Gustav Holst and The Planets Suite Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst and The Planets Suite Gustav Holst 1874 - 1934

A famous composer’s life • Gustav Holst was an English composer and music teacher for over 20 years. • Most of the music he composed was original, but he had influences from Hindu spiritualism and English folk tunes.

A famous composer’s life Holst was born into a very musical family. His grandfather was a harp composer and teacher; his father was an organist, pianist and choirmaster, and his mother was a singer. Clara Holst Gustavus von Holst Adolf Holst

A famous composer’s life As a child, Gustav was taught the piano and violin. This is Holst playing the violin. This is Holst’s piano. You can see it in the Holst Birthplace Museum. He composed The Planets on this piano.

A famous composer’s life Gustav was a sickly child. His eyes were weak, but no-one realised that he needed to wear glasses. His chest was weak and he suffered from asthma. When he was young, Gustav hated playing the violin, but enjoyed playing the piano.

A famous composer’s life Unfortunately, Holst also had pain in his hands, so it made practising the piano very difficult and painful. After leaving school, he got his first job as an organist and choirmaster.

A famous composer’s life He became a student at the Royal College of Music, where he studied composition. Unfortunately, the pain in his right hand became worse. Playing for a long time was impossible and he had to accept that he would never be a professional concert pianist.

A famous composer’s life Holst decided to take up the trombone. It would allow him to play in orchestras, and he could earn some money. Also, the experience would be useful to him as a composer. Perhaps, he also thought that playing the trombone would help to strengthen his chest and lungs.

A famous composer’s life • Holst wrote The Planets Suite between 1914 and 1916. • Each of the seven movements is named after a planet of the Solar System and its corresponding astrological character.

A famous composer’s life 1. Mars - the Bringer of War 2. Venus - the Bringer of Peace 3. Mercury - the Winged Messenger 4. Jupiter - the Bringer of Jollity 5. Saturn - the Bringer of Old Age 6. Uranus - the Magician 7. Neptune - the Mystic

A famous composer’s life Holst did not compose a piece of music about Pluto, as Pluto was not discovered until 1930. Colin Matthews, a recent composer created a piece of music called Pluto: the Renewer. This is sometimes played alongside Holst’s Planet Suite in concerts. Now, we recognise Pluto as a dwarf planet.

A famous composer’s life Video clip: In this clip there are snippets of his work that you can listen to as well as more information about his life. https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=htuoxr. HWBE 8

Mars The Bringer of War

How a stringed instrument works Mars is the Roman god of war and bloodshed, whose symbol is a spear and shield.

Watch video clip: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Jmk 5 frp 6 -3 Q While you listen, draw a picture of how the music makes you feel and write a list of all the instruments you can hear. The link below will show the music being played live. See how many instruments you got correct! https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=c. XOanvv 4 pl. U

How a stringed instrument works In this piece of music, you hear a lot of string or bowed instruments.

How a stringed instrument works Holst gave an instruction for the instrumentalists to strike the string with their bow, rather than draw it across the strings. This gave the string instruments a more percussive sound. See a demonstration of col legno here

Make a list of all the stringed instruments you can think of. Ask an adult to see if they can think of any more.

http: //datadragon. com/education/instruments /strings. shtml

IAL how a stringed instrument works Space Music • Many modern pieces of music for space films have been based on Mars, the bringer of war. • Listen to this piece of music, and see what instruments you can hear. • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Ej. MNNp. Iksa. I

How a stringed instrument works How does it sound similar to Mars the bringer of war? What does it make you think of? How does it make you feel? Create! Can you create your own piece of music for a chosen planet? You might want to create a piece of music for your made up planet!