Planet Holst

Get ready to explore the world of Gustav Holst! Holst was an English composer, arranger, and teacher best known for his 1917 orchestral suite, The Planets. Since September 21, 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of his birth, we thought it would be a great time to feature this amazing, early 20th century musician. To honor Mr. Holst, we've created the song, "Planet Holst," which comes from the "Jupiter" movement from The Planets.

The song opens with the original beginning of the movement, in the original key. In measure 26, the key and meter change as the singers get ready to enter. They'll know when it's time to sing by listening for the timpani hits on beats one and two in measure 27. This melody is quite well-known and has been used many times over the years. Holst himself combined it with a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice to create the British patriotic hymn, "I Vow To Thee, My Country" in 1921.

We felt that this grand and stately piece would benefit from a second vocal part, which begins in measure 43. But of course, this is optional and the song willwork just as well without it. If you do use it, there is an isolated part 2 rehearsal track available on our web site.

The recorded accompaniment for this song includes a full orchestra and is an excellent representation of the original work. Whether you choose to sing it or just listen to it, it's a great way to start a unit on Gustav Holst and/or classical music. As a matter of fact, we have many other pieces in this genre, as well: "The Chopin Etude" (Vol. 20, No. 4), "The Liszt Rhapsody" (Vol. 22, No. 1), "Mr. Debussy" (Vol. 23, No. 1), "A Lullaby For Brahms" (Vol. 27, No. 4), "Scott Joplin's Solace" (Vol. 29, No. 1), and "Meet Clara Schumann" (Vol. 33, No. 4).