Mars (arr Vinson)

From Wind Repertory Project
Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst (arr. Johnnie Vinson)


Subtitle: From The Planets


General Info

Year: 1916 / 2009
Duration: c. 2:00
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $55.00; (digital) - $55.00   |   Score Only (print) - $5.00


Instrumentation (Flexible)

Full Score
Part 1

  • Flute
  • Oboe
  • B-flat Clarinet
  • B-flat Trumpet
  • Violin

Part 2

  • B-flat Clarinet
  • B-flat Trumpet
  • E-flat Alto Saxophone
  • Violin

Part 3

  • B-flat Clarinet
  • B-flat Tenor Saxophone
  • E-flat Alto Saxophone
  • E-flat Alto Clarinet
  • F Horn
  • Violin
  • Viola

Part 4

  • B-flat Tenor Saxophone
  • Euphonium T.C
  • F Horn
  • Trombone
  • Euphonium B.C.
  • Bassoon
  • Cello

Part 5

  • B-flat Bass Clarinet
  • Trombone
  • Euphonium B.C.
  • Bassoon
  • Euphonium T.C.
  • Cello
  • B-flat Baritone Saxophone
  • Tuba
  • String/Electric Bass

Timpani
Percussion, including:

  • Bells
  • Snare Drum
  • Suspended Cymbal (large)
  • Xylophone


Errata

None discovered thus far.


Program Notes

Mars – The Bringer of War was complete in the composer's mind in the summer of 1914, when the First World War was but an emerging threat. The work is dominated by a relentless hammering out of a 5/4 rhythm which suggests the relentless destruction of war. The opposition of harmony and rhythm is skillfully used to produce a startling aural and emotional effect. The movement was transcribed for band by the composer is 1924.

- Program Note from Program Notes for Band


The Mars and Jupiter movements of Holst's orchestral work were arranged for band by two students, L. Pay and George Smith, for a concert at Kneller Hall on October 3, 1924. (Kneller Hall, in the London borough of Richmond on Thames, houses the Royal Military School of Music, training musicians for the British Army.) It is possible, though not definitively known, that Holst himself had an active role in proofing the manuscripts.

- Program Note from From Kneller Hall to Hammersmith


Media


State Ratings

  • West Virginia: II


Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project


Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music


All Wind Music


Resources

  • Gibbs, Alan. "How did Holst conduct 'The Planets.'" Tempo, vol. 66, no. 261, July 2012, pp. 51-58.
  • Mitchell, Jon C. From Kneller Hall to Hammersmith: The Band Works of Gustav Holst. Tutzing: H. Schneider, 1990, pg. 91-92. Print.
  • Perusal score
  • The Planets. Wikipedia. Accessed 6 August 2023
  • Smith, Norman E. (2002). Program Notes for Band. Chicago: GIA Publications, pp. 297.