Gustav Holst’s settings of Psalm 86 and 148, for SATB, organ and strings, date from 1912, a time when the composer was much involved with large-scale choral pieces, including The Cloud Messenger and Hecuba’s Lament. The words of the solo verses of Psalm 86 are from the Authorized Version and the metrical verses for chorus are by Joseph Bryan (1620). The melody for this psalm was composed or adapted by Louis Bourgeois, from the Genevan Psalter, 1543. The words of Psalm 148 are taken from Francis ...