The Planets: Neptune, the Mystic - by Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มี.ค. 2012
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This is a powerful, but underrated performance of The Planets from a stalwart of British music, Sir Charles Groves, conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I have many versions of The Planets, including the much lauded interpretation from Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. However, I keep going back to this version. It feels, well, like Holst :-)
I could wax lyrical about the power of these seven mini tone poems, but I shall let a far more eloquent writer speak. The following is taken from the CD notes of a special Penguin Classics release of 'The Planets', performed by Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. The essay was written by Karen Armstrong, author of 'A History of God', 'Through the Narrow Gate' and 'A History of Jerusalem'....
"On 20 July 1969, glued to my television set, I watched the historic moon-landing with awe and a certain disquiet. As my namesake, Neil Armstrong, made that "great leap for mankind", I marvelled at the technology that had got him there but also wondered what this would do for human consciousness. The moon, symbol of love, transience and rebirth, was now revealed as a dull, sterile place. While the astronauts loped and gambolled on its dusty surface, I reflected uneasily that we had just turned mythology into fact and found the reality to be banal. Would we be permanently impoverished?
But the moon-landing also reflected my own recent experience of a world turned upside down. Only a few months earlier, I had left the religious order where I had lived as a nun for seven years. The world outside the convent walls seemed as alien and spiritually barren to me as the moon. I was already beginning a painful journey away from the religion I had grown up with and feared that I would not easily survive in a world drained of mystery and transcendence.
It was about this time, however, that I first heard The Planets and it helped put me on the road to a new spirituality. Freed from the restrictions of convent life, I was beginning in 1969 to discover music and to find that it could give me those transcendent moments I had sought in vain in conventional religion. But, a student of literature and in love with words, I sometimes found it difficult to respond to this non-verbal art form, which, like the higher forms of spirituality, goes beyond images and ideas. The Planets helped me to make that transition by providing me with a "musical plot", which, at that early stage of my musical education, I sorely needed.
I found that reaching out imaginatively to the cosmos, Holst had somehow retraced the archetypal religious quest. We begin with the slightly self-important, combative melodies of Mars, with an ego fighting to assert itself, before proceeding to the peace of Venus, where the occasional discords remind us that serenity is only a precarious achievement on this planet. Next we encounter the more playful moods of Mercury and Jupiter which are only possible -- like the best religion -- when we have left the self behind. In Saturn and Uranus, Holst makes us confront mortality and the uncanny, before he finishes with the mystic Neptune, where the music hints at a realm beyond form and melody -- the dark world of "uncreated reality".
And through it all, meanwhile, Holst's music restores for me that feeling of wonder and emotional connection that the cosmos has always inspired in men and women. It is still possible after all to sense a deep involvement for the stars and planets in our own earthbound destiny -- a mystery that seems not to have vanished, as I feared it might, with that first walk on the moon back in 1969."
Buy the CD of Sir Charles Groves conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra here...
www.amazon.co.uk/Holst-Planets...
The essay comes from the Penguin release of Charles Dutoit conducting the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, now out of print, but imports are still available...
www.amazon.co.uk/Holst-Planets...
Dutoit's performance is still available in a more recent release...
www.amazon.co.uk/Holst-Planets... - เพลง
Its so wonderful that Holst composed this song for me!
Hail Lord Neptune *bows*
@@zoefang4563 Greetings to you, Earthling!
Omg i love u Neptune, u r my favorite planet 😎❤️
@@neptunethe8thplanet248 Even though _The Planets_ deals with each planet’s corresponding astrological character, this song _does_ work well with your mysteries.
I'm proud of you too
Whenever my Dad used to take me on long drives as a kid, we'd put this on and tell scary stories to each other.
That's awesome. Sounds like you had a great dad!
Sounds like your dad helped you form some pretty cool memories!
seeing this live is a whole other experience, the fact that they keep the women's choir in an unseen room offstage so that these voices seem to come from nowhere is absolutely haunting.
I keep replaying that part
I didn’t know they did that. Wow!
I saw this live as well, and thought the singing was recorded- but no, they were actually off to the side and were hidden.
holy shit.
I just saw this live and they had the choir start walking out during the last few notes. It created an incredibly eerie echo effect. I don't know who came up with that idea, but they're a genius!
Holst himself had that idea. And yes, he's a genius 🙂@@MegaFPVFlyer
This piece stops time. I get covered in goosebumps the entire time, it's pure Lovecraftian mystery and beauty.
