Composed between 1910 and 1912, Gustav Holst's The Cloud Messenger is a setting of Kalidasa's Sanskrit poem. First introduced to Sanskrit literature in the 1890s by R. W. Frazer's book, Silent Gods and Sun-steeped Lands, Holst's English translation of the text is based on Frazer's work. The poem tells the story of a poet who has long been separated from his wife and who prevails upon a passing cloud to carry a message of love to her. Perhaps the most neglected of Holst's large-scale choral works, The Cloud Messenger shows Holst's individuality in its strikingly original style and is prophetic of his later, more mature compositions.

The ethereal orchestral opening of this work sets a pastoral scene but as the choir invokes the assistance of the Cloud with its grand fortissimo entrance, the choral and harmonic power and glory of this work become immediately evident. The austere woodwind and solo viola which accompany the contralto foreshadow the harmonic economy of Holst's later work. The Cloud's ascension into the Himalayas is described by a long processional of ostinato bass and majestic trombone lines accompanying the men's vocal lines which chant a haunting plea.

As the snow-line of the mountains is reached, Holst foreshadows the minimalism of later twentieth-century composers with the development of open, contrapuntal harmonies. The harp and glockenspiel combination in this section is unique for its time while the stylized orientalism of the dance-climax is reminiscent of Rimsky-Korsakov and the interest in the exotic that was popular during the Romantic era. The powerful entry of the full organ, with its nearly eighty measures of low C pedal point, overwhelms all else and sets the scene for the re-entry of the semi-chorus, who deliver the motet-like message of love. In the last few measures of the work, the messenger describes himself as the "bringer of comfort" in a passage similar to The Planets' "Venus, bringer of peace" which shows Holst' s penchant for using favorite themes in more than one setting.

From its disastrous first performance conducted by Holst himself in 1913, this work has been unduly ignored. Although it is somewhat musically inconsistent, The Cloud Messenger is a beautiful work which contains the basis for Holst's mature compositional style and shows the beginning of his long-term interest in Sanskrit poetry.



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