The Planets
This page is about the orchestral suite by Gustav Holst
. For the celestial body see planet, and for the planets in our solar system see solar system. For the 1990s jazz rap band see Digable Planets.The Planets (also known as
The Planets Suite),
opus 32, is a
seven-movement orchestral suite by the
English composer
Gustav Holst, written between
1914 and
1916. Its first complete public performance was on
October 10,
1920 in
Birmingham, with
Appleby Matthews conducting.
The concept of the work is
astrological rather than
astronomical (which is why
Earth is not included) with the
Moon and the
Sun replaced by the planets Uranus and Neptune, which were unknown to the classical world. The idea was suggested to Holst by
Clifford Bax who introduced him to astrology. Each movement is intended to convey ideas and emotions associated with the Roman deity in question. Holst also used Alan Leo's book
What is a Horoscope? as a jumping board for his own ideas, as well as for the subtitles (e.g., "The Bringer of...") for the movements.
The Planets was originally scored for a piano duet, except for "Neptune," which was scored for a single organ, as Holst believed that the sound of the piano was too harsh for a world as mysterious and far away as Neptune. However, it was also scored for a large orchestra, including an organ and, in the last movement, a wordless women's choir. Holst's use of orchestra in this work is very imaginative and colourful, showing the influence of
Igor Stravinsky and other continental composers rather than his English predecessors. The audience at the first performance was so excited by such new sonorities that the suite was an instant success. Although
The Planets remains Holst's most popular work, the composer himself didn't count it as one of his best creations and later often complained about his other works being completely eclipsed by it. He did, however, conduct a recorded performance of the suite in the early 1920s, and his own favourite movement was "Saturn".
The suite has seven movements, each of them named after a
planet (and its corresponding
Roman deity):
#
Mars, the Bringer of War#
Venus, the Bringer of Peace#
Mercury, the Winged Messenger#
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity#
Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age#
Uranus, the Magician#
Neptune, the Mystic
With the exception of the first two movements, the order of the movements corresponds to increasing distance of their eponymous planets from the Earth. Some commentators have suggested that this is intentional, with the anomaly of
Mars preceding
Venus being a device to make the first four movements match the form of a
symphony. An alternative explanation may be the rulering of astrological signs of the
zodiac by the planets. If the zodiac signs are listed along with their
ruling planets in the traditional order starting with
Aries, ignoring duplication, Pluto (then undiscovered), and the luminaries (the Sun and the Moon), then the order of the movements matches.
Pluto
Although
Pluto was discovered during Holst's lifetime, in
1930, Holst expressed no interest in writing a movement for it. In
2000, The
Hallé Orchestra commissioned composer
Colin Matthews, a Holst specialist, to write a new eighth movement, which Matthews entitled
Pluto, the Renewer. Dedicated to Imogen, Gustav Holst's daughter, it was first performed in
Manchester on
May 11,
2000, with
Kent Nagano conducting the Hallé Orchestra. Matthews changed the ending of
Neptune into a transition to "Pluto".
British patriotism
The melody of the slow middle section of
Jupiter became popular as the hymn tune
Thaxted (named after the village where Holst lived for many years), with words beginning "
I vow to thee, my country" added by
Cecil Spring-Rice. The words were written in 1918 as a response to the human cost of
World War I, and the tune was added in 1921. Holst had no patriotic intentions when he originally composed the music.
Here is a link to the sheet music:
http://www.mutopiaproject.org/ftp/HolstGT/Thaxted/Thaxted-let.pdf
And playable Midi files:
http://www.hymnsite.com/fws/hymn.cgi?2009
In popular culture
As is often the case when classical music achieves popular appeal, movements from
The Planets (particularly
Mars and
Jupiter) have often featured in popular music, and in film and television.
The Planets has also influenced film and television composers' music.
*
Charles Dutoit conducting the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1986 and reissued in 1998 by Penguin Classics.
*
John Eliot Gardiner conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. Recorded in 1994 and released in 1995 by Deutsche Grammophon.
*
James Levine conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1989 and released in 1991 by Deutsche Grammophon.
*
Lorin Maazel conducting the Orchestre National de France. Recorded in 1980 and released in 1981 by CBS Records.
*
Zubin Mehta conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded in 1971 and released 1997 by Decca under the London label.
*
André Previn conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded in 1986 and released in 1990 by Telarc.
*
Isao Tomita. Recorded in 1976 and released in 1976 & 1991 by
RCA.
