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Gustav Holst: Music Analysis

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Throughout the world, there is a great deal of people who are considered of a higher standard, ranging from parents, who are held to a standard by their children, to the leader of a country. These people help to motivate an entire generation and instill hope in people. But not everyone agrees with these leaders. Despite this there is always something that everyone can relate to and that is music. Music is a language that everyone can understand through its ability to fill a gap that we all have. It is read and played the same across many countries and religions. It is not only something we can hear, but it is also something to escape from the reality of the world. The masterminds behind music are often underappreciated, but despite this there …show more content…

Throughout his life he composed many piece all along the same genre of classical for the most part. Most famous of his pieces were the planets which were composed from 1914-1916 as stated in Faber’s writing on Holst. The planets contain seven compositions in total ranging from the war bringer Mars, to the bringer of peace Venus (Faber). These pieces are used to reflect the hardships in life with Mars being the start to life and the destruction it brings. Though it is not stated in music as one can assume there is a feeling that comes from the piece that helps develop the idea of the hardships of life that we all go through. Rhythms in mars are simplistic yet firm in the way to be played. Syncopation plays a key role in the music too, while the low brass continues its constant thundering sound of triplets combined with eighth and quarter notes the high brass adds back ground to this with its consistent sustain of notes. This helps to build the music up and develop the idea of war being brought to the music. When the low and high brass join together on the consistent pattern one can interpret that war is inevitable and has started, the constant accents that roar though the music build the suspense. This concept was well taken. It helped to pave the way for many composers to follow Holst’s path and develop their compositions in a way to develop a

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