(oooh look, I got this embedding thing to work!!) This is of course not the NSO. Hearing this passage live though did make sitting through the first act worthwhile. The played quite well together tonight actually (though the Elger in act one was still painful). I give this credit to Leonard Slatkin the conductor this evening. He seemed to energize them in a way I haven't seen before.
The most amazing passage starts about 3 minutes in and to me it is one of the most beautifully written movements in classical music. It fills me with British pride (I don't even know if Holst was British, but this must have been used as theme music in enough BBC films for it to forever be linked in my mind). Hum along if you like....
Holst was indeed English and that passage - "Thaxted" - gets included at the Proms. Sing along to "I vow to thee, my country"!
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That's why I thought there were words to it - like I could almost sing along but not quite...
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