Her life, music and legacy
The Loveliest House in the World
Imogen Holst's home in Aldeburgh, designed by Cadbury-Brown.
Her life, music and legacy
Imogen Holst's home in Aldeburgh, designed by Cadbury-Brown.
Imogen Holst's bungalow was designed and built for her by modernist architect HT ('Jim') Cadbury-Brown in a corner of his own garden. She moved there from a flat in Aldeburgh High Street in September 1962 and remained for the rest of her life.
The house was comfortably but sparsely furnished, packed with her music manuscripts, printed music, books and papers, which now form part of the archive at the Britten-Pears Foundation.
Her desk was positioned by the window for plenty of light, and the house contains Gustav Holst's oak music cupboard, used by Imogen to store her father's manuscripts.
The Holst house had to be built cheaply, but there is no marked contrast between the character of the well-funded [Cadbury-Brown house] and the low-budget house. Each is designed in relation to its garden, with light a palpable element of the architecture.
By great good fortune, four of us were chosen by Imogen Holst to help her with some scores. We spent the morning in her delightful bungalow up near the Parish Church, earnestly rubbing out all the pencil marks in various scores. Imogen kept us supplied with biscuits and orange juice, and chatted away to all of us like our dearest friend!
Anyone could have told at a glance that she had been a dancer, and still was. Her conducting... was a joy to watch – the same dance-like movements, and rhythm – rhythm was everything.
It is just as difficult to separate the rhythm from the intervals in a well-constructed tune as it is to separate the butter from the eggs in a well-made omelette.
Step inside her home, her works and her story.