This song is perfect for space: it's not only mysterious, but beautiful and alluring, yet it feels like it's hiding great secrets. At times it is ethereal, and also hopeful, but becomes something you might not expect. This song wasn't written only about Neptune, but I imagine it was written about Neptune and beyond.
BINGFRYSRDUN That's a beautiful of looking at it. Yes, I too think it is about the mysteries of the universe and our place in it, symbolised by the remoteness of Neptune.
Thank you for this I had to do a project and describe this.
This is something you would hear in aliens
If you say so 😆😆😆
This really portrays Neptune very well. Neptune is really cold and this part's character really portrays how distant and cold Neptune is from the sun.
Uranus is somewhat colder.
@@stephen7537 But not as distant
It also perfectly portraits how vast and unknown the ocean is, if we keep with the mythological character the planet was named after. 💕
This is my favourite piece from the planets suit
suite*
And also, I agree
jOiN dA cLub m8!
K I'll leave now
I personally like Jupiter more but this is a close second!
When I was younger I enjoyed Jupiter most, but as I've gotten older, I've started to appreciate this and Mercury a lot more --they have extremely contrasting vibes, but they're just such *interesting* pieces of music.
This whole piece perfectly captures the feeling of floating in space, lost. Especially the last part.
Yoshifan0312RBLX I love the way it just fades out.
Scot Peacock Exactly. The last measure even says “This measure is to be repeated until lost in the distance.”
I like that the tempo is not to fast. It just feels very natural compared to the other recordings which sound rushed.
It fits as the final planet in the suite. So mysterious and ethereal. The chorus makes every hair on my neck stand on end, yet there are soothing moments in this. It’s like Holst makes you feel at ease one second and on edge the next, which makes the resolution at the end that much more satisfying.
Offstage ethereal choir is so very great and hauntingly beautiful, as it climbs endlessly into the ether.
It's an amazing experience to hear live. When performed correctly, the choir doesn't finish. It continues fading away until you are not sure if you can still hear them. The conductor continues to slowly keep time, even well after the ambience of the room supersedes the ethereal sounds. The hall is spellbound. Everyone is absolutely stock still. Noone makes a sound. We are barely breathing. We are transformed, gently pulled by that fading music into another dimension.The conductor slowly stops, puts down the baton. The musicians relax. The spell is broken. Resounding applause! :-D
Oh wow... I’d love to see that
@@ScotPeacock You're description on it's own is pure poetry. Well done
The way that choir just wafts away into the heavens is magical.
Hearing that live is an experience that will always stick with me. It was so eerie yet somehow reassuring. It also bucks the trend of ending a piece with a bang, so having the music fade away in the most ethereal way possible is the perfect way to end this suite. It’s as if, as we pass Neptune on our journey through the planets, we slowly inch away from everything we’ve ever known, and find ourselves adrift not knowing what, if anything, lies ahead.
Added to my bucket list: watching the northern lights while listening to this.
Oh, yes. Perfect soundtrack.
The Celeste is used to such a mysterious and spellbinding effect in this piece.
Yes, it is used so beautifully: like a sprinkle of cometary dust catching the light of the distant sun :-)
The planet of the musicians, artists, dreamers, mystics, psychics.
So I guess Van Gogh lives in Neptune?
I had been out in the woods in Washington State at night and I had this music going through my head. It was dark and the stars were out and was a little eerie but the music matched the mood perfectly.
james vidal Perfect soundtrack for your late night experience. Thanks for sharing :-)
I always thought the first time I heard it that this is a perfect match for this quote from THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
“And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.”
Wow, I never matched this music to that final moment, but it's spot-on. Thank you :-D
A sublime piece of music. What you have here is the DNA of all Hollywood cinema scores in some form or another. Holst truly was a master.
Videorium Legendarium I totally agree. It’s all here.
I always feel like this piece of music had a huge influence on Jerry Goldsmith's score for Alien. Both exude a quality conveying a deeply mysterious expanse to the universe, with a touch of something incomprehensibly majestic and simultaneously intimidating. There's still something innately relaxing in the solitary nature of that vastness though, that just comes across great here.
I hear you. The flutes at the beginning slowed down are similar the very beginning of Alien (without the creepy echoey percussion or insect-like string effects).
