jmc's classics
e I attended an SLSO concert last night. I try to attend an SLSO concert this time of year The main work was The Planets (Opus #32) by English composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934). It also featured three short works by living composers: Asteria by Guillaume Connesson, Primal Passage by Nokuthula Ngwenyama and Sukkot through Orion's Nebula by James Lee lll. I am not familiar with these composers. All three works have a planetary theme.
I have never been that much into astronomy or astro-physics. This work was written between 1914-1917 during WW l. Its world premiere was on September 29, 1918 At Queen's Hall in England with Adrien Bolt conducting. This work has inspired film music for movies. It is in seven movements each representing a known planet at that time. Pluto was not yet discovered at that time. The First is Mars. Then Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and finally Neptune. It does not have a movement for Earth! the final movement has a wordless female chorus. The chorus last night was in the balcony of Powell Hall. Mars is the Roman god of war. The first movement was written in 1914 and Holst could probably for see a war. Each movement is about a specific planet and its supposed astrological character. Holst described the movements as "a series of mood pictures that foils one another with little contrast in any one of them". John Williams used melodies from the Mars and Venus movements for music in Star Wars. These are the Imperial March and Imperial Attack for Mars and the Force Theme from Venus. Unlike most other works which I have written about, I do not have a CD of this work. I enjoyed the concert. I have seen several versions of this on Spotify.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories |