Holst - The Planets [Dutoit-Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal]
I seem to be playing this work quite a bit recently, this is the first disc of this work i bought, way back in 1999, and so this is the sort of benchmark i've judged all the other Planets discs on, this version is highly rated, though i must admit it's recorded a tad quiet, appeared in my Blog three years ago [16th April 2012].
Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 78, and this was recorded in 1986, i don't think the front cover is any great shakes, but the music on the inside is great.
On this listening i was most impressed by Mars / Jupiter / Uranus, and this time i felt that Jupiter was the best, it's full of really good tunes, very British, there's a nationalistic flavour to the main tune in the middle, here's my synopsis,
4 Jupiter / The Bringer Of Jollity [8:01] - Jollity?, i guess a sort of jovial mirth, fun if you like, though Holst's choice of word is strange, though in the middle section there's a real sense of contentment!, straight away there's no real intro, right into the celebrations, there's lots of trumpet / brass here [0:33+], busy woodwinds, Holst uses the horns a lot [1:00-1:11], and i love the way Holst brings in the glockenspiel [1:11+], and the flutes [1:26+], the music gets faster and builds up to something, but then comes to a sort of quiet stop, i like the way low twanging strings make a real effect here [2:45-3:02], and then comes the majestic two minute middle section [3:04-5:02], full of swooning strings and noble horns, Holst slowly builds this up to something truly passionate [4:13+], and then in a spirit of grandeur takes it to an apotheosis [4:36+], sounding like some Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March, the opening comes back, and Holst draws all the themes / ideas together, and a nice flourish to end it all off with.
Here's Andrew Manze conducting Jupiter on YouTube.
Charles Dutoit is Swiss, he's now 78, and this was recorded in 1986, i don't think the front cover is any great shakes, but the music on the inside is great.
On this listening i was most impressed by Mars / Jupiter / Uranus, and this time i felt that Jupiter was the best, it's full of really good tunes, very British, there's a nationalistic flavour to the main tune in the middle, here's my synopsis,
4 Jupiter / The Bringer Of Jollity [8:01] - Jollity?, i guess a sort of jovial mirth, fun if you like, though Holst's choice of word is strange, though in the middle section there's a real sense of contentment!, straight away there's no real intro, right into the celebrations, there's lots of trumpet / brass here [0:33+], busy woodwinds, Holst uses the horns a lot [1:00-1:11], and i love the way Holst brings in the glockenspiel [1:11+], and the flutes [1:26+], the music gets faster and builds up to something, but then comes to a sort of quiet stop, i like the way low twanging strings make a real effect here [2:45-3:02], and then comes the majestic two minute middle section [3:04-5:02], full of swooning strings and noble horns, Holst slowly builds this up to something truly passionate [4:13+], and then in a spirit of grandeur takes it to an apotheosis [4:36+], sounding like some Elgar Pomp and Circumstance March, the opening comes back, and Holst draws all the themes / ideas together, and a nice flourish to end it all off with.
Here's Andrew Manze conducting Jupiter on YouTube.
