. melodies) heard throughout the entire piece come from

the opening of the chaconne. Lets look at the original theme again shall we.

Opening Theme mm. 1-8

Then, in mm. 81-88 you have what is called an inversion of the melody.

What is an inversion?
An inversion is basically to change its ascending intervals to descending and vice versa.

For example, the beginning of the original them goes a step up while the inverted goes a

step down.

Lets take a look at a few more interesting things that occur. From comparing the

original with the one below, can you tell me what is going on?

If you said that it is transposed, then you are correct! This is another

compositional technique many composers use to make new melodies from old ones by

moving the notes up or down by a constant interval of his/her choosing. This particular

melody is being transposed up a third.

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Lastly, lets take a look at the remainder techniques we are going to be using.

Here we see the original melody followed by an augmentation and a diminution of the

same one. What do you think is happening here? From just thinking about the word

augment, you may be thinking to get bigger. In contrast, diminution means to get

smaller. In these examples, the note values are being lengthened by augmentation while

the note values are being shortened with diminution. All of these techniques are labeled

as thematic transformations and are used by composers.

Project:

Come up with an 8 bar melody

Once you have done so, apply all the compositional techniques we have
discussed one at a time.
Play it for a friend and see what they think
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Glossary of Terms
Chaconne: A form of variation based on a repetitive chord progression similar to a
passacaglia usually in a triple meter major mode.

Allegro Moderato: Moderately Fast

Pesante: Weighty, with emphasis

Brillante: Brilliant

Cresendo poco a poco: Growing little by little

Tenuto: Held, sustained

Soli: More than one player

Mestoso: Majestic

Legato: Smoothly, connected

Diminuendo: getting softer

Staccato: Short, detached

Pedal point: a compositional technique in which one note, usually the tonic or
dominant of the piece, is held for several measures while the other parts play the
changing harmonies.

Thematic Transformation: Compositional techniques that are used by a composer to

alter a melody. These alterations can include inversion, augmentation, diminution,
transposition, and retrograde.

Score Analysis
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