What Is Specifically Holstian About ‘The Planets’?

‘The Planets’ (Holst, 1918) is Holst’s most recognisable work, but whether it represents his style is often questioned. In 2002, Colin Matthews (composer of the additional ‘Pluto’ movement) said that ‘The Planets’ is ‘often regarded as if it came from nowhere, yet the music fits naturally into Holst’s output, a logical development from his earlier work, and a pointer to much that he was to achieve subsequently’ (Matthews, 2002). However, two years later, he contradicted himself, stating that ‘even to those with more than a passing acquaintance with his music, The Planets does give something of an impression of a work that emerged from nowhere, since it has few antecedents either in Holst's own output or in orchestral music generally’ (Matthews, 2004). This essay aims to investigate which elements of ‘The Planets’ are specifically Holstian by comparing its composition to (non-exhaustive) parts of other Holst compositions, therefore determining if either of Matthews’ statements truly reflect the work.

Aside from the Wagner-esque chromaticism of his early work (and, to a lesser extent, his career), Holst’s unique approaches to tonality are one of many distinct Holstian features- bitonality, for example. One of the more famous examples of this can be found in Holst’s ‘Hammersmith’ (Holst, 1930) prelude which puts F minor basses against a rigid E major melody line [figure 1]. Despite the Ab/G# and Db/C# connections, no attempt at harmony is made and the two keys are left to clash and intertwine. Similarly, ‘The Mystic Trumpeter’ (Holst, 1904) also employs bitonality in its opening section, with the strings and winds changing through clashing keys in order to create tension. This feeling is replicated in ‘Mars’ which explores bitonality during its A section. Though the ostinato retains its G tonal centre, there is a distinct, jarring focus on Db throughout many of the melody lines. ‘Neptune’ takes a similar approach, with ‘bitonality centred on oscillating chords of E minor and G# minor sometimes played together’ (Head, 1993). Here, the technique (found in the first 2 beats of bar 16 for example) is used to add to the mystic quality of the movement. One of his more extreme, unique explorations of tonality can be found in ‘Terzetto For Flute, Oboe and Viola’ (Holst, 1925). It opens with an oboe melody diatonic to its A major key signature before the flute joins in and does the same with its A flat key signature. The dissonance is then taken further as the viola enters with no flats/sharps, therefore adding a third unrelated key and creating polytonality.

Another movement that approaches bitonality in a unique way is ‘Mercury’. It rapidly alternates between the keys of E and Bb (separated by a tritone) creating a

surprisingly light-hearted clash, very different in tone to the dramatic dissonance of that in ‘Mars’ and ‘Neptune’. The technique is most obvious in the two harp parts, with harp 1 using a 2-flat key signature and harp 2 using 3-sharps, alternating between Bb and E major chords [figure 2]. The other instruments use accidentals to change between the

tonal centres, with examples found in the bar 1 bassoon which ascends using a Bb major chord and descends using E major, or the piccolo part in bars 16-17, which are very clearly in Bb major, but surrounded by the E major of bars 15/18. When two different chords occasionally meet (bars 227-234, for example, include multiple Cm/Db clashes), its traditional use can be felt much like it is in pieces such as the ‘Hammersmith’ prelude, but

[Figure 2] Harp 1 shown to be in Bb major, harp 2 shown to be in E major.

[Figure 1] Basses in F minor contrasting horns in E major in Hammersmith Prelude.

the fact that the keys are almost exclusively alternating creates a very different sound through what is, on the surface, a very Holstian technique. While this suggests a level of support for Matthews’ 2004 statement (as the subtle, unique uses could be hard to link to clear uses of bitonality ‘even to those with more than a passing acquaintance with his music’), it is still representative of his Holstian style (and Matthews’ 2002 statement), because this movement, ‘Neptune’ and ‘Mars’ all still use the technique.

