Gustav Holst’s Music “The Planets”

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main Body
Conclusion

Introduction

Listening to Gustav Holtz’s The Planets is a deeply moving experience. The music seems to be programmatic, but even if the listener did not know the titles of the movements, there are strong and instantly recognizable elements that seem to ‘mean’ something. Holtz has used a variety of effects to create a varied set of movements that nonetheless tie together well overall.

Main Body

Gustav Holst’s The Planets section entitled Mars, the Bringer of War, begins with a military sounding, march-like beat. It has been copied so often that it seems familiar even if one has never heard it before. The militarism of it is not upbeat, at least at the beginning, but quite frightening. It evokes the clash of war rather than any glory of war.

Venus, the Bringer of Peace opens with a meltingly tender phrase, and keeps up the gentle lyricism from there on. It could not be more at odds with the previous movement. However, it does not have an easily recalled melodic line, perhaps evoking the ephemeral nature of peace and love.

The section entitled Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, has been used so often for everything from commercials to radio theme music that it could be predictable. However, it is such a lilting, almost melodic piece, with it sounds like a traditional dance tune that has been fractured somehow.

The movement devoted to Uranus gives the impression of a person jumping from place to place. IT touches down nowhere long enough to create a melody.

Mercury’s movement is likewise hard to pin down. This is in stark contrast to Saturn’s movement. This is a frightening beginning, with an extended note, held for what seems like an impossibly long time. However, it resolves gently, much as a natural death resolves life.

All of this music has a certain danceable quality and the listener wonders whether it could be good ballet music. It is moving and inspiring to hear.

The video presentation of Beyond the Score is exceedingly helpful. Although it is not always crystal clear whether certain words are attributable to Holtz or to later writers or modern ones, the information is of profound assistance in listening to the piece The Planets. This is the only criticism of an otherwise magnificent analysis and explication of a complex and many-faceted piece of music.

Perhaps the most useful information concerns the intervals Holtz used in the different movements. His conception of even intervals around the clock face and around the solar system is a wonderful extra layer of meaning and significance in the music. However, it is not something that a listener with less than perfect pitch might sense from listening without the score at hand.

The information about Holtz’s interest in the folk songs of the British Isles helps to explain the feel of some of the music. It is also very helpful to know that he was reading about and studying the music and the writings of Asia and the Americas. This helps the listener identify (after several hearings, to be sure) all sorts of influences from outside of Europe and England.

The use of trained actors gave the text vibrancy and ensured that all the words were pronounced properly and the phrasing was correct. However, the Mr. McBurney’s lisp did not help.

The music itself was astonishing and it was very helpful to see the instruments clearly. In fact, Holtz’s use of unusual instruments and his reasons for doing so were among the most intriguing parts of the presentation, especially when his desired effect was to evoke a time long ago or a place far away.

Conclusion

This was a wonderful way to enrich the listening experience and such efforts deserve the support of all who love classical music. If all such music were accompanied by clear and vivid explanation like this, the market for orchestral pieces would surely expand.

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Gustav Holst’s Music “The Planets”

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