Thaxted

Written by Gustav Holst. Named after the village of Thaxted in Essex, England where he had a house. This is the hymn tune to 'O God Beyond All Praising' or 'I Vow to Thee my Country' and of course comes from the middle part of Holst's Jupiter from the Planets. It is one of my favourite tunes since I was young.

I am lucky enough to live near Thaxted and have visited many times. If you are ever in England it is worth a visit to see this lovely village in rural English countryside, complete with old windmill, Tudor buildings, Holst's house, a ridiculously large parish church for a small place, and the beautiful three manual organ inside, where the hymn was probably first heard.

If you look at some of the buildings you'll probably think the people who designed and built them were a bit drunk!

I found this hidden away in a larger recording. It was recorded straight after I got back from a trip away last year and hadn't played for a few weeks. There is a stumble in the middle as I struggled playing with the piston change. Hope it doesn't detract.

I've added a few pictures of the village from a trip just before Christmas.

John