I really enjoy Bach's Two-Part Inventions that were recorded for the album Switched-On Bach. That Moog synthesizer just has a way with those tunes.

The Brandenburg Concerti are the height of all music.

What's everyone's impression of Colin Matthew's "Pluto - Renewal", the unwritten last movement of Holst's "The Planets"?

Anyone else notice a weird similarity between Orff's "Carmena Burana" and Verdi's "Requium"?

ScottN, I see your Brandenburg and raise you the Goldberg Variations. (Actually, no, just kidding, you're probably right. I can't stand to pick just *one* work, though.)

Actually, I have an album that's composed entirely of marimba transcriptions of Bach works. A few of the Goldberg variations, two of the Two-part Inventions (No. 13 in A minor, No. 4 in D minor), two of the keyboard preludes (C major and G minor), two fugues (C major and G minor), the Toccata in D Minor (which loses a lot of its power when played on a marimba), and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. Artist's name is Alex Jacobowitz. Very cool guy, autographed my CD.

As for Pluto... what, Neptune wasn't a good enough ending? I don't think Pluto was that bad, but I'm of the opinion that the original work can stand on its own quite nicely. I also can't stand when people think that Pluto and Earth were part of the original suite. I've had the darndest time persuading people that they're not.

I like Holst's band suites better, though...

By the way, since we're on "The Planets", was the dum-dum-dum... du-du-du-duh music from DS9 from "Mars: Bringer of War"?

Pardon me, that's from DS9 previews.

I have to write an analysis of Holst's The Planets for Monday..... Should be fun.

ScottN -- I vaguely remember reading an article about George Lucas and John Williams meeting, and George putting on several different records, saying "I want this kind of sound here." I wouldn't be surprised if The Planets was one of the selections.

I always think of Mars when the Millennium Falcon is being tractored into the Death Star docking bay (and vice-versa!).

Everyone likes to rip off Mars, so I wouldn't be surprised. (Personally, I like Mercury and Jupiter better.)

IIRC they used a nice combination of Mars and Jupiter for John Glen's launch in "The Right Stuff".

Well, now I have to go rent that. Or just buy the soundtrack, if it's available.

Was anyone else disapointed by the fact that "Red Planet" (the Mars movie with Tim Robbins, right?) didn't include Holst's Mars?

I was asking a question in another topic about Scott Joplin when I suddenly thought, "a Ragtime piece is almost a two-part invention". Isn't it? Or, can two-part inventions (once taken apart) be able to "stand alone", while a ragtime piece taken apart not be coherent? (at least the underlying "ragtime" string)

"Mission to Mars" had Tim Robbins. It also had Van Halen ("Dance The Night Away.")

Ah, thanks, Adam Bomb. By the way, I'm still working on my analysis of Holst: The Planets (bought a very nice CD). Any suggestions?

Yes, but has anyone heard "Pluto", written by Colin Matthews to "finish off" the Planets Suite by Holst? (Pluto wasn't discovered when Holst wrote the pieces.) I heard it only once, during the BBC Proms a while back, and it sounded like a reprise of all the previous themes, culminating with the Neptune female voices in the final chord - a "renewal" indeed.
In many ways it resembled the final few chapters in the novel "2001: A Space Odyssey", say from the line "... for the last time, David Bowman slept." onwards.

And while I'm on the subject, why isn't there a movement for Earth?

Also, while rambling on about the piece, I remember in the last few years watching a filmed ice ballet movie based around the Planets Suite (sans Pluto - it was before Matthews wrote it), with the dancers depicting Roman gods and each god dancing (with extras) on the ice in a dramatised way with their "theme" as music. There was some resemblance of a plot, with a pair of mortals, man and woman, visiting the gods, or something, and for dramatic purposes the order was re-arranged so that the whole production culminated in "Jupiter: The Bringer of Jollity" (or as the movie suggested, "Jupiter - King of the Gods"). Has anyone seen this production, and if so, comments?

See above for my opinion on Pluto. It's all right on it's own, I just don't think it needed to be written at all. Neptune was a perfectly good ending of the suite. It's not like Holst couldn't have written one if he wanted to: Pluto was discovered several years before his death.

Why no Earth? Er... you've got me. I think someone wrote one for Earth, though. "Earth, Home of Man," I think it's called. Had the hardest time persuading someone that it wasn't part of the original suite. I've never heard it myself.

A side note, relevant to Sven's comment about 2001. The music through the Star Gate was Antarctic Symphony by Vangelis, I believe.

Since we're talking The Planets -- I'm partial to Uranus, myself... :-)

Holst apparently was fascinated by astrology. He therefor based these pieces on the astrological meanings of the planets, not the mythological ones. Earth does not have a place in astrology, so it was not included.

I prefer Jupiter..
and yes, Holst's suites for military band are quite good.

What confuses most people about Holst's The Planets is that it does not include the sun or the moon, which are considered planets in astrology. I guess he was trying to find the middle ground?

What confuses most people about Holst's The Planets is that it does not include the sun or the moon, which are considered planets in astrology. I guess he was trying to find the middle ground?

Calling Colin Matthews, if you are out there...

"Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" ---Mozart
"The 5th Symphony"--Beethoven
"Ride of the Valkries" --Wagner

Bach's brass chorales.

Sorry, but "Ride of the Valkyries" has been spoiled for me ever since "Apocalypse Now".

Orff's "Carmina Burana" is quite nice.

And now for something completely different... the xylophone rags of George Hamilton Green! "Valse Brillante" is my favorite.

"Carmina Burana" is indeed nice - a little off-the-wall in places, but nice. Which version is better - the full orchestral with choir, or choir plus two pianos and full percussion section?
I've only heard the latter in full, so I'd go for the latter - it gives the piece an odd, minimalist flavour.

Have you heard any other pieces by Carl Orff? They're all very strange, but very nice.

Is anyone else interested in Minimalism here?

I find myself really enjoying some of Philip Glass's work, particularly those tracks I have of Koyaanisqatsi and his Violin Concerto. Fantastic stuff.

Josh, I also enjoy Philip Glass but prefer Steve Reich. Music For 18 Musicians and Desert Music are awesome.

For Philip Glass, check out the soundtrack for The Truman Show, and especially the soundtrack for Anima Mundi.

I once heard a recording of The Planets done in the '70s on synthesizers. It was very frightening. :-)

(I think there's a synth version of Carmina Burana too.)

I'm fond of Steve Reich too -- we heard him a lot in my Comp classes. "Come Out" is one of the freakiest pieces of music I've ever heard.

I think that synthesized The Planets was probably by Tomita. I bought it and a few others by Tomita when I was on a synth kick and it was about the only stuff I knew about that I could find. Haven't listened to them in years, wondering "What was I thinking?"

Two fave synth albums -- Jean-Michel Jarre's
Oxygene and Equinox.

I'm fond of Steve Reich too -- we heard him a lot in my Comp classes. "Come Out" is one of the freakiest pieces of music I've ever heard.
I've never heard that one, but I just did some investigation. It sounds interesting for sure.

The earliest I have is the disc with "Octet" and "Violin Phase". In particular "Violin Phase" has a real purity to it.

I was delighted to hear Debussy's "Children's Corner" piano suite the other day - it was a fantastic piece of music I used to be able to play and it brought back fond memories.

Bedrich Smetana's "Ma' Vlast" is DEFINATELY one of the BEST Symphonic Poems to date!