wimpel69
10-04-2016, 11:28 AM
Gustav Holst's enduring masterpiece The Planet Suite, op.32 has enjoyed many recordings in the past 9(!) decades,
many of them very good. One of the outstanding ones is "Flash Harry" Sir Malcolm Sargent's account from 1958
(stereo, still sounds very good after all these years!). Lively tempi, expert shaping and excellent playing distinguish
this fine account. Also included are equally lovely versions of Holst's rarely recorded Beni Mora and the ballet music from
The Perfect Fool.
During the 1910's, Holst was undoubtedly going through a period similar to a midlife crisis. His first large scale work, and opera
called Sita failed to win a cash prize at a Ricordi composition competition and his other large works of the time, notably The Cloud
Messenger and Beni Mora were premiered without great success. In March of 1913, Holst received an anonymous gift which enabled
him to travel to Spain with Clifford Bax, the brother of the composer Arnold Bax (and later the librettist for Holst's opera The Wandering
Scholar). Clifford Bax was an astrologer, and he and Holst became good friends, with Bax introducing him to the concepts of astrology.
Perhaps due to this friendship, Holst began to rediscover his childhood intrigue with theosophy. He had a book in his library called,
"The Art of Synthesis," by Alan Leo. Leo was himself an astrologer and Theosophist who published various books on astrology,
however if you look at "The Art of Synthesis," each chapter is labeled with a heading, offering a precursor to how The Planets
was constructed. Alan Leo divided his book into chapters based on each planet, and described the astrological characteristics of
them. In fact, "Neptune, the Mystic," is given the same title in both the book and the suite! Holst may have been introduced to
Leo by George Mead, a Sanskrit scholar and a fellow member, along with Holst, of the Royal Asiatic Society. Mead and Leo
were friends.
Holst called his piece "a series of mood pictures." In actuality, this helps lead into other influences for this work. Before Holst
started to compose The Planets, both Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky made trips to England and caused quite a stir.
Schoenberg came to England and conducted his Five Orchestral Pieces Op. 18. Holst must have gone to this concert and been
impressed, for Holst labeled the preliminary sketches of The Planets "Seven Orchestral Pieces." Around the same time,
Stravinsky came to England and conducted his Le sacre du printemps. Holst must have noticed this unconventional way to
use the orchestra, because in the first movement, "Mars," the blatant dissonance and unconventional meter seems to be riddled
with the influence of Stravinsky.
Gustav Holst seemed to consider The Planets a progression of life. "Mars" perhaps serves as a rocky and tormenting beginning.
In fact, some have called this movement the most devastaing piece of music ever written! "Venus" seems to provide an answer
to "Mars," it's title as "the bringer of peace," helps aid that claim. "Mercury" can be thought of as the messenger between our
world and the other worlds. Perhaps "Jupiter" represents the "prime" of life, even with the overplayed central melody, which
was later arranged to the words of "I vow to thee, my country." "Saturn" can be viewed as indicative of Holst's later mature
style, and indeed it is recorded that Holst preferred this movement to all others in the suite. Through "Saturn" it can be said
that old age is not always peaceful and happy. The movement may display the ongoing struggle for life against the odd
supernatural forces. This notion mat be somewhat outlandish, but the music seems to lend credence to this. "Saturn" is
followed by "Uranus, the Magician," a quirky scherzo displaying a robust musical climax before the tranquility of the female
choir in "Neptune" enchants the audience.
The piece displays that Holst was in touch with his musical contemporaries. There are obvious ideas borrowed from Schoenberg,
Stravinsky, and Debussy (the quality of"Neptune" resembles earlier Debussy piano music.) Holst never wrote another piece
like The Planets again. He hated its popularity. When people would ask for his autograph, he gave them a typed sheet of paper
that stated that he didn't give out autographs. The public seemed to demand of him more music like The Planets, and his later
music seemed to disappoint them. In fact, after writing the piece, he swore off his belief in astrology, though until the end of
his life he cast his friends horoscopes. How ironic that the piece that made his name famous throughout the world brought
him the least joy in the end.
