Choral Works : G.Ross / Cambridge Clare College Choir

British composer Imogen Holst (1907-1984) was the only child of Gustav Holst. She was brought up in London and educated at the St. Paul's Girls' School, where her father was director of music. She studied composition with George Dyson and Gordon Jacob and harmony and counterpoint with Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Royal College of Music. In the autumn of 1952, Benjamin Britten invited Holst to come to Aldeburgh to help with his opera Gloriana. She stayed in Aldeburgh for the rest of her life, working as Britten's assistant for twelve years and artistic director for the Aldeburgh Festival from 1956 to 1977. Languishing in the shadow of both her father and Benjamin Britten, Holst's own compositions have not received the recognition they deserve. Graham Ross conducts the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge and the instrumentalists of the Dmitri Ensemble in these world premiere recordings of a selection of Holst's choral works ranging from 1927 to 1972, three of which have not been heard since their first performance. Also included is the first recording of her imaginative and skillful orchestration of Benjamin Britten's cantata Rejoice in the Lamb, made at Britten's own request.