The softer parts of the score are very reminiscent of the mid-section of Neptune. Very beautiful.
Samuel Taylor this has influenced a huge array of hollywood sountracks from much earlier on. in fact, without holst, debussy, ravel and a few others there'd be no hollywood as we know it.
I feel you can hear this in Alien's soundtrack and in Star Wars: A New Hope's, as well.
Holst seems to have had influenced many composers, like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and even Koji Kondo
I hear more Danny Elfman than Jerry Goldsmith
Strangely Scary and mystical. It makes you feel ost in space as if you are floating in the ends of the solor system, totally alone .. Kind of like this feeling , although my favorite and that most applies to my personality is mercury
Yeah like being in some sory of void
Never alone tho
Fitting for the last planet in the solar system
It pulls you towards that strange psychotic land of cosmic mysticism which drove all of the alchemists insane. Such a freeing state of mind to be in, yet so damaging to our mentality because we just can't handle it's ethereal magnificence.
i remember going to an orchestra in the 1950s in England. My grandpa was a ww1 veteran and it reminded him what happened at the end of a battle when he was in the trenches. Wondering if it had really ending or if as soon as he stuck his head up he would get shot.
Just heard the whole planets set done live last night at the Dallas symphony orchestra, and this by far is my favorite piece they did
Wow! I'm happy for you. This is an amazing experience, live. When done right, Neptune is otherworldly. The chorus just keep fading until we're not sure we can still hear them. Time stops. The hall is silent. As one, the crowd have been transported. A portal to another world, through which a glimpse enraptures all. The conductor gently puts down the baton. The players relax. Movement in the audience. The spell is broken. Rapturous applause!
+Scot Peacock that was the exact response. At first, everyone was trying to find the choir, only to realize that they weren't in the concert hall, and that they were slowly fading away. It really gives Neptune that eerie and magical feel
+Diabet0 Such a beautiful piece of music :)
Mr. Tom Sudholt, one of the DJs for the classical music radio station near me, played this after Ms. Katherine Johnson (portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the movie "Hidden Figures") passed away back in February. Mr. Sudholt related how Ms. Johnson made all her calculations for the Apollo and Space Shuttle launches with just a pencil and paper and how accurate said calculations turned out to be. He went on to tell a story of how, after NASA got, in his words "One of those new fangled computing machines", the people working the machine came up to Mr. John Glenn with the calculations for his next flight and while listening to them Mr. Glenn calmly said to the guys "No, no, I want to hear what Ms. Johnson has to say.".....from what I remember Ms. Johnson's calculations were not that far off from what the computer had.
It certainly has an other-worldly feel to it.
The subtitle is "the Mystic," and if you speed up the tempo, the intro sounds a LOT like John Williams' theme for Harry Potter.
Well he copied it
This is one of the most exquisitely performed recordings of this song! Everything is so clear. The harp is crisp, the voices are neither too thin, nor too thick. Perfect. ^_^
At first you might think this is scary, but after a while you'll know it's actually beautiful.
It was always beautiful for me
This song is so beautiful, I could listen to it for ages. It's so calming and it's the best to describe this planet. This one is my favourite apart from Jupiter because i also find it quite jumpy and it makes you expect something load but then it's still calm.
wow! my guitar teacher encouraged me to listen to this, Mars, and Jupiter, and let me say that something about this piece especially was extra great.
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.
the scary door.
YES TWILIGHT ZONE IS AWESOME (the 50's one)
Twilight zone indeed!
A perfect example of how powerful quiet music can be.
how is it that rihanna is getting over 2 million views in less than a year on one song, when masterpieces like this go unnoticed? I am so worried that we are descending into an idocracy like that movie.
9GodsMusic those songs are easily noticed because they are common and cheaply made. These songs are rare and are made with the blood sweat and tears of several decades. I’m happy that the trash fan base of that genre of music hasn’t touched this piece.
Rihanna is actually good
Aeon - Neptune The Mystic Death metal version of this song (no vocals). Wonderfully creative interpretation of a masterpiece
Ethereal and enchanting. Wondrous
5:50 - 8:57 is my most favorite piece of music of all time... ;)
This feels like the long sequence when Enterprise is entering V'ger.
Mr Robot brought me here. And it was glorious.
same, such a great sequence
It's impossible not to envision some of our favorite movies when listening to this.
This song is like a spider. It's creepy and beautiful at the same time.