The Planets was first performed in a private concert in 1918 with Adrian Boult conducting as a gift from Henry Balfour
Gardiner, who was also responsible for the premieres of Holst's Two Eastern Pictures and The Cloud Messenger. The first
complete performance of the piece was under Albert Coates in Queen's Hall in 1920.
Music Composed by Gustav Holst
Played by the BBC Symphony & Royal Philharmonic Orchestras
Conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent
"This “Mars” is fabulous. It powers along, mowing down anything in its path. It’s relentless. If I was the kind of
guy who jumped out of his seat at the end of a performance and yelled “Bravo!”, there’s a fair chance I would have
jumped out of my seat and yelled “Bravo!”.
“Venus” is close to perfect.
“Mercury” is splendid.
“Jupiter” has as much joie de vivre as you could possibly imagine – and with a heart-meltingly-played Big
Tune in the middle (2:55-4:46). It made me cry. The sound quality’s not much chop in this movement (it’s better
in the other movements), and a horn plays a dodgy note at 5:25, but – and this is a big “but” – you can hear
the love for the music shine in every note. This is glorious music-making.
“Saturn”‘s Old Age is supremely dignified.
“Uranus” is especially mischievous (and played wonderfully, apart from an “oops” moment at 4:11 when a
trumpeter plays a stray note – mischief!).
And “Neptune” is just… Well, I can’t really describe it. “Neptune” is exactly how I want it to be.
Thank you, Big Mal. Twenty-five thumbs up for these Planets."
Peter's Planets
Download Links:
FLAC version - https://mega.nz/#!GBdgBDYC!DI81SPira25GbhYMq8UQnoxTNnQnx9BaiGclo3qKIgA
mp3 version - https://mega.nz/#!eVt1gCyR!aBSfld9E7seGBSLvS8Ao0ujbAKJS55xAtyzIWurajEk
Full Score (PDF) - https://mega.nz/#!3UkEAYaJ!3PU0bFc_ZQfbflR0vk7HyP8OXuLB_VcO1YjMEleJVK8
This is my own rip. Please add to my reputation if you enjoyed this release - or at least say THANK YOU in this thread! :)
many of them very good. One of the outstanding ones is "Flash Harry" Sir Malcolm Sargent's account from 1958
(stereo, still sounds very good after all these years!). Lively tempi, expert shaping and excellent playing distinguish
this fine account. Also included are equally lovely versions of Holst's rarely recorded Beni Mora and the ballet music from
The Perfect Fool.
During the 1910's, Holst was undoubtedly going through a period similar to a midlife crisis. His first large scale work, and opera
called Sita failed to win a cash prize at a Ricordi composition competition and his other large works of the time, notably The Cloud
Messenger and Beni Mora were premiered without great success. In March of 1913, Holst received an anonymous gift which enabled
him to travel to Spain with Clifford Bax, the brother of the composer Arnold Bax (and later the librettist for Holst's opera The Wandering
Scholar). Clifford Bax was an astrologer, and he and Holst became good friends, with Bax introducing him to the concepts of astrology.
Perhaps due to this friendship, Holst began to rediscover his childhood intrigue with theosophy. He had a book in his library called,
"The Art of Synthesis," by Alan Leo. Leo was himself an astrologer and Theosophist who published various books on astrology,
however if you look at "The Art of Synthesis," each chapter is labeled with a heading, offering a precursor to how The Planets
was constructed. Alan Leo divided his book into chapters based on each planet, and described the astrological characteristics of
them. In fact, "Neptune, the Mystic," is given the same title in both the book and the suite! Holst may have been introduced to
Leo by George Mead, a Sanskrit scholar and a fellow member, along with Holst, of the Royal Asiatic Society. Mead and Leo
were friends.
Holst called his piece "a series of mood pictures." In actuality, this helps lead into other influences for this work. Before Holst
started to compose The Planets, both Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky made trips to England and caused quite a stir.
