Holst: The Planets

Our choir performed for the first time under the name "Saygun Philharmonic Choir" at the BSO concert on February 25, 2015. The women's choir sang the final section, Neptune, the Mystic of Holst's orchestral suite, The Planets.

Programme notes:

Saygun Philharmonic Choir 

Saygun Philharmonic Choir (SFK) was launched in November 2014 under the choral conductors Çiğdem Aytepe and Atilla Çağdaş Değer with a view to bringing amateur chorus members together to sing large-scale musical works.

Holst's The Planets was originally planned to be performed by Muzaffer Arkan Women’s Choir, However, it was then decided to form the Saygun Philharmonic Choir, a project which has long been in the making and was intended to draw national/international individuals and choruses together, for the performance of this work.

Founded in the 2013-14 season when three choruses performing under Aytepe and Değer came together to sing Mozart's “Ave Verum Corpus” and Bujor Hoinic's “Gordion Cantata”, SFK currently operates with about eighty members.

For the performance of this work, the chorus is composed of members experienced in choral singing and already taking part in a variety of choruses including Muzaffer Arkan Women's Choir and Ankara Fine Arts High School Choir.

SFK continues to perform under the auspices of Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory and Bilkent University Faculty of Music and Performing Arts and in coordination with the Association of Choral Educators.

Gustav HOLST (1874-1934)

The Planets, Op. 32

For the suite in which he defined the astrological characters of the planets, the composer said “Each movement represents a planet without reference to their astrological or mythological names. The point here is to stress each planet's religious and national effects on the flow of human history. For instance, Jupiter, which is believed to be the bringer of jollity, is represented as such.

In the first planet out of the seven, Mars, “the Bringer of War", the barbarically emphasized rhythm and the repeated theme are reinforced by the plucking of the left string of the strings, harps, and drums. The central motif is based on fagots and horns. The fanfare of the brass instruments prevents the fading out of the atmosphere of war so that the movement can end in powerful chords. Venus, “the Bringer of Peace", is in E flat major and has an idyll quality. This atmosphere is stressed by the theme vocalized first by the solo French horn and then by the flute.

Mercury, “the Winged Messenger”, is a short scherzo. It starts with a rapid, energetic figure. The themes are displayed through various instruments. The movement ends en a light and numerous tone. Jupiter, “the Bringer of Jollity" is a rapid and playful scherzo. “The Bringer of Old Age”, Saturn, on the other hand, commences in a gloomy mood, with the introductory scores of flute and harp on a constant line. The opening theme is repeated in the coda, but with a different variety.

The interesting brass wind instruments, organ glissandos in “the Magician" Uranus are reminiscent of Paul Dukas' novice magician through small motifs. In the last movement, “the Mystic” Neptune, the texture of the structure becomes more important than the themes. At the time, Neptune which was at a 4000-million-kilometer distance was believed to be the farthest planet in the solar system, and since Pluto was to  be discovered in 1930, Neptune was considered the farthest, the least apprehensible and the most mystic of the planets. This mystic atmosphere is reinforced by the women’s chorus hidden in the background whose vocalization is heard as if coming from space and fades out as if it were moving away.

İrkin Aktüze, Müziği Okumak