The Planets

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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, ^[1] is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst, written between 1914 and 1916. Notable for its elaborate score for large orchestra with rare instruments, The Planets Suite has been the most-performed composition by an English composer.^[1] Its first complete public performance was on October 10, 1920 in Birmingham, with Appleby Matthews conducting. However, an earlier premiere occurred during World War I on September 29, 1918, in London's Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Sir Adrian Boult at the request of Gustav Holst.^[1]

The elaborate score of The Planets produces unusual, ^[2] complex sounds by using rare instruments^[2] and multiples of instruments in the large orchestra (like Mahler's Sixth 1906), including: 3 oboes, 3 bassoons, 2 piccolos, 2 harps, bass oboe, 2 timpani players, glockenspiel, celesta, xylophone, tubular bells, and pipe organ (see "Orchestration" below). Holst had been influenced by Stravinsky (Firebird), ^[3] who used 4 oboes and 4 bassoons in his Rite of Spring (1912-1913) and by Schoenberg's 1909 composition titled "Five Pieces for Orchestra".^[3]

Recordings of The Planets suite have been made by many renowned conductors.

Contents 1 Background 2 Orchestration 3 Non-Orchestra Versions 4 Structure 4.1 Pluto 5 Uses of The Planets 5.1 British patriotism 5.2 In popular culture 6 Selected discography 7 Media 8 Notes 9 External links 10 References

[edit] Background

The concept of the work is astrological ^[4] 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.^[4] Each movement is intended to convey ideas and emotions associated with the Roman deity in question. Holst also used Alan Leo's^[4] 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. Holst’s use of orchestra in this work is very imaginative and colourful, showing the influence of Igor Stravinsky,^[4] Schoenberg,^[4] 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".

During the last weeks of World War I, in England, the orchestral premiere of The Planets suite was held on Sunday September 29, 1918, in London's Royal Albert Hall, with a chamber orchestra and choir conducted by Sir Adrian Boult at the request of Gustav Holst.^[1] The largest pipe organ in the United Kingdom is the Royal Albert Hall Organ. After the war, the first complete public performance occurred on October 10, 1920, in Birmingham, with Appleby Matthews conducting.

[edit] Orchestration

Holst requires the following orchestral forces:

Woodwinds

4 Flutes (3rd doubling Piccolo 1, 4th doubling Piccolo 2 and Bass Flute in G)

3 Oboes (3rd doubling Bass Oboe)

English Horn

3 Clarinets in A, B-flat

Bass Clarinet in B-flat

3 Bassoons

Double Bassoon (referred to more as contrabassoon)

Brass

6 Horns in F

4 Trumpets in C

3 Trombones

Tenor Tuba in B-flat (also known as Euphonium)

Bass Tuba

Percussion

6 Timpani (2 players)

Triangle

Snare drum

Tambourine

Cymbals

Bass Drum

Gong

Bells

Glockenspiel

Xylophone

Keyboards

Celesta

Organ

Voices

Two Wordless Women's choruses consisting of SSA/SSA voices

Strings

1st, 2nd Violins

Violas

Violoncellos

Basses

2 Harps

[edit] Non-Orchestra Versions

Here are some other variations:

• One piano: according to the liner notes, "...John York found an engraved copy of Holst's own four-hands, one piano arrangement."^[5];

• Two pianos: A two-piano version is available from Naxos at Naxos-catalog-item-8.554369.^[6]

Perhaps further details on the relationship of piano versions to the orchestral version could be elaborated on by more knowledgeble people.

There is a version transcribed for Organ by Peter Sykes, that may be of interest to readers of this page. ^[7]

[edit] Structure

The suite has seven movements, each of them named after a planet (and its corresponding Roman deity):

1. Mars, the Bringer of War
2. Venus, the Bringer of Peace
3. Mercury, the Winged Messenger
4. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
5. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
6. Uranus, the Magician
7. 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. One 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. Another possibility, this time from an astronomical perspective, is that the first three movements, representing the inner terrestrial planets, are ordered according to their decreasing distance from the Sun. The remaining movements, representing the gas giants that lie beyond the asteroid belt, are ordered by increasing distance from the Sun. Critic David Hurwitz offers an alternative explanation for the piece's structure: that "Jupiter" is the centerpoint of the suite and that the movements on either side are in mirror images. Thus "Mars" involves motion and "Neptune" is static; "Venus" is sublime while "Uranus" is vulgar, and "Mercury" is light and scherzando while "Saturn" is heavy and plodding. (This hypothesis is lent credence by the fact that the two outer movements, "Mars" and "Neptune," are both written in the rather unusual meter of five.)