Modality is another distinctively Holstian approach to tonality. Both ‘A Choral Phantasia’ (Holst, 1930) and ‘Matthew, Mark, Luke and John’ (Holst, 1916) use the Phrygian mode in their opening, while the ‘First Suite For Military Band In Eb’ uses a ‘self-contained Dorian mode melody on F’ (Stith, 1970) in the second section of the intermezzo, and ‘phrase M [of ‘Savitri’, bars 72-74] is plainly set in A Dorian’ (Landvatter, 1984). ‘Jupiter’ is the clearest representation of modality in ‘The Planets’. This can be seen in both simple forms, such as the opening pentatonic ostinati, but also in subtler ways. These include the scalic runs exploring the Mixolydian scale in bar 75, due to the lack of C#’s in the seemingly D major ascent, and the Dorian scale in bar 315, where the same pattern is now a straight ‘white note’ run from D-D. On top of this, less scale-based modal features emerge, such as a lack of traditional dominant-tonic relationship, as ‘the progression from V to I6 appears a few times throughout this portion [the main ‘Thaxted’ hymn] of the music, but there is no traditional movement from V7 to I’ (Ovsey, 2008). These common appearances of modality suggest a very Holstian aspect to ‘Jupiter’, suggesting that it is very Holstian in its modal

approach. There are a few other examples of modality throughout ‘The Planets’, such as the B Dorian mode ‘Saturn’ theme which uses the b7th and ♮6ths of the scale as well as the descent in [figure 3] which uses the same mode, and bar 58 of ‘Neptune’, which also ‘has a touch of the Dorian mode in the clarinet theme’

(Greene, 1995). These can be compared to ‘Christmas Song’ (Holst, 1924), which is completely scored in F Dorian (using a 3-flat, Bb/Eb/Ab key signature). These frequent examples could imply that it isn’t just modality, but the use of the Dorian mode specifically, that is a Holstian feature.

The use of modality goes hand in hand with folksong, with Holst’s friend Ralph Vaughn Williams employing modal writing in, for example, the Dorian opening of ‘My Bonny Boy’ (Vaughn Williams, 1923). With him, Holst ‘developed an interest in English folk music, [which] became a turning point in style as he left behind the heaviness of the Wagnerian style for the simplicity of folk melodies’ (McLaren, 2015). After using existing folk melodies in, for example, ‘A Somerset Rhapsody’ (1906) and ‘6 Choral Folksongs’ (Holst, 1917), he began to create his own, folk inspired melodies, stating that ‘lots of my things are folksong in character but as far as I know the melodies are mine’ (Graebe, 2011). This can be seen in the opening melody [figure 4] of ‘Matthew, Mark, Luke and John’ (Holst, 1916), which shows the aforementioned (Mixolydian) modality alongside a binary (two 4-bar phrases being followed by two 2-bar phrases) form. Rather than focusing on the creation of clear folk melodies (or the use of pre-existing ones) ‘the lesson [Holst] took from folk music was one of simplicity and economy’ (Graebe, 2011). This statement continues to prove itself in ‘The Planets’, with

melodies of this nature appearing throughout. ‘Jupiter’ is a particularly strong example. The famous ‘Thaxted’ theme

[figure 5] employs this approach, as while technically a hymn in style, its simple melodic and rhythmic content in an adapted binary form (made up of a 4-bar A section which is

[Figure 5] The well-known ‘Thaxted’ theme.

[Figure 4] First phrase of ‘Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

[Figure 3] B Dorian descending bassline in ‘Saturn’.

rhythmically repeated with melodic developments afterwards, and followed by a B section which uses two different 4-bar phrases), has been called ‘a kind of exalted folksong’ (Greene, 1995). This suggests that folksong was an influence on Holst when writing this melody. Similarly, ‘the pesante theme is a dance of the music-hall variety, though it has a certain popular-folk quality, as does the Mixolydian tune in 3/4 that follows it’ (Greene, 1995) suggesting that, in line with Matthews’ 2004 statement, the use of Holstian ideas is present, but perhaps buried under adaptations and may have been taken too far to be clearly recognisable. While folk-like melodies appear in a multitude of pieces such as the ‘First Suite For Military Band In Eb’ (Holst, 1909) (which opens with a short, simple folk-like melody, split into an small scale binary form) and the Jig of ‘St Pauls Suite’ (Holst, 1912), there are plenty of other uses in ‘The Planets’. The solo violin melody that begins the andante section of ‘Venus’ and the 6-bar melodic ostinato that first appears in bar 83 of ‘Mercury’ both show off the ideas of economy and simplicity that Holst took from folksong; even ‘Saturn’ uses a ‘B minor processional theme [which] moves folklike around the Dorian mode’ (Greene, 1995). The [figure 6] melody employs a typical, small-scale binary form melody split into A (2, 2 bar phrases) and B (a 2 bar phrase, followed by a phrase that is cut short halfway through). From these examples we can conclude that the use of folksong itself isn’t the Holstian feature, but the influence the style had on his melodic writing in terms of ‘simplicity and economy’ is, and it appears frequently in ‘The Planets’.

