The work is at once pastoral and romantic, the music fully expressing Holst’s affection for the landscape. It is also a gentle tribute to the great designer and Socialist visionary, William Morris, who was one of Holst’s great heroes, evoking Morris’ vision of the English countryside as a Heaven on Earth. It is a joyful work with hints of the greatness to come, and his masterpiece The Planets, with its visionary opening Mars, the Bringer of War. Invocation, a hauntingly contemplative work for cello and orchestra, has a shimmering, mystical quality that is curiously evocative – exotic, and yet somehow, unmistakably English. Written during the build up to the Second World War, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem is an eloquent cry for peace and a reminder that war inevitably brings misery and loss before culminating in a joyous vision of the ending of war through reconciliation between people and nations and the hope for a brighter future.

EPSG:4326

Holst 150

Chichester Cathedral

Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts

The BSO Benevolent Fund is a charity run by the musicians for the musicians. It was set up in 1958 to provide financial support for musicians in cases of prolonged and/or serious illness or injury. From the start it has been successful in meeting these aims with the very generous support of those who have contributed. The main source of income is the annual Benevolent Fund Concert at which all the musicians give freely of their services, as have many conductors and soloists who have featured in these concerts over the years. The Fund also embraces members when they retire, and by keeping in touch with them at Christmas it helps to maintain a link with old colleagues.

Jesper Svedberg

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Past events

23 - 24 Oct, 2024

Holst 150 · Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Apr 26, 2024

BSO Benevolent Fund · Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

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