[edit] 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 Holst, 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. In August 2006 Pluto's status was changed from a planet to a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), so Holst's original work is once again a complete representation of all the known planets in the solar system (save Earth). After the reclassification Matthews said that he might ban future performances of his movement, although he later made it clear that he was joking. However, since Pluto is no longer classified as a planet, Holst's original work may be considered complete as he created it.

[edit] Uses of The Planets

[edit] 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.

[edit] In popular culture

Main article: The Planets in popular culture

The Planets has influenced film and television composers' music. Examples include the influence of Mars, Bringer of War on The Barbarian Horde sequence from the film Gladiator acknowledged by its composer Hans Zimmer^[8], and the pounding, discordant motif heard during John Williams' music for the opening scene of Star Wars, when the rebel ship is overtaken by the Star Destroyer, which is reminiscent of the end of Mars.^{[citation needed]}

Movements from The Planets (particularly Mars and Jupiter) have also featured in popular music. The song "Joybringer" by Manfred Mann's Earth Band was based on Jupiter, the name being an obvious reference to the subtitle The Bringer of Jollity.^{[citation needed]} King Crimson performed a version of "Mars" under the title of "The Devil's Triangle" on their second album "In the Wake of Poseidon". "Mars" was sampled and reinterpreted by the death metal band Nile in the song "Ramses Bringer of War".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Selected discography

The following is a list of recordings of The Planets (by conductor name):

• Sir Adrian Boult conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded in May-July 1978 and released for Boult's 90th birthday.^[1]
• 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 (DG).
• Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. Recorded in 1971 (DG).
• 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.
• Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. Recorded in 1981.
• Sir Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. Recorded and released in 2006 (includes "Pluto, the Renewer" by Colin Matthews, plus four new works inspired by asteroids).
• Geoffrey Simon conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1991 and reissued in 1998 by Delta Entertainment.
• William Steinberg conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Recorded in 1970 and reissued in 2001 by Deutsche Grammophon.
• Leopold Stokowski conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Recorded in 1965 as LP.
• Isao Tomita. (Free arrangement and abridgement for electronic synthesizer). Recorded in 1976 and released in 1976/1991 by RCA.

[edit] Media

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} "The Definitive CDs" (CD 94), of Holst: The Planets (with Elgar: Enigma Variations), Norman Lebrecht, La Scena Musicale, September 1, 2004, webpage: Scena-Notes-100-CDs.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Symphony hits new heights with 'Planets'" (review), Peter Bergquist (professor emeritus at University of Oregon School of Music), Register Guard, 2005-10-21, MusiqueNouvelle.com webpage: MNouvelle-Planets.
3. ^ ^{a b} "HOLST Suite: The Planets" (history), Len Mullenger, Olton Recorded Music Society, January 2000, webpage: MusicWebUK-Holst.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "HOLST Suite: The Planets" (compares compositions & history), Len Mullenger, Olton Recorded Music Society, January 2000, webpage: MusicWebUK-Holst: in 1913 Holst went on holiday to Mallorca with Henry Balfour Gardiner, Arnold Bax and his brother Clifford Bax, who spent the entire holiday discussing astrology.
5. ^ Notes from Amazon, webpage: amazon.ca/Planets-World-Premiere.
6. ^ Two-piano version from Naxos, webpage: Naxos-catalog.
7. ^ http://www.hbdirect.com/album_detail.php?pid=225139
8. ^ http://www.moviemusicuk.us/gladiatcd.htm

[edit] External links

• Thaxted sheet music (PDF)
• O God Beyond All Praising MIDI files

[edit] References