Whereas other composers of the times wrote for the concert band as they would for an orchestra without strings, Gustav Holst created a unique sound intended to cast the concert band as a serious concert medium. Written in 1911 (two years after the First Suite for Military Band), this Suite opens with a March that combines a Morris dance with folk songs. The second movement features a lyrical tune which tells of lovers separated by their parents. This is followed by the Song of the Blacksmith, complete with a lively rhythm played on the blacksmith's anvil. The Suite concludes with the Dargason country dance and folk song entwined with the well-known Greensleeves melody. --James Huff 06:35, 21 July 2008 (UTC) (from the program notes of The Claremont Winds, submitted with permission)