Happy Friday!
It's a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Dallas with nice weather forecast for the weekend. I hope you had a good week and are ready for some fun, relaxation or whatever makes you happy this weekend.
I considered a few different topics today, but music won out over vaccination legislation and artificial sweeteners.
The first public performance of Holst's The Planets occurred on February 27, 1919 took place at a Royal Philharmonic Society concert in Queen's Hall. However, the was neither the first performance nor a complete one (limited to 30 minutes so as not exceed the audience's attention span).
Gustav Holst was an English composer, arranger and teacher and The Planets is his best-known work. The Planets is a seven-movement orchestral suite. You may be wondering "why only 7? There are more than 7 planets." There were indeed 8 known planets at that time, and the theory of an Earth-centric universe had been long debunked. Pluto was discovered in 1930, although it is no longer classified as a planet, just a Disney character. Its orbit beyond Neptune was calculated and astronomers searched for it for years. Clyde Tomaugh discovered it almost exactly where the mysterious planet was predicted to be located. Its planet status was demoted to dwarf planet in 2006 because it was too small cannot exert orbital dominance and clear the area surrounding its orbit.
Holst wrote The Planets between 1914 and 1917 – he had a full-time job and composed on weekends and holidays. Holst liked to compose music about subjects that interested him, such as astronomy. He was also known as a "skilled interpreter of horoscopes". He had trouble writing symphonies, so a series of short pieces appealed to him. Each movement is named for a different planet and reflects its astrological significance. His original plan was to depict the planets in order from nearest to farthest from the sun, but he decided to open with Mars because it was so dramatic. The Planets premiered at Queen's Hall on September 19, 1918, conducted by Holst's friend Adrian Boult to an invited audience of about 250 people. The orchestra had only two hours to rehearse prior to the performance. The last movement is joined by a wordless female chorus; the girls were Holst's students, recruited from two different schools. The first complete performance at a public concert was on November 15, 1920. The movements, in order, are:
- Mars, the Bringer of War, opens quietly then builds to a dissonant climax. The first sign of the zodiac, Mars stands for courage, willpower and endurance, as well as aggression and destruction. This movement is described as "an experiment in rhythm and clashing keys".
- Venus, the Bringer of Peace follows angry red Mars, opening with flute and oboes with a solo violin. The music is tranquil and described as "one of the most sublime evocations of peace in music".
- Mercury, the Winged Messenger is written in 6/8 time, vivace (brisk and lively), capturing the agility, communication and ingenuity of the Roman God. It was the last movement to be written and features bi-tonality (B-flat major and E major), solo violin, harp, flute and glockenspiel. Quick, powerful and true to the planet's size, it is also the shortest movement, clocking in at fewer than 4 minutes duration.
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity, is exuberant and majestic, reflecting nobility and generosity of those born under its sign.
- Next comes Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age. And I thought that Saturn was my friend. This was Holst's favorite movement. Astrologically, Saturn symbolizes discipline, patience and transience. This movement is slow and has elements suggesting a ticking clock or marching. The trombones (Holst's main personal instrument) kick in with a solemn melody, then are joined by the orchestra and ending with a "clangorous" triple forte (super loud) climax after which the music dies away.
- Uranus, The Magician is like a "clumsy dance which gradually gets more and more out of hand". Associated with renewal, upheaval and inventiveness, the time signatures of Uranus are unusual – it begins in 6/4 with occasional interjections of 9/4, sliding into an organ glissando to a slow and quiet ending. The full orchestra shows the impressive power of the icy planet, the God of the Sky in Greek mythology.
- Neptune, The Mystic was originally scored as a piano duet, with an organ representing Neptune. It is irregular and dissonant, joined by an offstage female chorus singing a soft, wordless line. The orchestra stops and the voices conclude the work in an "other worldly" ending.
Earth is indeed the missing planet, perhaps suggesting that it is the central observation point.
The reception to The Planets was initially mixed, including some hostile reviews in various newspapers. Over time, perceptions changed. Ernest Newman, music critic for The Sunday Times (A British Sunday newspaper, founded in 1821, still published), said that "Holst could easily, without a fuss do what some other composers could only do 'with an effort and a smirk"', and that in The Planets "he showed one of the subtlest and most original minds of our time. It begins working at a musical problem where most other minds would leave off'". Over 80 recordings have since been released, including attempts to add Pluto and one version of Earth. It has also influenced rock bands and films, such as the Star Wars series (check out the link, it's unmistakable).
I blew it in January when the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed it and I missed it. (The Nashville Symphony performs it this weekend if you are in the neighborhood.) I'm sure there will be other opportunities, and I think I will enjoy it even more since learning about it.
Have a great weekend!
Deb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJbEgyhx1ng