Through his use of simple folklike melodies, leaps of a 4th/5th crop up regularly. Of course, composers use these intervals so frequently that it’s hard to call it distinctive to an individual, but it is the way Holst uses them (as a focal point during the beginning of key melodic ideas) that is particularly Holstian. The most obvious example of this in ‘The Planets’ is the opening interval of the prominent ‘Mars’ theme, but it appears elsewhere across the suite. The second main melody of ‘Venus’ (bar 32), for example, opens with an ascending and then descending 4th, which is directly comparable to ‘King Estmere’ (Holst, 1906), who’s

opening vocal melody begins with a descent then an ascent of a 4th [figure 7]. ‘Mercury’ uses a similar approach with the bar 1 bassoon (and many other times/instruments throughout the piece) part ascending from F-Bb and then

descending from C-G within the same bar; ‘Jupiter’ includes a horn melody (starting at bar 29) which is based almost exclusively on leaps of a 4th; while the opening interval of the double bass melody introduced at the start of ‘Saturn’ is a 4th

[figure 8]. This shows a huge amount of importance given to these intervals during ‘The Planets’. Similar examples can be found elsewhere, such as the opening intervals in the vocal part of the 3rd/4th movements of ‘Four Songs For Violin and Voice’ (Holst, 1917) and the ascending D-A leap in the bar 1 cornet, as well as the descending A-D leap at the start of bar 2 of ‘Moorside Suite’ (Holst, 1928). Holst even makes the interval of a 4th/5th prominent without actually making the leap, for example, in the opening melody of ‘Venus’ the horn moves from C-F (the two most prominent notes in the melody) via a minor scale, while the opening movement of the ‘Second Suite For Military Band’ moves from F-C via a major scale in its opening bars, as does ‘Turn Back O Man’ (Holst, 1919) in its G-C opening vocal line. This suggests that giving early prominence to movement of a 4th/5th is a distinctively Holstian way of constructing melodies.

[Figure 6] Folk inspired melody heard in ‘Saturn’.

[Figure 8] Opening double bass leap of a 4th in ‘Saturn’.

[Figure 7] Descending and ascending 4ths in ‘King Estmere’.

The short scalic runs used to link leaps of a 4th/5th are also in themselves a very Holstian concept. ‘Uranus’ is able to provide many simple examples of this technique in

action. A contrary motion G major scale is heard in bar 19, multiple D major scales are heard within the piece (such as [figure 9]), and a Bb major scale is seen in the

violins from bars 93-98. Much like this, descending C major scales are heard in the cello part throughout the prelude of ‘Brook Green Suite’ (with modulations using other simple diatonic scales such as G minor), and many scalic runs are heard within the melodic lines [figure 10] of the ‘Air’ movement. ‘Egdon Heath’ (Holst, 1927) also uses many scalic figures, such as the solo clarinet G major scale at bar 75, the descending Gb minor scale at bar 93, with more

adventurous examples being heard in the ambiguous yet consonant scale that appears in the 3rd trombone/tuba from the andante maesetoso marking. This scale quickly descends into dissonance in a way similar to the chromatic

