Klarinet Archive - Posting 000749.txt from 1998/09

From: Jack Kissinger <kissingerjn@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: [kl] Genesis Music
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 18:05:52 -0400

I am no expert here. (Words I find myself using frequently.) At the time I made the
comment, I was acting on my (admittedly sometimes faulty memory) of some recording
liner notes (which are also sometimes prone to error). In my defense, however, I
would like to quote from a Gustav Holst site developed and maintained by Kenric
Taylor, a junior at Williams College, and suggest that both Holsts' susequent denials
to the contrary, astrology may indeed have been an influence on the suite. According
to Taylor:

"During the 1910's, Holst was undoubtedly going through a period similar to a midlife
crisis. His first large scale work, and opera called Sita failed to win a cash
prize at a Ricordi composition competition and his other large works of the time,
notably The Cloud Messenger and Beni Mora were premiered without great
success. In March of 1913, Holst received an anonymous gift which enabled him to
travel to Spain with Clifford Bax, the brother of the composer Arnold Bax
(and later the librettist for Holst's opera The Wandering Scholar). Clifford Bax was
himself an astrologer, and he and Holst became good friends, with Bax
introducing him to the concepts of astrology.

Holst had a book in his library called, The Art of Synthesis, by Alan Leo. Leo was an
astrologer and Theosophist who published various books on astrology,
however if you look at The Art..., each chapter is labeled with a heading, very
simliar to how The Planets was constructed. Leo divided the book into chapters
based on each planet, and described the astrological characteristics of them. In
fact, Neptune the Mystic, is given the same title in both the book and the suite! ....

Holst called his piece "a series of mood pictures." ... [Here Taylor discusses other
influences, in particular the music of Stravinsky and Schoenberg as well as other
interpretations of the program behind the music.]

Holst never wrote another piece like The Planets again. He hated its popularity. When
people would
ask for his autograph, he gave them a typed sheet of paper that stated that he didn't
give autographs. The public seemed to demand of him more music like The
Planets, and his later music seemed to disappoint them. In fact, after writing the
piece, he swore off his belief in astrology, though until the end of his life he cast
his friends' horoscopes."

So was astrology an influence on the work or not? Ian Lace confirms Taylor's
contention that Holst had a strong interest in astrology. Did he purge this from his
mind while writing "The Planets"? Who knows? I'm sure you have some sources that you
can bring to bear here. While Taylor's case may not be conclusive, however, it raises
some interesting points for speculation. BTW, he has a nice site. Worth a visit for
anglophiles on the list. You can find it at:

http://wso.williams.edu/~ktaylor/gholst/

Best regards,
Jack Kissinger
St. Louis

Jim O'Briant wrote:

> Jack Kissinger wrote:
>
> > Uh, sorry. Holst was actually thinking of astrology when he wrote "The
> > Planets."
>
> Not so, I fear. Holst and his daughter, Imogene, stated many times that there is
> no astrological significance nor astrological reference in "The Planets." Holst
> took the names of the eight planets that were known at the time (Pluto wasn't yet
> discovered), and composed movements for seven of them, omitting only Earth. The
> titles and subtitles were simply the names of the Greek or Roman gods for whom the
> planets were named, along with a phrase descriptive of that particular god as
> he/she is depicted in mythology. Astrology was not involved in any way.
>
> Jim O'Briant
> Bayside Music Press
> Gilroy, CA

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