Music to observe by
Published on Sep 29, 2006 at 1:37 pm.
3 Comments.
Filed under music.
So, you are planning on going out and setting up your telescope. You have big plans to observe the night away. OK. Great. But, suppose you are going to be observing alone. That’s fine, too. Most astronomers tend to enjoy that. And, it is nice to just relax, get away from all the noise and bustle of everyday life. Astronomy can be very peaceful. Just you and your telescope. It is calm and quiet late at night.
But sometimes you do want some sound. So, you take a radio with you. 
Or, you take a CD player, or perhaps an mp3 player. Great. But, just what music should you listen to?  Something that I have always liked is Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Written in the early part of the 20th Century, Holst’s The Planets Suite, also known as Opus 32, is a seven part orchestral suite with each movement dedicated to a planet. At the time that he wrote this, there were eight known planets, and he didn’t include Earth in his suite, so there are seven parts. After the discovery of Pluto, some later composers have tried to add a movement, but I never thought that it sounded right (they didn’t have the same style as Holst). Besides, adding something is altering an artist’s work. Generally, most artists and musicians would scoff at that idea. And of course, now Pluto is no longer thought of as a planet, so Holst’s Planets stands as it is!
Holst arranged the score by astrological, rather than astonomical, premises. That’s another reason for excluding Earth. The score is designed to convey a mood associated with the Roman deity represented by each planet. Mars is written as a warlike score, with a sharp regular rhythm that conveys the mechanistic nature of warfare that had evolved during World War I. The Jupiter movement is majestic and stately, as befits the king of the gods (and the king of the planets!).  Jupiter is the longest of the movements. Both the Mars and Jupiter movements are often heard as background music in various theatrical productions. The Mercury movement is fast and flitting, as is the planet. The Saturn movement is slow and faltering, but still dignified, as befits the elderly father of Jupiter. It is meant to show the effects of age. The Uranus movement seems to alternate from uplifting to somber. The Neptune score is sort of strange and mysterious, and is accompanied by a women’s choir. The Venus movement is softer and more melodic.
All told, this is a very good piece of classical music, and it makes for great background music to work by as you are observing. And, even if you are not an astronomer (or you are, but are not observing at the moment), it’s a good work to listen to. Besides, you can’t beat the topic — astronomical music!
Now, if the CD doesn’t quench your thirst for the music, back in 1993, there was a really cool educational DVD set to the music of the planets: Patrick Stewart Narrates the Planets. It features Patrick Stewart (Star Trek’s Captain Picard) narrating a tour of the Solar System. Going from planet to planet, Stewart give some a tour of what is known about the various planets. The original video (VHS) was updated somewhat and rereleased as a DVD in 2000. Some of the information is a little dated, but it still makes for a very overview of the Solar System in under one hour. The DVD covers many of the important space probes to the planets, and gives some good factual information. I rather like it. And, of course, it is set to the music of Holst’s The Planets, so that is cool.
-Astroprof
Andrew on September 29, 2006 at 5:12 pm: 1
After a long day of listening to diamond saws cutting stone and hand held polishers, not to mention loud rock music from various radio’s.I find observing alone, without noise my sanctuary.I have often thought of using a small radio to listen to as I explore the skies but,mostly I like natures commercial free sound.Unless of course,I manage to get a really nice shot of an object.Then all bets are off and I make a lot of noise in celebration.
Clear skies!
Don Barrett on May 31, 2007 at 1:47 pm: 2
It’s not widely known, but in our research of “The Planets”, Holst attempted to sketch a movement for Pluto. The composer was quite ill when Tombaugh made his discovery. Those original sketches were used to create Pluto in “The Planets: Epoch 2000″. So we weren’t attempting to re-write Holst as you assert.
Best wishes,
Don Barrett
Writer-Director
Patrick Stewart narrates the Planets
From Here to Infinity
The Voyager Odyssey et al.
Astroprof on May 31, 2007 at 2:52 pm: 3
My apologies. I have heard more than one Pluto piece, though, and some at least some of them are not based on Holst’s work. But, I had not realized that he even tried to do something with Pluto. I learned something new!