While each individual movement has unique and fascinating import, the overall structure is significant as well. The Planets. Sure enough, six years later The Tomita Planets (RCA LP) became a pop culture phenomenon, albeit a short-lived one, as Imogen Holst charged that it mutilated the copyrighted original and successfully sued to enjoin further sales. The opening bars of Saturn are often referred to as a ticking clock. Yet Foreman notes that Holst's interest in astrology began to fade following The Planets, which perhaps was just as well, as Leo himself was convicted under the British Witchcraft Act shortly before his death in 1917. His Mars careens among even greater extremes, from 7:17 (1945) to 6:41 (1954) to 8:02 (1978). (Please understand: I'm not a musical snob beyond my recordings of serious music, I have (and enjoy!) 10pm - 1am, Symphony No.6 in D major (2) Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age 6. Subscribe to Plus. 2023 Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. This masterpiece was originally scored for an unusually large orchestra - with several relatively obscure instruments. Its again playing with our ears and creating an innovative and exciting sound using altered rhythms and groupings. Finally, Neptune brings mystery, the paranormal and the unknown to the final concoction. Again, the contrast of moods and texture within the movement really do highlight how wonderful a composer and orchestrator Holst really is. "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity," is the most thoroughly English section of the work, with Jupiter's high spirits projected through a broad, infectiously energetic melody. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity English composer Gustav Holst's orchestral suite, The Planets, Op. Within the basic tempos Imogen calls his beat "clear and unfussy. One of the most striking aspects about this movement, for me, is the lack of musical transitions and Holsts quite frequent use of time changes just when you may be feeling comfortable with a theme. For details on how we use cookies, see our. Holst's daughter Imogen recalled that while Holst did cast horoscopes for friends, he was less interested in fortune-telling than in understanding human behavior. As several commentators have pointed out, while some of the mythological references seem appropriate (Mars, Holst's "Bringer of War," indeed was the Roman god of war), others seem obscure (Neptune, Holst's "Mystic," was merely the sea god). Boult also led the first public performance on February 27, 1919, while Holst still was away, but omitted the final two serene movements (perhaps in part to save the cost of the wordless female chorus that makes its only appearance at the end of Neptune). Lee admits some logic to certain selections, analogizing the progression of Mars, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter to a conventional four-movement symphony. Look at the detail: the Great Red Spot . While critics at the time seemed divided along a predictable generational divide, one enthused that: "Holst might have really dug it." "As a rule," he said, "I only study things that suggest music to me. You might also enjoyEdvard Grieg:Peer Gynt Suite, Your email address will not be published. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age The optimism of Jupiter meets its opposite extreme in this terrifying depiction of the inevitability of life receding. Flaws aside, Holst is an enormously persuasive advocate for his Planets and either set affords the incomparable thrill of eavesdropping on a composer supplementing the cold written score to infuse his creation with the essence of his personal creative spirit. None of his further works caught much attention from colleagues or the public; although often austere and still heavily weighted toward vocal pieces, they included operas, fugal and double concertos, a choral symphony, orchestral, chamber and piano works and even a self-descriptive 1932 "Jazz Band Piece.". As he entered the final third of his life, Gustav Holst (18741934) appeared mired in mediocrity, if not bound for failure, at least by our usual measures for famous composers. This is a concept we can all relate to and the idea of growing old is seen differently by everybody, therefore when the solemnn procession enters it affects people in different ways as people will see it subjectively. This adaptation condenses this monumental movement into a 5-part + percussion arrangement. The melody slows down for just a second at 0:54, and then suddenly at 0:57, we're thrust into the second theme of the piece (Holst likes to keep us on our toes). But perhaps the most remarkable movement is Venus, in which Sargent adds another full minute to others' already sprawling pace to craft a feeling beyond mere wistful dreams to a lush romanticism that one would not have suspected to find within the composer's emotional arsenal. The Planets, Op. Holst bounces through keys creates a fresh and exciting sound, which contrasts again to the previous movement. Freed concludes that the impact is to "inhabit the outer regions of a fantasy infinity in which there are no answers and even the questions are unspoken.". That is just about the finest imagery of Jupiter from the ground I have ever seen! Disposition: Though we hear the first two bars as a two-octave, upward run, it's actually Holst introducing each transposition separately. Macmillan is barely mentioned in the standard reference books and seems to have made very few recordings (and of those most were as an accompanist, including spirited Bach and Beethoven concertos with compatriot Glenn Gould), and so we have little basis to generalize his style. Jupiter, The Bringer of Jolity from The Planets Gustav Holst Arranged by Sandra Dackow Grade: 4 This full-length arrangement of Jupiter is also on a massive scale, uncut and making every attempt to include all of the elements, if not instrumental colors, of the original. Commentators count among its many and diverse influences: the flexible rhythms of Thomas Morley and other English madrigalists (Douglas Lee); Berlioz's seminal Treatise on Orchestration which Holst absorbed and used as a springboard to discover sonorities of astounding originality (Harry Holbreich); Debussy's expanded orchestral palette that broke the grip of Teutonic standards upon English music (Lewis Foreman); the orchestral power and rhythmic vigor of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (Len Mullinger); the tension and crossing between the fading Edwardian spirit (as embodied in formal education) and the rising Jazz Age (as reflected in kaleidoscopic student vulgarity) (Richard Greene); the idealistic philosophies of Walt Whitman and William Morris (Colin Matthews); a blend of Hindu philosophy and English folksong that set Holst on a path far from the mainstream of traditional European form in which his early works reveal a thorough grounding (Matthews); and exploration of folk music and modes of eastern scales and rhythms that induced individual flavors and an escape from Anglo-German melody (Arthur Hutchings). In program notes he asserted that the only way to carry on was to avoid any break by beginning his new movement before Neptune fully fades (and so he modifies the original ending with a sustained violin harmonic that segues into his opening). Neptune, the Mystic Complete Score #757891 - 7.17MB, 191 pp. 7 images Holst began composing the work in 1914, yet, in spite of the first section's title, "Mars, the Bringer of War," it is not a war piece, for Holst was into it before the holocaust started. On the 18th I had one of the worst emotional meltdowns of my entire life. Louis (Turnabout, 1975), Solti/London (Decca, 1979), Maazel/France (CBS, 1980), Dutoit/Montreal (1986, Decca) and Gardiner/Philharmonia (DG, 1994). Holst also very cleverly uses a cross-rhythmic hemiola (a hemiola is where 2 different time signatures at once, so at one point he has part of the orchestra in 4/4 and the rest in 6/4). Holst composed The Planets from 1914-16 after studying astrology. He was also known as the bringer of jollity, which meant he was responsible for good times and good luck. To achieve this, Holst further instructs: "The Chorus is to be placed in an adjoining room, well-screened from the audience, the door of which is to be left open until the last bar of the piece, when it is to be slowly and silently closed." In a sure sign of sudden popularity, while Columbia seemingly dawdled to complete its sessions for the composer's set of electrical 78s, rival HMV prepared its own competing version, and with a fair degree of authenticity, as Coates had led the first (or, according to some sources, the second) full public performance. Holst's love of English folk song and dance is readily demonstrated here. Even allowing her some degree of exaggeration, the technology surely did present daunting challenges the size of the orchestra had to be drastically reduced, instruments were hard to distinguish when shorn of their highest overtones, string basses couldn't register at all, and dynamics had to be compressed to dwell between a floor of surface noise and a ceiling of distortion. As Holst has not used lots of different themes, more he has stretched and varied a small selection, the excitement from this piece comes from short bursts of sound, which are usually initiated by the brass. This quirky theme is soon left behind as the second theme enters, which is a basic fanfare theme that is varied throughout this shorter section. After all the other instruments fade away only the choruses are left repeating a mild cadence that never really resolves. While such a resource was not entirely novel (Debussy had already used wordless sopranos and altos to conclude his 1901 Sirnes), Holst's haunting indefinite ending was quite innovative. A related facet is the extent to which each movement relates to its titular god. The lolloping tune is quite robust and all of these compositional processes play a part in creating this scherzo-like movement. His Planets belies his reputation for levelheaded performances of precision and polish that is, being more dependable than exhilarating and in the process further dispels notions of Holst's own artistic temperament as methodical and cautious. By Phil Plait. The Planets Op.32 : IV Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity [I Vow to Thee, My Country] . 32 between 1914-1916. This movement is light and all in jest, in comparison to the last movement, which again plays to its magician characteristic. 6. Guardian Headline src url https assets.guim.co.uk static frontend fonts guardian headline noalts not hinted GHGuardianHeadline Light.woff2 http3 true format woff2 url https assets.guim.co.uk static frontend fonts guardian headline latin1 not hinted GHGuardianHeadline Light.woff http3 true format woff. The theme is undoubtedly celebratory, taking us on a whirlwind of emotions which is full of climatic passion, zeal and triumphant feelings. Not only is this movement calm and tranquil, but if offers a rest and an answer against the war. Ive worked out that the first section is in E minor, but after that point is goes between C minor, E major and Db minor. To highlight these time changes, Holst utilises scales and scalic movement to create varying effects. On a holiday in 1913 Holst became enamored of What Is the Horoscope and How Is It Cast, one of several books in which Alan Leo attempted to popularize, modernize and systematize astrology as a scientific practice concerned with the delineation of character rather than prediction. Release date from LSO Discography . Imogen called the tempos "a revelation" and gave as an example that although Venus is marked adagio, Holst's recordings suggest more of an andante (that is, only moderately slow). Two movements apparently were remade, again acoustically, in 1925 with notably changed tempos Saturn in February (slower) and Jupiter in September (faster). Description: PDF Download Download: Price : Jupiter--Bringer of Jollity: Full Orchestra Conductor Score & Parts: The frantic scramble at the end of the movement leads up to the massive stabs at the end, which bring the whole orchestra together to create an exciting and powerful end to this movement. The last melodic cell is built up throughout different instruments (its repeated 12 times to be precise!) Sargent sees it as confounding logic, working miracles divorced from reality. As the result of this reticence, Crankshaw asserts that the mighty force of Holst's augmented orchestra "is used with such discrimination that the overall impression is not of Straussian sumptuousness but of many-stranded colour-schemes which coalesce only occasionally into full emblazonment." The end of the work comes to a much more delicate close, with the upper strings playing in stunningly high octaves. Hablas espaol? Using the new technology, Holst and the London Symphony rerecorded The Planets (plus Mercury's companion "Marching Song") between June and November 1926 (and, interestingly, he reverted to the faster tempo of the first acoustical Saturn). In the interim, Holst himself conducted just Venus, Mercury and Jupiter in April 1919 at Queen's Hall and Henry Wood led the same movements that December, setting a precedent that would be followed for several years until the full orchestral score was published in late 1921. In the interim between Pluto's ascent and demise it must have seemed tempting to complete the task that Holst, by necessity, had left unfinished, while dissuaded from the heresy of tampering with the magical ending of Neptune. He died on 25 May 1934 in Ealing, Middlesex, London, England, UK. In particular, he cautioned with respect to Mars: "I well remember the composer's insistence on the stupidity of war as well as all its other horrors, and I feel that the movement can easily be played so fast that it becomes too restless and energetic and loses some of its relentless, brutal and stupid power."

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