This work was originally written for flute, oboe (or two violins) and String Orchestra in 1923. This arrangement was premiered by the Stockholm Symphonic Winds in September 1993, conducted by the arranger. The style of A Fugal Concerto is very much neo-classical - all the rage at the time, although whether Holst had heard Stravinsky's examples is not known. In so far as the work is fugal, the adjective applies more to the texture than the form, although the second movement is canonic. The contrapuntal texture is not straightforward as phrases are displaced across barlines and cross rhythms are a feature. Nothing is allowed to settle until the folk tune is introduced toward the end. Yet, within this musical web, fascinating patterns and cross references reveal themselves.
