Hello, dear readers! My name is Akhil, and I will be writing the Music section for the Griffin Post this year. This week’s topic is the legendary composer Gustav Holst (1874-1934), as well as his famous suite, The Planets.

 

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst) was a British composer who lived during the Late Romantic and Early Modern periods of music. His family studied music: his great-grandfather was a composer, his grandfather and father both taught piano and harp, and his mother was a singer. Naturally, he started studying music; starting out at the piano, however, was not the best for his neuritis in his arms. He also had asthma, and he was instructed to study the trombone initially as therapy. Eventually, the trombone became his main instrument. He also attended the Royal Academy of Music in 1893, where he met his closest friend, composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. He also studied Sanskrit and the Hindu scriptures, known as the Vedas. This inspired him to write two of his operas, Sita (which was based on the Ramayana, a historic Hindu scripture) and Savitri (based on an episode from another epic, the Mahabharat). At age 24, he left the academy and became a professional trombonist, joining the Scottish Orchestra two years later. He then married choir soprano Emily Isobel Harrison. 

Eventually, he quit the orchestra and became the music teacher and composer of St. Paul’s Girls’ School, where he would work for the rest of his life. There, in 1913, he began composing his (arguably) magnum opus, The Planets, for an arranged ensemble. He was partially inspired by the book, What is a Horoscope and How is it Cast by Alan Leo, which had brought him into astrology. His suite consists of seven movements, one for each of the planets mentioned. Holst wanted to make each movement sound like what he thought each planet would sound like.

The first is “Mars, the Bringer of War.” The relentless march-like piece is said to have been inspired by World War One, which was raging on while Holst composed his suite; however, he had finished his work before war was declared. The song is in a pulse of five beats, making this song even more unique and iconic.

The second is “Venus, the Bringer of Peace.” This movement uses delicate, soft and beautiful instruments (such as bells and the harp) instead of the full orchestra, signifying peace and feminine beauty.

The third movement is “Mercury, the Winged Messenger,” the shortest of the seven, spanning around four minutes. It moves nimbly like Mercury himself, jumping from instrument to instrument.

The fourth movement is “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” represents manly energy, grandeur and merrymaking. In the middle of the piece, there is a broad tune which Holst allowed to be used for the hymn “I Vow to Thee, My Country.” Alan Leo had written in his book, “Those born under [Jupiter’s] influence are cheery and hopeful in disposition, and possess a noble and generous spirit. They possess that true religious spirit which gives faith, and abundant hope,” which is what is depicted in this piece.

Moving on to the fifth movement, “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age,” Holst orchestrates flutes, harp and oboe to represent the slow and expressive phase of old age. “Saturn” was also, allegedly, Holst’s favorite movement.

The penultimate movement arrives in all of its eccentric glory. “Uranus, the Magician” is boisterous and humorous, orchestrated quite uniquely. Timpanis, bassoons, and piccolos bring out all of the magical energy of Uranus.

Finally, “Neptune, the Mystic” is orchestrated with a six-part female choir, and similar to “Mars,” has a pulse of five counts. At the end of the suite, the choir vocalizes one last time, where they would fade out into space.

Even though The Planets would go on to be Holst’s most famous piece, he “hated its popularity. … The public seemed to demand of him more music like The Planets, and his later music seemed to disappoint them. How ironic that the piece that made his name famous throughout the world brought him the least joy in the end,” according to one of his biographers.

In his later life, Holst would go to the United States to lecture at Harvard University, but an ulcer in his small intestine forced him to return to England. He passed away on May 25, 1934 due to heart failure during a procedure to remove the ulcer; but even after his passing, The Planets still lives on as Holst’s pièce de résistance.

 

A note for musicians:

The Planets, a roughly 50-minute-long piece, calls for the following:

• Woodwinds

  • Flutes: 4 flutes, 2 piccolos, and a bass flute

  • Oboes: 3 oboes, a bass oboe, and an English horn

  • Clarinets: 3 clarinets, a bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, and a contrabassoon

• Brass

  • High brass: 6 horns and 4 trumpets

  • Low brass: 3 trombones, a tenor tuba, and a bass tuba 

• Percussion:

  • Battery percussion: 6 timpani (6 drums, not 6 groups of drums!), side (snare) drum, bass drum, cymbals and a gong

  • Mallet/Pitched percussion: Bells, glockenspiel, celesta, an organ and a xylophone

  • Auxiliary percussion: A triangle and a tambourine

• Strings: 2 harps and a string ensemble (1st and 2nd violins, violas, cellos, and double basses)

• Miscellaneous: In “Neptune,” a 6-part women’s chorus is required.

It was quite a formidable ensemble!

 

Works Cited

 

Boston Symphony Orchestra. “The Planets.” Boston Symphony Orchestra, BSO.org, bso.org/works/the-planets.

Chicago Symphony. “

‘The Planets,’ the work that helped to lift Gustav Holst to rock-star status.” Chicago Symphony, 22 Sep 2025, chicagosymphony.org/inside-the-music/article/25726/the-planets-the-work-that-helped-to-lift-gust.

San Francisco Classical Voice. “Gustav Holst.” Classical Voice, SFCV, sfcv.org/learn/composer-gallery/gustav-holst.