Planets

I was checking my e-mail account which I hadn't checked for a while and I found some cool pictures that my host sister sent to me two years ago. I show you.

Don't you feel we are so tiny in the uviverse?? Looking at these pictures make me remember the great music pieces composed by Gustav Holst. The Music name is "The Planets". You may know or have heard"Jupiter". He composed music for other planets,too.

Actually, I researched about him to write essay for last semester writing class.




Gustav Holst is an English composer who had a great influence on English music in the 20th century. He composed famous suite for band such as “Suite in E Flat” and “Suite in E”. Ｈowever, probably he is best known for his composition “The Planets”.

“The Planets” is an orchestral suite which is constituted by six themes, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. There is no Pluto in “The Planets”, because it had not been discovered at the time. Have you ever heard one of these themes? I bet you have. A few years ago, a Japanese singer whose name is Ayaka Hirahara sang “Jupiter” with her own words. It was a huge hit, so you could hear it everywhere. “Mars” and “Jupiter” are especially famous pieces in “The Planets”, they are often used in a movie or TV commercial.

The traits of each theme are described by the composer, “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”. You could easily imagine why the composer described each planet like this, if you listened to them. For example, in the beginning of “Mars, the Bringer of War”, you can hear it at very fast tempo, 5/4 meter and gradual dynamics, this sound makes you imagine that two forces are facing each other and they are about to fight. You will be amazed how composer’s idea corresponds to your imagination. “The Planets” is definitely wonderful program music suite.

Although the wonderfulness of “The Planets”, Gustav Holst was not successful as a composer until he composed it. He was born in a musician family. He was taught piano and violin and began composing when he was twelve. Unfortunately, he had to give up playing the piano because of his nerve condition of right hand. Instead of playing the piano, Holst started to play the trombone which is less pain for him to play. He was excellent at playing it, so he entered Royal College of Music in London as a trombone player. After he graduated from the college, he spent most of his life as a music teacher at girl’s school.

Holst started working on “The Planets” in the spring of 1914. “The Planets” was finished in two stages. “Mars”, ”Venus”, and “Jupiter” were composed at one time, and he finally completed the orchestration in 1917. Holst was influenced by the English folk song (as it is heard in the “Jupiter” movement), and he was also interested in Eastern Philosophy. This led him to study astrology. He got ideas of different qualities or personalities of planets from studying it. We surely know it worked really well to express planets by music.

Holst disliked the fact that most people thought “The Planets” was his best work. He complained that “The Planets” was not completed yet. Yes, we know he is right. Even though Holst wasn’t satisfied with his work, people loved “The Planets”, and even today, it is considered as one of the most popular orchestral compositions. end.

Have you ever listened to Holst's Planets expext "Jupiter"? Jupiter is definitely the greatest piece in the "Planets". However, I like Venus, Mars and Nuptune, too. BUT I LOVE listening to Mercury, so much!! I put that movie, Please listen to it!!