Summary

    Have you ever touched by a night that stars scattering all over the sky? I have! And I have a romantic thought about these twinkling little spots: every celestial body has their own personalities, as well as stories to tell.

    That’s why I am so fascinated by the Planet suites. It makes our solar system family come to alive. When listening to the movements, I am just like meeting these majestic planets one by one.

From: http://www.phys.ncku.edu.tw/~ak12/k9p/intro.htm

Mars, the Bringer of War, is a aggressive and passionate guy.

Venus, the Bringer of Peace, on the contrast, is a caring 
woman who always gives me comfort.

No one would have any bitter feelings after meeting our careless
 little elf, Mercury, the winged messenger.

Jupiter, the bringer of jollity is truly a respectful king of kind.

Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age holds the clock of time, giving 
us wisdom but also making us wither.

Maybe Uranus, the Magician can teach us some tricks when he
 is in a good mood?

Neptune, the Mystic, is a weird person, but he is sure to give a
 smile to whoever visits him.

Finally, Pluto, the Renewer will never want to be left behind!

Besides introducing the music, I also post a “Space School” every time, and today is no exception! The video is about our own home -- the Solar System. Wish you can find that the universe is really a place full of magic!

Thank you for reading and the comments! It is really great to share all of these with you. Hope you enjoy my blog as well! J Bye~

Pluto, the Renewer

    “Since this is the planet suites, how come there is no Pluto?” you may wonder (or you may not, being aware of that Pluto is a dwarf planet now. XD) Actually, there is!! But it’s not composed by Gustav Holst ,and is less known by the public.

     First, as usual, let’s look at today’s “Space school” before heading to the little story I’m going to tell you.

                                     

     From the video, we can learn that Pluto was discovered not far from now. More precisely, in 1930, four years before Holst passed away. Holst couldn’t show less interest in composing a movement for our little Pluto, because he believed the popularity of “the planet suites” had put his other works in the shade, not receiving people’s attention they deserved.

.However, in 2000, Colin Matthews (an authority of Gustav Holst ) wrote down the eighth movement “Pluto, the Renewer.” And the music is here! Please what out the sudden big volume at 2:53.

                             

You can notice many elements from the original suites, like “Mercury, the winged messenger”, “Neptune, the Mystic” even “Mars, the Bringer of War.” To be honest, because it is not written by Gustav Holst, I had never paid my attention to it until now. I am not sure how I feel about it……maybe you could share yours with me!!

By the way, there is a movement about our Earth!! The melody is great, but I don’t like its digital instrument sound. Search “Earth, the bringer of man.” on Youtube, and you will find it.:D

Neptune, the Mystic

    Finally, we reach the farthest planet from our Sun, Neptune. It is so far away that it remained undiscovered until 1846. The truth is, Neptune was assumed to be a star rather than a planet when first observed by Galileo during 1612～1613. No wonder Gustav would call it “Neptune, the Mystic.”

                                                                   

    We can tell how “mysterious” Neptune is by its story: people didn’t discovery it by “seeing” it through a telescope. Instead, they do lots of calculation to predict its position. It seems that Neptune isn’t really willing to show himself! And that make Neptune the only planet named in modern times.

Even now, Neptune is still surrounded by many mysteries.

                       picture from: http://www.science-story.com/neptune-planet-poster.php

    Now, it’s time to enjoy the movement!

     

    The melody is really graceful and calm, but meanwhile a little creepy, I think. It makes me feel drifting in world made of nothing but shatters of stars. The most special part of this movement is the adding of female chorus(女聲合唱). You can hear it especially at the end. That undoubtedly uplifts the mysterious and aerial(飄渺的) atmosphere. Since this is the last movement of “The Planet Suites”, the whole composition is perfectly concluded by Neptune in a profound way. But don’t worry!! I will still post some fun information about this suite next week!:D

Uranus, the Magician

    As being further and further from the Earth, we are now floating above this blue giant – Uranus. Considered as the God of sky in Greek myth, Uranus is famous for its beautiful light blue atmosphere. Blue always gives people a grace and magical imagine. Maybe that’s why Gustav Holst wrote “Uranus, the Magician” for this very planet.