Schoenberg came to England and conducted his Five Orchestral Pieces Op. 18. Holst must have gone to this concert and been
impressed, for Holst labeled the preliminary sketches of The Planets "Seven Orchestral Pieces." Around the same time,
Stravinsky came to England and conducted his Le sacre du printemps. Holst must have noticed this unconventional way to
use the orchestra, because in the first movement, "Mars," the blatant dissonance and unconventional meter seems to be riddled
with the influence of Stravinsky.
Gustav Holst seemed to consider The Planets a progression of life. "Mars" perhaps serves as a rocky and tormenting beginning.
In fact, some have called this movement the most devastaing piece of music ever written! "Venus" seems to provide an answer
to "Mars," it's title as "the bringer of peace," helps aid that claim. "Mercury" can be thought of as the messenger between our
world and the other worlds. Perhaps "Jupiter" represents the "prime" of life, even with the overplayed central melody, which
was later arranged to the words of "I vow to thee, my country." "Saturn" can be viewed as indicative of Holst's later mature
style, and indeed it is recorded that Holst preferred this movement to all others in the suite. Through "Saturn" it can be said
that old age is not always peaceful and happy. The movement may display the ongoing struggle for life against the odd
supernatural forces. This notion mat be somewhat outlandish, but the music seems to lend credence to this. "Saturn" is
followed by "Uranus, the Magician," a quirky scherzo displaying a robust musical climax before the tranquility of the female
choir in "Neptune" enchants the audience.
The piece displays that Holst was in touch with his musical contemporaries. There are obvious ideas borrowed from Schoenberg,
Stravinsky, and Debussy (the quality of"Neptune" resembles earlier Debussy piano music.) Holst never wrote another piece
like The Planets again. He hated its popularity. When people would ask for his autograph, he gave them a typed sheet of paper
that stated that he didn't give out autographs. The public seemed to demand of him more music like The Planets, and his later
music seemed to disappoint them. In fact, after writing the piece, he swore off his belief in astrology, though until the end of
his life he cast his friends horoscopes. How ironic that the piece that made his name famous throughout the world brought
him the least joy in the end.
The Planets was first performed in a private concert in 1918 with Adrian Boult conducting as a gift from Henry Balfour
Gardiner, who was also responsible for the premieres of Holst's Two Eastern Pictures and The Cloud Messenger. The first
complete performance of the piece was under Albert Coates in Queen's Hall in 1920.
Music Composed by Gustav Holst
Played by the BBC Symphony & Royal Philharmonic Orchestras
Conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent
"This “Mars” is fabulous. It powers along, mowing down anything in its path. It’s relentless. If I was the kind of
guy who jumped out of his seat at the end of a performance and yelled “Bravo!”, there’s a fair chance I would have
jumped out of my seat and yelled “Bravo!”.
“Venus” is close to perfect.
“Mercury” is splendid.
“Jupiter” has as much joie de vivre as you could possibly imagine – and with a heart-meltingly-played Big
Tune in the middle (2:55-4:46). It made me cry. The sound quality’s not much chop in this movement (it’s better
in the other movements), and a horn plays a dodgy note at 5:25, but – and this is a big “but” – you can hear
the love for the music shine in every note. This is glorious music-making.
“Saturn”‘s Old Age is supremely dignified.
“Uranus” is especially mischievous (and played wonderfully, apart from an “oops” moment at 4:11 when a
trumpeter plays a stray note – mischief!).
And “Neptune” is just… Well, I can’t really describe it. “Neptune” is exactly how I want it to be.
Thank you, Big Mal. Twenty-five thumbs up for these Planets."
Peter's Planets
Download Links:
FLAC version - https://mega.nz/#!GBdgBDYC!DI81SPira25GbhYMq8UQnoxTNnQnx9BaiGclo3qKIgA
mp3 version - https://mega.nz/#!eVt1gCyR!aBSfld9E7seGBSLvS8Ao0ujbAKJS55xAtyzIWurajEk
Full Score (PDF) - https://mega.nz/#!3UkEAYaJ!3PU0bFc_ZQfbflR0vk7HyP8OXuLB_VcO1YjMEleJVK8
This is my own rip. Please add to my reputation if you enjoyed this release - or at least say THANK YOU in this thread! :)