Tune

Imogen Holst's Tune (Faber, 1962) is a searching enquiry into the invention of tune and at the same time a comprehensive anthology of tunes from folksong to the present day. Plainsong, street-cries, the songs of the English lutenists, Bach's dances, and Mozart's arias - whatever the origins and character of the tunes in question, Imogen Holst (daughter of the composer, Gustav Holst) has something fresh and revealing to say about them. And she does not confine herself to familiar ground. One of her most illuminating chapters is devoted to the music of India, where a raga can provide improvised 'tune' of several hours duration. This chapter is the result of her personal experience of studying music in India, and it is typical of her vivid approach to the subject. Her book is for everyone who likes to sing, play, whistle, hum or listen to a good tune.

Imogen Holst (1907-1984), the only child of Gustav Holst, was a musician of outstanding ability: composer conductor, writer and scholar, she was the first Director of Music in the Arts Department at Dartington in the 1940s; assistant to Benjamin Britten from 1952-64; an Artistic Director of the Aldeburgh Festival, where she was a pioneer of early music; and friend, colleague and inspirer of many eminent musicians. For the last twenty years of her life she devoted much of her time to her father's legacy, performing recording and editing his music, as well as compiling the definitive Thematic Catalogue of his works for his centenary in 1974.