Word Wise Webb

The Spiritual Life of Gustav Holst

There are several videos about the life of English composer Gustav Holst on YouTube, but none that I have found so far that discuss his spiritual life. I am hoping to fill that gap with this short essay.

I think Holst's spiritual leanings began when his father remarried following the death of his first wife (Gustav's birth mother). Holst was not religious in the common usage of the term. I would call him a scholar of religion. though he had a decided mystic streak. Holst's stepmother was a Theosophist, and I believe her influence started Holst on his spiritual journey. Several of his religious research projects bore fruit in his music. His work for chorus and orchestra "The Hymn of Jesus" used the Gnostic apocryphal gospel according to St. John as its text. Therefore, the work is not traditionally Christian. Holst also studied Sanskrit, bearing fruit in the "Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda" and the chamber opera "Savistri." I do not think it too much of a stretch to include his most famous work "The Planets" among his spiritual works, since the seven sections of the work are inspired by the astrological significance of the planets rather than on any physical characteristics. Nor do they have anything to do with the Roman deities whose names they bear. Holst also composed music for the Church of England.

There are many other interesting works in Holst's oeuvre, drawing from England's folk traditions among other sources. He is definitely a composer worth exploring if you want music that is a bit removed from the European canon.

There is an impassioned speech on ResistanceLive in support of Kamala Harris. I strongly suggest that if you are a Democrat or otherwise concerned about the future of the United States to watch this.

As outre as Yorgos Lanthimos's films are, when I try to generalize, let alone universalize, his films, I come up with "No, I don't want to do that." Maybe that is not his aim. In "Poor Things," surely he wasn't suggesting that Bellah was a model that all women must follow on the road to sexual liberation. I also felt this way about "Kinds of Kindness." The film is a triptych. Toward the end of the third, Emma Stone's character is given the choice to return to a "normal" relationship with her ex-husband and daughter--a choice which she rejects. (It doesn't help that her ex has date r***d her.) That scene could be interpreted as a statement against traditional marriage. But I think that Yorgos's films should be approached as one-offs about particular people in unique situations. Like much art, they do not necessarily have referents in the "real world."

With all the music ensembles planning their next season, at least there is that to look forward to.

Paul Auster, one of my favorite authors, has died at age 77. I will miss him and his books.