scales heard earlier in the piece shown in [figure 11]. These less standard scalic figures can also be found in ‘The Planets’: the important theme based half on a chromatic and half on a minor scale first heard from bar 43 of ‘Mars’; the aforementioned modal scalic runs in ‘Jupiter’; and the only scale in ‘Neptune’ (a 9-note bass flute scale in bar 95). ‘Mercury’ also uses scales in a particularly interesting way due to its approach to bitonality, with [figure 12] showing a rising scale that combines E major and Bb major. Further examples within Holst’s catalogue are easy to find, with non-standard scalic figures appearing in the ‘Hammersmith’ prelude, where on top of chromatic scales, consonant scales of different keys are bitonally combined, and ‘Creation’ from ‘Rig Veda Group 3’ (Holst, 1910), which regularly uses a F#-G-Ab-Bb-C scalic figure. The frequent use of this technique is one of most prominent Holstian ideas found throughout ‘The Planets’.

One of the other very regular and clear Holstian features heard in ‘The Planets’ is his use of ostinato, which can be found in the majority of his pieces. Bass ostinati are particularly common, with ‘The Planets’ being no exception. For example, the simple C-G bass ostinato in ‘Uranus’, heard from bar 133, is directly comparable to the 2-note left hand piano figure heard throughout verse I/IV of Holst’s ‘A Festival Chime’, while the the 4-note

pattern [figure 13] that appears multiple times in ‘The Cloud Messenger’ (Holst, 1913) draws parallels with the descending

scalic basslines in ‘Saturn’ (such as from bar 28). Longer examples of Holstian bass ostinato can also be found, with the 4-bar long part from bar 108 of ‘Jupiter’ showing this.

Often, Holst introduces an ostinato in the foreground, before quickly turning it into an accompaniment. The ‘Dance Under A Cherry Tree’ movement of the ‘Japanese Suite’ (Holst, 1915) includes a ‘flute solo accompanied by a pseudo-koto ostinato pattern on the harp’ (Cooke, 1998). The ostinato first appears on its own in a melodic way, but is soon relegated to accompaniment. ‘Saturn’ takes a similar approach, combining two 3-note melodic ideas to form a C major pentatonic idea which appears on its own as the first focal point of the piece, but soon becomes an accompaniment. ‘Beni Mora’ (Holst, 1910), bases its 3rd movement around a melodic flute ostinato [figure 14] which, begins as the prominent figure in bar 15, but soon becomes an accompaniment throughout the rest of the piece. This is very similar to the ‘Ostinato’ movement of ‘St Pauls Suite’ (Holst, 1922) which begins with a solo violin playing the

[Figure 10] A scalic run heard in ‘Air’.

[Figure 12] E major/Bb major combined scale in ‘Mercury’.

[Figure 11] The use of multiple chromatic scales in ‘Egdon Heath’.

[Figure 13] ‘Cloud Messenger‘ 4-note ostinato.

[Figure 14] Beni Mora’s flute ostinato.

[Figure 9] Descending D major scales in woodwinds in ‘Uranus’.

ostinato which becomes an accompaniment throughout. Further examples of this can be found, such as in ‘Jupiter’, where the multiple ostinato patterns from bar 388 soon allow a melody in the oboes, English horns and trumpets to appear above, and the well-known ‘Mars’ ostinato [figure 15] which, while used melodically at times, initially transitions from a solo timpani pattern to an accompaniment to the main theme. These examples show that using ostinati prominently before

they’re used as accompaniments is typically Holstian idea. The aforementioned ostinato found in ‘Mars’ is directly comparable to a 5/4 melodic

ostinato used in the ‘Choral Fantasia’ (Holst, 1930) [figure 16], with many other melodic ostinatos being found within ‘The Planets’ and Holst’s other work. In ‘Uranus’, a 7-note ostinato which is temporarily used as the theme appears (from bar 129), while ‘Mercury’ takes a prominent melodic ostinato first appearing in solo violin (bar 83-88) and passes it between various instruments, making it the main melodic content of the section. ‘Saturn’ employs a collection of changing, melodic flute and harp ostinatos from bar 117, which act melodically, supporting low melodies heard in the bass instruments. This can be compared to the Nocturne from ‘2 Pieces’ (Holst, 1932), where the right hand of the piano is playing a semi-quaver melodic ostinato figure throughout the majority of the piece in order to accompany the lower melody below it. The huge amount of ostinato heard both in ‘The Planets’ and the other Holst pieces referenced show that this is a very typically Holstian idea, supporting the idea that it draws parallels with his other work, as Matthews suggested in 2002.

