Review

Gustav Holst
A Moorside Suite:

Arranged by Mark J. LaFratta

2 b-flat trumpets, horn in F, trombone, tuba

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2024
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 5 brass

Mark J. LaFratta’s brass quintet arrangement of Gustav Holst’s A Moorside Suite is a wonderful addition to the repertoire offering a genre and style that is all too underrepresented in the brass quintet catalogue. This arrangement is a delightful alternative to the classic First and Second Suite arrangements providing further insight into the musical language of Holst. Overall, Moorside Suite is more applicable to the brass quintet ensemble as Holst composed this piece for brass band. It was commissioned for the 1928 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at Crystal Palace, Holst’s first and only work for brass band.

The suite comprises of three movements; Scherzo, Nocturne, and March. LaFratta skillfully applies the sonorous attributes of the 16-part brass band piece and condenses it to the texture of a brass quintet. This piece would be a perfect ‘mood changer’ in a varied full program, or these movements can be utilised individually for a wide array of functions, particularly convocations. The first movement is a jaunty, gigue-like scherzo, the second movement has a slight resemblance to the stoicism of Saturn in the Planets, and the third movement is a classic British-style march culminating in a rousing finale. The trombone is prominently featured throughout the work, a testament to Holst being a trombonist. The arrangement is accessible for an intermediate level brass quintet, with the trombone part range written from F to b-flat1; trumpet one tops out at written c2. The trombone part is more active than in the respective brass band piece, as the baritone and euphonium parts are also designated primarily to the trombone in this arrangement.