Neptune : from the suite The planets : for organ duet

SKU: CY.CC2945

ISBN 9790530057643.

Hols t's 7-movement Suite, The Planets was written between 1914-16 and its first version was scored for two pianos except for the Neptune movement, which was written for organ alone. The music is the first ever composed with a fade-away ending using a womens' chorus. Later, Holst completed his orchestration of the 7-movement Suite, which has become one of the most popular works in the repertoire.
Mr. Sauer has brilliantly scored this movement of about nine minutes in length for 14-part brass ensemble with Timpani and Glockenspiel. This concludes his arranging of the complete suite for Large Brass Ensemble. The entire 7-movement Suite is also available for sale as a complete set on our website.
Instrumentat ion is for:
4 Trumpets in C
4 Horns in F
3 Trombones
Euphonium, Tuba
Timpani and Glockenspiel
This music is appropriate for advanced performers.

SKU: ST.C320

ISBN 9790570813209.

Composer’s Note:

I composed The Planets to be performed during my tenure as Composer in Residence at Chetham’s International Piano Summer School, Manchester, in August 2018. Drawing inspiration from Holst’s Suite of the same name – a work of unstoppable importance – my composition nevertheless contrasts conspicuously, both in its overall scheme (nine movements instead of seven) and orientation (my work takes the Sun as its point of orientation, whereas Holst places the Earth at the centre point and hence leaves it out of the musical scheme). There is, as a consequence, a sense of increasing serenity to my music following the effervescence of Jupiter, though there are reverberations of earlier themes and moods in the concluding movement, Pluto, which nevertheless ends enigmatically as befits its distant, ‘cold’ designation. Pluto was left out of Holst’s work for good reason – it had yet to be discovered – though Colin Matthews redressed the situation admirably in 2000. Whether one chooses to go along with Pluto’s unresolved status, or indeed to promote it to the position of ‘full’ planet (amusingly, Pluto became demoted to dwarf- planet in 1992) is perhaps less important than its potential to evince a musical spirit entirely to itself.

Performanc e Note:

Movements may be performed separately as desired, though the connections between musical characters will of course be lost in doing so. In Neptune and Pluto (which are best performed attacca) I include infrequent use of a bell, pitched at B4. This denotes the intangibility of time; it adds a welcome new colour, as well as an additional element for the audience to ponder on. A standard hotel receptionist’s bell was used in the inaugural performance – surprisingly resonant, even in a sizeable auditorium – though if this is unavailable the cellist can play the same note (or harmonic, if preferred).

World Premiere given at Stoller Hall, Chetham’s School of Music, Manchester, August 2018: Gillian Poznansky (flute), Sebastian Poznansky (cello) and Mark Tanner (piano).

Duration: 30 minutes
Grade 8(+)
Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: SP1419.