Another Holstian feature as recognisable as ostainto is ‘his use of unconventional time signatures’ (Matthews, 1999). Both ‘Mars’ and ‘Neptune’ are firmly in 5/4, drawing parallels with the unconventional meters seen in ‘Egdon Heath’, based around 7/4; the second movement of ‘Beni Mora’ (Holst, 1912) which is in 5/4; and his ’Choral Fantasia’ which uses both 7/4 and 5/4 (sometimes simultaneously). Similarly, ‘Uranus’ employs unexpected bars of 9/4 amongst its alternating 4/4 and 6/4 meter [figure 17], with this alternation showing off another aspect of metric interest Holst frequently uses- alternating time signatures. These can be seen throughout ‘The Planets’: ‘Saturn’ (4/4 and 3/2), ‘Venus’ (3/4 and 4/4) and ‘Jupiter’ (2/4 and 4/4). It provides an interesting flair without setting a fixed, unusual time signature like ‘Mars’ and ‘Neptune’ does, something that is mirrored in many other pieces. Both his ‘First Suite In Eb For Military Band’ (Holst, 1909) and ‘Second Suite In F For Military Band’ (Holst, 1911) base themselves around duple and triple time; ‘Song Of The Frogs’ switches between 4/4 and 7/4; and the ‘Jig’ from ‘St Pauls Suite’ (Holst, 1922), changes between 6/8 and 9/8 throughout. These time signature changes are typically Holstian, as not only does he frequently employ them, he also uses them practically to house melodies, rather than using them specifically to create tension or instability like Stravinsky did in ‘The Rite Of Spring’ (Stravinsky, 1913) around a similar time.

[Figure 17] Alternation between 6/4 and 9/4 in ‘Uranus’.

[Figure 15] Main ‘Mars’ ostinato being used as an accompaniment.

[Figure 16] 5/4 melodic ostinato from ‘Choral Fantasia’.

Time signatures are also used to create the hemiolas which appear throughout ‘The Planets’. The 6/4 and 4/4 meters found in ‘Uranus’ combine between bars 231-238, creating hemiola as the orchestra’s 4/4, plays against the 6/4 of the bass oboe, bass clarinet, bassoon and double bassoon. Similarly, ‘Mercury’ creates hemiola in bars 16-19 (and throughout the movement) by putting the 3/4 harp against the 6/8 piccolo/flute melody. These ideas can be compared to ‘The Japanese Suite’ (Holst, 1915) which creates similar

rhythmic interest by alternating 9/8 + 3/4 with 6/8 + 2/4, clashing the two rhythms in hemiola [figure 18]. Similarly, both of Holst’s previously mentioned Military Suites use hemiola. In the first, it’s heard towards the end of the first movement, with the bass drum/tuba in 2/4, and the euphonium continuing the 3/4 theme; while the second

ends with a ‘jig over the popular tune Greensleeves with the use of hemiolas’ (NZCBA, 2016) combining tunes in 6/8 and 3/4. As both ‘The Planets’ and the comparative examples show, Holst doesn’t choose either to just use complex, changing, or multiple time signatures- instead using all three techniques frequently. This suggests that it is his entire approach to meter that is Holstian, rather than specifically his use of unconventional meter, as is commonly suggested.

As these findings suggest, we cannot disregard Matthews’ 2004 statement. The way Holst deals with some of his trademarks is often somewhat disguised, and may require analysis, even for those ‘with more than a passing acquaintance with his music’, to prove that they are indeed Holstian. However, his engagement with specific, representative features (such as ostinato, folksong and meter) make ‘The Planets’ a work that ‘fits naturally into [his] output’, full of many strong Holstian elements.

[Figure 18] Changing meter and hemiola in ‘Japanese Suite’.

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