Gustav Holst: The Planets

Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets is a work inspired byastrology yet deeply rooted in the social and political climate of the early20th century. Although Holst himself was not a politically radical figure andnever explicitly framed the work as a condemnation or glorification of war, itis difficult, especially when examining the first movement, Mars: The Bringer of War, not to connectit to the growing tensions in Europe at the time. Composed before the outbreakof World War I, this movement’s driving rhythms, stark orchestral colors, andoppressive harmonies almost seem to foretell the impending disaster.

Holst’s musical achievements were longunderappreciated. In his youth, he was physically frail and suffered fromneuralgia, which made playing the trombone increasingly difficult. Turning tocomposition, he spent many years teaching at British secondary schools andgirls’ schools, living a modest life. ThePlanets was composed between 1914 and 1916, during a period when Holst wasdistressed over being rejected for military service on health grounds. He choseto “participate in the war” through music, channeling his understanding andemotions about conflict into his compositions. This was a highly personalresponse: instead of going to the battlefield, he created the sounds of war.

Mars is set in the unusual 5/4 meter, producing a mechanical, unstablerhythm that evokes the relentless advance of the war machine. The dense use ofbrass and percussion creates an oppressive, iron-hoofed intensity. Repeatedsyncopations and dissonant whole-tone passages convey an inescapable sense offate. There is neither heroic grandeur nor elegiac sorrow—only a cold,detached, almost brutal depiction of war. Many listeners were struck by thissense of looming annihilation upon first hearing the movement.

Although Holst never publicly declared Mars an anti-war statement, its premierein 1918, during a time when millions of lives had already been claimed by theconflict, drew extraordinary attention. Critics and audiences alike interpretedit as a symbol of war, and some even claimed that Holst had “predicted” thehorrors of battle. This coincidental alignment of music and reality onlyenhanced the symbolic power of the work.

By contrast, Venus: The Bringer of Peace offers an extreme counterpoint. Itssoothing melodies and gentle harmonies seem to plant a flower of peace amid theruins of war. Jupiter: The Bringer ofJollity carries a distinctly optimistic English pastoral character, withsome themes later adapted into the patriotic song “I Vow to Thee, My Country.”Yet these movements lack the shocking intensity of Mars and are seldom directly associated with the experience ofwarfare itself.

From a societalperspective, The Planets reflects thecomplex emotions of wartime populations. On one hand, people were immersed inthe fear and anxiety brought by conflict; on the other, they sought spiritualor emotional refuge. Performances of ThePlanets offered many British families a brief escape into the concert hall.Yet this does not mean Holst’s music merely provided aesthetic pleasure. In Mars, he exposes the raw, cold realityof war without consolation. He does not tell listeners how terrible war is; heallows them to feel the icy impact for themselves.