    The whole melody of this movement is continuously from passionate to mysterious, and then back to enthusiastic. Then, all things gradually disappear without any trails. It is hard to predict how the music will evolve, because it is constantly changing. It reminds me a wizard in the Middle Ages, who is busy for making the greatest potion of all time. Smoke and lighting of strange color come in and out of the pot, reflecting the wizard’s slender shadow on the wall.

    Have you seen “Fantasia” form Disney? This time, focus more on the background music. You can notice that “Uranus, the Magician” has a great impact on it!

    And through today’s “Space School”, you can learn more about Uranus!

    Look! Uranus is rotating from north to south! That’s a very impressive magic, isn’t it?

Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age

      Hello! This is my first post after the mid-term exams, “Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age.” According to the composer, Gustav Holst, the title “old age” is not limited to the physical decay. That is, this movement also describes the decay of one’s mind. And, it perfectly meets my sorrow after seeing my calculus grade.

      Although representing aging in this movement, Saturn is regarded as the god of harvest in Greek/Roman myth. With its shining and majestic ring, Saturn is the most eye-catching planet in our solar system as well. You can learn more about it from “Space School” below!

      So, how does this movement describe “aging”? It stares from a slow melody, which depicts the stream of time and the staggering footsteps of the elderly. And then, it gradually unfolds to powerful theme. Maybe it represents the old men’s ambition and unwilling to wither. (烈士暮年，壯心不已) The ringing bells around 5:30 is our fear of facing death. After the terrifying bells, the emotions shift dramatically. It becomes so peace and sublime.

      And that brings out a big question to me. As a living girl, it’s hard to accept death calmly. But being truly touched by it, maybe I can understand and embrace getting old as well as death some day.

      By the way, hope you all get good grade in mid-term exams! If you didn’t, you could turn to music for consolation like me.XD

Jupiter, the bringer of jollity

    Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, deserves great music to represent it. And “Jupiter, the bringer of jollity” will never disappoint you! Actually, it is the most renowned movement among the whole suite. It is so popular that some pop songs have been adapted from it. ( I myself even heard it from a car advertisement on TV once!) Maybe you will find that the melody has stuck in your brain for so long, and now its name is finally revealed.

    Can’t wait listening to it? The video is right here!

    The most famous part is 2:54~4:40. It is really touching, and reminds me that the true happiness comes from the heart which is caring, gentle, and respectful.

    As for my favorite part is –– the WHOLE movement!! In my opinion, it stands for many different sides of “jollity.” Like the first and third parts are really powerful and energetic. The middle is quite delicate, on the contrast. Sometimes, happiness makes us jump up and down. Sometimes, it let us feel relaxed in peace.

   

    Here is an adopted pop song from a Japanese singer平原綾香. Perfectly shows that music has power beyond nations and languages! Lyrics: http://mojim.com/twy105009x15x12.htm

    Click the “space school” below if you still have time. You can learn that Jupiter, the king of planets as well as Greek gods, has such influence on life on Earth. Pretty amazing!

    Hope you enjoy this movement and are less stressed out. After all, the bringer of jollity won’t want you have a long face!

Mercury, the winged messenger

   Here comes the third movement, “Mercury, the winged messenger.” This is the smallest movement among the suite. Since Mercury is also the tiniest planet in our solar system, that is quite a cute coincidence.

   OK, let’s watch today’s Space School!

   According to the introduction of this video, Mercury is thought to be the messenger among gods. And I found an image of this messenger on the Internet. If you are interested in Greek myth, you can click the website below.

From http://web.gk12.net/mm/WDprojects/Spring_2010/haley_research/gods.html

    You can notice that there are wings on his hat and shoes. It is said that “Mercury, the winged messenger” is based on the very wings, so agile, quick, and accurate.

    Listen to and enjoy it yourself!

    This movement brings up the feeling of light, careless, even comical. You can hear a few theme melodies show up over and over. And some of its parts are quite vigorous as well. It reminds me of a naughty elf jumping on and off sparkling stars, and passing through Milky Way briskly. Because of its fast as well as airy melody, this movement always makes me happier. The one ending sound on 4:01 brings a smile on my face. That’s all, see you next week!