Gustav Holst ⁠— ⁠along with Elgar, Britten and Vaughan Williams ⁠— ⁠is one of the most famous and best-loved of British composers and his “Planets” suite is one of the greatest orchestral works written in the twentieth century. It therefore almost beggars belief that “Sita”, Holst’s operatic masterpiece and the largest-scale work he ever composed, had not been published, recorded or even performed until 2024.

All that changed when a German opera company ⁠— ⁠the Saarländisches Staatstheater ⁠— ⁠undertook the mammoth task of transcribing and setting the manuscript and staging the work; and we at EM Records are absolutely delighted and proud to announce the World Première recording of this magnificent and captivating work, in collaboration with the Staatstheater.

“Sita” took Holst seven years to compose, from 1899 to 1906, and is a substantial three-act opera based on the Hindu epic “The Ramayana”, telling the dramatic story of Sita’s abduction by the Demon King Ravana and the heroic efforts of Rama and his brother Lakshman to defeat the demon army and rescue her. While showing influences of Wagner and even, at times, Verdi and Mahler, it nevertheless has distinctively Holstian fingerprints, with tantalising foreshadowings of “The Planets”, and it is a deeply moving and thrilling opera of immense beauty, poignancy and tenderness.

Alan Rawsthorne (1905–1971) was a significant composer of his generation (which also included Tippet, Alwyn and Lambert). Although coming later to music than his contemporaries, having briefly studied both architecture and dentistry, he developed a very personal and unmistakable harmonic language together with a markedly constructive approach to form. Of the fine corpus of chamber music published during his lifetime there are only two works for violin and piano: the “Concertante” (the first work of his to be published, in 1937) and the masterly Sonata of 1958.

Two early, unpublished sonatas were composed for the violinist Jessie Hinchliffe, who Rawsthorne married in 1934. Both are in two movements. The shape of the violin melody and the harmonic implications at the opening of what is evidently the earlier are at once entirely characteristic. Its second movement displays an unbridled, youthful exuberance with even a hint of jazz. The first movement of the later sonata is a theme and variations, Rawsthorne’s earliest essay in a form that was to run like a thread through his entire compositional output, and already displaying his original approach to it. Rawsthorne inscribed the first draft of this movement with the words “Du hast Diamanten”, the opening line of a poem by Heinrich Heine ⁠— ⁠the quotation forms the title of this disc.

Also composed for Jessie Hinchliffe, at about the same time as the sonatas, is “Pierrette”. Subtitled “Valse Caprice” it is a delightful character piece, totally unlike the sonatas, and evidence of a versatility later revealed in Rawsthorne’s film music. In orchestrated form it was included in the score for “Uncle Silas”. The version with piano remained unpublished until 2008.

Bringing early, previously unrecorded works together with those of Rawsthorne’s established repertoire makes this an important and fascinating release.

“The Guitarist's Prayer” is a captivating musical journey through four centuries of English music, uncovering treasures rarely heard on the classical guitar.

From the timeless elegance of Henry Purcell to breathtaking new works written especially for Fábio Fernandes, this compelling programme brings together World Première recordings, forgotten masterpieces, and exciting new transcriptions in an album of great originality. Alongside the première recording of Julian Bream’s final commission, listeners are invited to discover remarkable composers whose voices have remained unheard for far too long.

“The Guitarist's Prayer” is not only a reflection on history and the enduring influence of the past on the present: it also shines a light on hidden treasures of England’s musical heritage and expands the horizons of the guitar repertoire.

With the majority of the music being recorded for the very first time, this is a unique opportunity to discover an extraordinary collection of works that will surprise, inspire, and resonate long after the final note.

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