If you want to make it more spidery, use more pizzicato lol
This and Venus have such relaxing qualities, it's something you could listen to on hypnotherapy.
Yes, I think that was the idea. Neptune really does have that otherworldy quality. It's a sound that nobody had heard before and has since been copied on countless soundtracks.
Can I find this specific recording on iTunes or some such site?
PM me and I can share the folder with you. Do you prefer FLAC lossless or MP3s?
MP3 would be fine, thanks!
GRasputin91 Brilliant. Send me an email with your email address and I'll invite you to a One Drive folder where you can download the music :-)
Several decades ago WBNS TV, channel 10 in Columbus, Ohio often ran a short late night feature called THE WBNS MYSTIC during which a man delivered philosophical essays with an image of a sorcerer in a wizard's robe on the screen and Holst's NEPTUNE THE MYSTIC playing in the background.
Holst hated it when performances of The Planets opted to end with Jupiter - because he did not want the cheerful, upbeat conclusion. And I agree with him. *This* is the right ending for the work, not just because it's a great composition, but because the mysterious nature of the ocean's depths fits perfectly with Outer Space.
It's so obvious that John Williams was massively influenced by Holst. Parts of this sounded almost identical to some of the Star Wars score (both OT and PT era).
Fun fact: did you know George Lucas originally wanted the Star Wars opening crawl theme to be "Mars, the Bringer of War"?
@@MilesEdgeworth129 No. But l knew that he used Holst's Planet Suite as placeholder music while waiting for JW to finish the score. Maybe he even told Williams to draw inspiration from Holst
Beautiful.
Thank you for uploading this excellent performance. Will have to add the Groves' vesion to my Planets collection. It doesn't contain 'the hits', but 'side 2' (if you will) of The Planets is some of my favourite music. My own personal favourite recording is Andre Previn conducting, which I, of course, recommend. (Take care, though, because I think there are two different Previn recordings available). Many thanks once again.
BEST PART OF THE SUITE
That sounds intriguing. I'll look it out. Thanks :-)
We used to be introduced to classical music at school when I was about 18 I realised how much I loved classical music even though my head was full of the pop charts I remembered the planet suite from school and immediately fell in love with Neptune the mystic I wondered how it was possible to create such a fantastic sound all that long ago never mind think it up also liked Venus the bringer of peace and the electric light orchestra
my favourite one
I love the fact that the singers on the original recording processed gradually out of the venue, hence the truly haunting and ethereal sound. Hoping very much to recreate this special piece in Suffolk next year, when Hadleigh Orchestra will perform with Hadleigh Community Choir.
This piece always reminds me of the first two Alien films. Such mystery and opening to a planet we are passing by that isn’t charted, dangerous to any voyager.
I love the quote in the description btw.
Favorite 💜
Neptune, the planet of Pisces, representing dreams, fantasies, illusions and mystery.
This music is this planet translated to sounds and vibrations, marvellous stuff
From a Pisces
Soothing.
Wow, I Heard this in one of my favourite Swedish children's TV-show. It's awesome
It's amazing where the most sublime music can pop up :-)
Beautiful
Oh, the immense timeless bliss of the vastness of space. I also feel that this music is my true quiet dreamer self!!! The person who was experiencing blissful beauty before all this other Absolutely HORRIFIC SHIT!!!!!!
Mike Fuller Extraordinary music. Glad you like it :-)
Scot Peacock
Thanks Scot!!!
Scot Peacock Sounds like Star Wars Music
For me is always Alien, Nostromo space ship. Beautiful piece
30 sec in and already getting goose bumps.
Why does this piece bring back memories of when i was in 3rd grade and rode the bus? The specific image of looking out of the school bus window comes to my mind every time i hear this piece and i find it extremely strange because i had never even heard of the planets Suite back then, shoot, i didn't even like classical music at the time. Very strange.......
+Jose Vargas Perhaps it was on the radio either in the bus or later that day?
well i have seen an amazing thing, the beauty makes it stand out wether or not you want it to because thats gets it so caught in a speechless amazment you cannot escape.
silent airbender It beautifully describes the indescribable !
Thanks for the heads-up about 'Home'. I like dystopian stories but I haven't heard of this one.
Excellent.
