Holst, The planets /

Greene's uneven volume disabuses any who persist in thinking Gustav Holst's masterpiece is merely sublime mysticism and nonsense. The author (Loyola College of Music) insists on the obvious: these wonderful pieces, their titles designed only to serve as metaphors inspired by Holst's interest in symbolism and by Alan Leo's What Is a Horoscope and How Is It Cast? (1905), have no "programme." Greene retells the history of the work's composition and first performances, provides a good discussion of its reception and reputation, and charts its mixed reviews from critics either persuaded or alienated by its "non-Germanic" compositional technique. He illuminates Holst's situation in pre- and post-WW I London and suggests, too fleetingly, probable compositional influences (Debussy, Scriabin, some English contemporaries? Strauss?). He reminds the reader that The Planets is but one of Holst's "major" works--here his advocacy of other large-scale pieces seems misplaced. Greene's analyses of the individual pieces and their "character plots" will be helpful to a nonspecialist student first encountering the work; his discussion of the overall design of the work is adequate; his appendixes (listing public performances, 1908-21, and comparing tempi in selected recordings), notes, and select bibliography (sans reference to Leo's book) are marginally useful. Sadly, this book conveys little of the zest, excitement, or spirit of The Planets. Very moderately priced for undergraduate and general-clientele libraries, this is clearly, but not urgently, recommended.