This post is part of a larger deep dive
Curious about the role of the Planets in astrology in The Planets? Check out The Planets Explained!
Composer: Gustav Holst
Length: 51m 29s
Genre: Classical
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Listening to Gustav Holst’s The Planets, is like riding a roller-coaster of contradictory emotions.
This probably sounds unduly poetic or perhaps even corny. But, really, from the threatening-sounding Mars, the Bringer of War, to the delicate melody of Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity that almost brings me to tears (the episode Sleepytime from the animated TV show “Bluey” may have contributed to that), there is a high chance you’ll find a movement to your liking.
Despite being over 100 years old, The Planets remains one of the most celebrated and played works in the classical music repertoire, and in this article we’ll explore the meaning of it.
The Planets (op. 32) is a seven-movement orchestral suite written by Englishman Gustav Holst (1874-1934) between the years of 1914 and 1916.
Each movement was named after a planet from our solar system (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, in this order), and is supposed to reflect its astrological character, rather than astronomical significance.
Even though critical opinion was initially divided, even the harshest critics quickly changed their mind and praised The Planets as one of the most original and ambitious works of the time.
Interestingly, the fame that The Planets received during Holst’s lifetime was exactly what disenchanted Holst about the work. Somewhat paradoxically, Holst’s career was negatively affected by The Planets incredible success, as his other works were completely overshadowed and never received sufficient recognition.
As a result, Holst maintained a certain distance to the composition until his death.
For example, Pluto wasn’t incorporated in Holst’s composition because it was only discovered in 1930, almost 15 years after completion of the work.
Holst was still alive when scientists discovered Pluto, but he quickly brushed off enthusiasts’ pledges to produce another movement in honour of the newly-discovered planet. He simply had had enough of it.
As a whole, The Planets is a provocative piece. Like many innovative compositions ahead of their time, nothing like it had ever been attempted before. Even by today’s standards “The Planets” remains almost, well, unearthly.
The time signatures vary significantly within and across pieces. For example, “Mars” is mostly on 5/4, whereas other movements switch between time signatures (e.g., Jupiter goes from 2/4 to ¾). There are also complex cross-rythms in several of the movements like in “Mercury” and “Uranus”, with unusual time signatures like 9/4.
In some movements, Holst makes clever use of hemiolas, one of his favourite compositional techniques. For example, at some point in Uranus, part of the orchestra is playing in 4/4 meter, while the bass, oboe, clarinet and bassoon all play in 6/4 meter. Similarly, in Mercury, hemiolas are created by contrasting block chords in ¾ with 6/8 meter.
There is also a lot of harmonic dissonances throughout the suite, and, in most cases, they function as a way to either evoke feelings of trepidation or the perception of threat.
The Planets has been hugely influential in contemporary music as well. You may have heard about a certain composer called John Williams, who wrote music for a certain movie franchise called Star Wars?
Well, if you listen to Mars, the Bringer of War (the very first movement of The Planets), you will surely have no trouble associating it with the beat to the Stormtroopers March. Indeed, The Planets sounds as though it had been devised with cinema in mind, even though motion pictures with sound-on-film was yet to be invented.
And let’s not forget that a faithful execution of The Planets requires a gargantuan orchestra (although not as large as the likes of Mahler or Schoenberg): 16 woodwind players, 15 brass players, several percussion instruments, a massive organ, dozens of string players, and an only-women choir for the last movement.
I have to admit that, as a classical music aficionado, my evaluation of classical music pieces will tend to be somewhat biased. Nevertheless, the very fact that The Planets has remained popular for more than a century now, and has had an incredible impact on the music industry, is a testament to its quality.
It is only unfortunate that Holst completely lost motivation and desire to expand the composition after it had become such a huge success. But considering the negative effect this fame had on his later career, no-one could fault Holst for that.
In Mindlybiz, The Planets gets a star rating of 5.
There are no lyrics in Holst composition, therefore, bizarreness needs to be evaluated on the basis of the compositional techniques Holst employed.
The Planets was quite innovative at the time, and when it was initial presented to the public, it was received with a certain amount of apprehension. I believe this speaks for how strange the suite may have sounded to the ears of early twentieth-century society. Even nowadays, The Planets is a matter of study and extensive musical analysis.
