- Whitlock wrote his only overture, The Feast of St. Benedict, in 1934. Whitlock entered it for The Daily Telegraph’s Overture Competition; however, the prize was ultimately awarded to Cyril Scott‘s Festival Overture.
- In writing about the piece, Whitlock expressed that the concert overture’s three themes represent “festivity, love, and religious feeling,” and that the work was “intended to express the spirit of a continental festa.”1
Sources
- Malcolm Riley, Notes in accompanying booklet, WHITLOCK, P.: Holiday Suite / Music for Orchestra / Wessex Suite performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra conducted by Gavin Sutherland, Naxos 8.225162, 2001, compact disc.
Cut IDs
26810