Exquisite! The peice and the planet
Neptune is the higher octave of Venus. Therefore it's love and compassion is universal, not personal like Venus' is. Neptune rules Pisces, the most ethereal sign. Pisceans have an innate understanding/interest in the mystical and metaphysical. Neptune also rules Kether (Crown Chakra) in the Kabbalistic Tree Of Life although some schools of study say it's Pluto. But I think that since Pisces rules the connection to God or the Divine it is most likely to be Neptune that reaches the out most layers of our Solar System and hence our microcosmic realm.
Idiocracy, directed by Mike Judge. My favorite dystopia movie. It somehow manages to be funny and dark at once.
This was such a good choice for the origin scene in Mr Robot.
Loved this album as a kid, and yes, Mr Robot used it perfectly.
This has to be my favourite of the entire Planet suite
King Neptune.
What an amazing and brilliant work of art this music is. We all should be into the mystic. I have been trying to find on YT the version I saw last night on Classic Arts Showcase from the BBC... still can't find it, sorry. There was an awesome, crazy vid accompanying this piece. Thanks for posting this OP
+cclady222 No problem :-) If you find it, let me know. I like a bit of craze!
I still can't find it. We are told the script at the end is to walk off the stage with those haunting vocals, eventually behind closed doors.
Did you know that this movement is in 5/4, like the Mars movement?
Mars is still my favourite from The Planets, but wow..... This is beautiful, mysterious, and magical. I get chills listening to this.
5:50 keep singing Ursula wants your voice
mystical,soothing, enchanting, especially the ending with the voiceless choir.
Neptune, the planet ruled by Pisces. The most enigmatic sign since it's the last. It embodies all other sun sign characteristics. That's why Pisceans make great actors because they can empathize and sympathize with others.
I didn't know that. Interesting!
Thanks Wiger
My Mom was 20 years old when Gustav passed away in 1934. Sister Carole (Sept 1,1934-:Sept 2, 2021)...Memories...
That moment you realize you could take down an evil corporation...
Have you watched Mr Robot?? It was so amazing when they used this and then Mars
I always listen first to Saturn. Then this, Neptune. then ethereal timeless sleep....
This is my favorite movement
I can definitely hear how this inspired star wars
To think it takes 165 years for Neptune to complete it's orbit the last one was in 2011 nobody on earth now will see another in our entire lifetime and even kids born in 2012 will never see one at all unless science improves that far
Scot Peacock, thanks for the recommendation. It's very finely and deliberately articulated, without any loss of oceanic atmosphere. A real find. Now I must see what Groves and the RPO accomplished with other similarly atmospheric scores. And if any other such recommendations come to mind, don't hesitate to offer them, since you evidently have a fine ear.
You're welcome, James. Groves made a very fine recommended recording of Holst's great choral work, The Hymn of Jesus.
www.amazon.co.uk/Holst-Hymn-Jesus-Choral-Symphony/dp/B001KKWRWI
Or here if you're in the US
www.amazon.com/Holst-Jesus-First-Choral-Symphony/dp/B000027JFS/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1426076276&sr=1-2&keywords=holst+hymn+jesus+groves
So correct.
Kind of wish Disney dish another Fantasia focusing only this album.
If I ever directed a sci-fi movie or series based on a Ursula Le Guinn story I would love to use this.
What would be great is if you could find the video produced and shown on PBS as a visual arts piece . I once had it on vhs tape recorded right off the TV . It is a masterpiece which literally blows all other videos out of the water . It is a moving piece of art . With eerie close up shots of chemical reactions in paint and other mediums . It's indescribable but is far , far , better than these still shots of neptune
There is a dystopianTV play called "Home" about over population. It is one of the best dystopia stories I know. I haven't been able to find it on TH-cam though.
Perfect for seances and ectoplasm
Neptuno, deo aqua resplendet per haec musices. hoc verum repraesentat mysterium.
A lot of this sounds like the soundtrack of Philosophers Stone and Chamber of Secrets.
John Williams, Hans Zimmer and really all the other modern composers borrow heavily from the old ones...
by listening to this piece, you have already heard the majority of creepy movie scores
It's weird but when i listen to some parts of this music i visualise colours.
You're probably a synaesthesiac
I think so too :-)
First heard this in Death Scenes 1
Nice Liked Subscribed
Anyone else hear Danny Elfman's Batman 1989 soundtrack, specifically the Batcave scene?
Ha ha, that's a great idea. I hadn't thought of that :-)
5:25 - 5:50 always gives me goosebumps 💓🎶🤩