The unusual musical progression and its associations with the occult, coupled with complex polyrythms, bitonality, unconventional time signatures, and generous use of dissonance makes this a relatively “weird” piece.
In Mindlybiz, The Planets gets a Bizarrometer of 3.5.
Gustav Holst had a penchant for many exotic interests that you would probably not associate with a classic composer. For example, as a student, he was an avid reader of Hindu literature and philosophy, and translated Rig Veda hymns without any experience as a linguist.
During holidays in Spain, Clifford Bax (the brother of composer Arnold Bax), impressed by Holst’s knowledge of Sanskrit texts, met with Holst and introduced him to Astrology. Holst was completely taken with it.
He diligently studied astrology to the point that he became a skilled interpreter of horoscopes.
The Planets emerged during this enticing period of his career. Indeed, Holst always maintained that the planets in his composition expressed each planet’s astrological character, rather than their astronomical or mythological significance.
The order that the planets appear in Holst’s work does not correspond to the ordering of the planets from the Sun. Instead, Holst arranged the planets in terms of proximity to Earth (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), with the exception of Mars, which should have been placed second after Venus.
The reason Holst decided to use Mars as the first movement isn’t clear, but likely relates to musical effectiveness. Mars builds up tension, and unleashes a climax, which is an ingenious way to keep the audience engaged from the get-go.
“Mars, the Bringer of War” is very much like a war march. Astrologers associate the planet Mars with violence, anger and destruction, but also of energy and action. And in this first movement, there is tension-building throughout literally the entire piece and an almost aggressive and explosive musical atmosphere.
In “Venus, the Bringer of Peace”, the contrast to the preceding movement couldn’t be greater. In Astrology, Venus is linked with beauty, peace, harmony and pleasure. This movement has the peculiarity of not incorporating any tension, so the entire movement is very hypnotic and peaceful.
“Mercury, the Winged Messenger” is the most swift and ephemerous movement of the seven. In Astrology, the planet Mercury represents communication and the way you express yourself. Indeed, in this movement, instruments play and pass the same melody around, as though a message were being relayed across the entire orchestra.
“Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity” is the most cheerful movement of the suite. It starts with a majestic entrance, and retains this optimism throughout the piece, as if we were attending a feast of the god of the Gods (i.e., Jupiter). In Astrology, Jupiter is considered the planet of good-fortune, abundance and growth. The Waltz-like middle section leading to the beautiful melody of the “I Vow to Thee, My Country”, invokes images of peace and serenity.
“Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age” is the most ominous piece of the suite. It always lingers in this uncomfortable atmosphere where death and despair seem ubiquitous. The middle section gives the idea of approaching gigantic footsteps as if an epic battle were about to erupt. In Astrology, Saturn is the planet that enables you to overcome your fears and face the vicissitudes of life. In fact, as opposed to the other movements, Saturn appears to contain a plot-like structure to the piece: starting with a problem, exploration, confrontation, revival and resolution.
“Uranus, the Magician” starts with a fanfare of brass instruments, which develops into the downright wacky middle section. Astrologers considered Uranus to be the planet of technology, invention, originality and eccentricity. Holst’s employment of unusual time signatures and experimentation with unconventional orchestral instruments does indeed this planet’s title justice.
“Neptune, the Mystic” is perhaps the most musically obscure of the movements. In Astrology, Neptune is linked with psychic abilities, dreams and visions, all characteristics that are expressed in the music of Neptune through the employment of harmonic dissonance. Furthermore, this movement ends with a surprising faded-out only-female voices, adding extra mystery to the ultimate goal of the piece.
Note the deliberate omission of Earth from the list. This is because, in Astrology, Earth is at the center of the chart (the so-called geocentric chart). Thus, everything is relative to our position on Earth, which is why it isn’t usually considered.
But let’s first get acquainted with some of the concepts in Astrology before embarking on a more meticulous analysis of Holst’s work.
Thank you for writing such an in depth analysis of the planets and including some basic info about astrology which I knew nothing about. I really enjoyed reading it and found it very informative. Read it whilst listening to the music.
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for your comment! I’m really happy you found the article an enjoyable read!