Indra (symphonic poem)

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Indra
Symphonic poem
by Gustav Holst
HOLST 1901 portrait.jpg
The composer in his mid-twenties c. 1901.
Opus 13
Composed1903
Performed25 October 1987
MovementsOne

Indra, Op. 13, is a symphonic poem by the English composer Gustav Holst, which was completed in April 1903. It was one of the first of Holst's works to draw upon his studies of Sanskrit literature. [1] The name refers to Indra, the Hindu god associated with the weather. [2]

Contents

Holst's friend and fellow music student, Fritz Hart, recalls the work being 'tried-over' by a student orchestra not long after it was composed. [3] However, its first public performance was not until 25 October 1987 at Chipping Norton School, with the North Oxfordshire Scratch Orchestra conducted by Raymond Head. [4]

Indra's battle

Holst's symphonic poem depicts a battle to the death between the god Indra and the dragon Vritra. Supporting Indra were his attendant warriors, the Maruts, or stormclouds. Indra was victorious and slew the dragon, which had been withholding the rain from the parched fields. [5]

As part of his introduction to the work, the composer wrote: [6]

"...There is drought in the land. The dragon Vrita has seized the rain clouds and holds them fast in his grasp. Famishing men go wandering hopelessly under the unceasing glare of the sun only to sink down exhausted. One voice among them is heard praying to Indra..."

Indra is the most frequently mentioned deity in the Rig Veda (from ऋच्, "praise" [7] and वेद, "knowledge"), an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (sūktas). [8] Its early layers are among the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language. [9] It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ( śruti ) known as the Vedas. [10]

In a later work, Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda , Op. 24 and Op. 26, Holst would return to this theme with two of the hymns, Indra (God of Storm and Battle) and Hymn to Indra. [2]

Indian cultural influences

As a young man, Holst became interested in Hindu philosophy, and in 1899 studied Sanskrit literature at University College in London. [11]

Indra, the god of storms and guardian of the east, riding on his white elephant, Airavata. Tiruchchirappalli painting Indra.jpg
Indra, the god of storms and guardian of the east, riding on his white elephant, Airavata.

Over a period of several years, Holst drew inspiration from the Hindu tradition a number of times, with notable examples being the cantata The Cloud Messenger and the opera Sāvitri . [2] In December 1919, writing in The Musical Times , Edwin Evans, when reviewing the composer's ongoing development, described this as Holst's 'Sanskrit' period. [12] In the 1980s, in Holst and India: 'Maya' to 'Sita', Raymond Head described it as Holst's 'Indian' period. [2]

During this period, musicologist Nalini Ghuman sees a clear influence of the Indian classical music tradition on Holst's use of harmony, texture and mode. In her book Resonances of the Raj, she provides examples of how he drew upon elements such as the ālāp and rāga . [13]

Ethnomusicologist Martin Clayton says that at least one Holst biographer was reluctant to acknowledge that the composer had been directly influenced by Indian music. Clayton says that Holst could have heard it being played by visiting musicians, or through his association with the violinist Maud Mann, an authority on the subject. [14]

Imogen Holst suggested that her father studied Sanskrit with academic Mabel Bode in the late 1890s. However, Raymond Head believes this took place during the period 1899–1905, and was a study of the literature, rather than the language itself. [2]

According to Imogen Holst, her father began exploring Indian culture and history after reading the book Silent Gods and Sun Steeped Lands by R. W. Frazer. [2]

Recordings

OrchestraConductorYearVenueLabel
London Philharmonic Orchestra David Atherton 1993Lyrita
Ulster Orchestra JoAnn Falletta 2012 Ulster Hall Naxos
BBC Philharmonic Andrew Davis 2018BBC Manchester studioChandos

Sources: WorldCat and Apple Classical

References

  1. ↑ Capell, Richard. “Gustav Holst: Notes for a Biography (II).” The Musical Times, vol. 68, no. 1007, 1927, pp. 17–19. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/913569. Accessed 25 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Head, Raymond. “Holst and India (I): ‘Maya’ to ‘Sita.’” Tempo, no. 158, 1986, pp. 2–7. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/944947. Accessed 21 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Hart, Fritz. Early memories of Gustav Holst. The RCM Magazine, Volume 39. pp. 86–87.
  4. ↑ “News Section.” Tempo, no. 163, 1987, pp. 53–55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/945704. Accessed 21 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Ghuman, Nalini (2014). Resonances of the Raj: India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897-1947. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-931489-8.
  6. ↑ Holst, Imogen (1974). A thematic catalogue of Gustav Holst's music. Internet Archive. London (38 Russell Sq., WC1B 5DA) : Faber Music Ltd. : G. and I. Holst Ltd. ISBN   978-0-571-10004-0.
  7. ↑ Derived from the root ṛc "to praise", cf. Dhātupātha 28.19. Monier-Williams translates Rigveda as "a Veda of Praise or Hymn-Veda".
  8. ↑ Gonda, Jan (1989). The Indra Hymns of the Ṛgveda. Brill Archive. p. 3. ISBN   90-04-09139-4.
  9. ↑ Bryant, Edwin F. (2015). The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: A New Edition, Translation, and Commentary. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 565–566. ISBN   978-1-4299-9598-6. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  10. ↑ Witzel, Michael (2005). "Vedas and Upaniṣads". In Gavin Flood (ed.). The Blackwell companion to Hinduism (1st paperback ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. pp. 68–71. ISBN   1-4051-3251-5.
  11. ↑ Huismann, Mary Christison (2011-04-26). Gustav Holst: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-135-84527-8.
  12. ↑ Evans, Edwin. “Modern British Composers. VI.-Gustav Holst (Concluded).” The Musical Times, vol. 60, no. 922, 1919, pp. 657–61. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3701919. Accessed 30 June 2025.
  13. ↑ Ghuman, Nalini (2014). Resonances of the Raj: India in the English Musical Imagination, 1897‒1947. Oxford University Press. pp. 105–151. ISBN   9780199314898.
  14. ↑ Zon, Bennett; Clayton, Martin (15 November 2016). Music and Orientalism in the British Empire, 1780s–1940s. Routledge. pp. 71–93. ISBN   978-0754656043.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)

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