Holst's popular suite was named for the St. Paul's Girls' School of Hammersmith, London - where he was the music director from 1904 until his death thirty years later. Composed in 1912 as a token of gratitude for the installation of a sound-proof teaching studio, where Holst composed this and nearly all subsequent works. The four movement suite was also premiered at St. Paul's by the school orchestra under Holst's direction in the winter months of 1913.
Not long after the premiere, the school purchased wind instruments, resulting in the addition of parts for flutes, oboe, clarinets and horn to the original string orchestra setting. The premiere date of this amended setting is unknown but the extra parts seem to have been added by 1920. Clark McAlister's new edition the setting with winds is based on the composer's manuscript, which differs in several respects from the string orchestra setting published in 1922. McAlister's score was first issued in 2006 by the now-defunct publisher E.F. Kalmus. Serenissima is proud to make this outstanding work available and is now the exclusive publisher for not only the study score offered here but the large score and orchestra parts.
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