Certainly if you are British you are incredibly familiar with The Planets, even if you don't know you are. But how many people can name many, any, other works by Holst?
The Planets is just one incredible piece of music. I particularly love Mars, the bringer of War, written, incidentally, in the summer of 1914; Jupiter, the bringer of Joy, and my choice for the new National Anthem - I Vow to Thee My Country, also known as the Rugby World Cup song, World in Union; and Saturn, the bringer of Old Age - very very Wagnerian - Holst was infatuated by Wagner.
The disc also contains Egdon Heath, which is pleasant without being especially memorable.
Mahler's Fifth Symphony followed in close proximity. The tape, at least fifteen years old, is showing signs of wear and tear. Will I replace it when it is chewed? I think so. I don't know this symphony as well as I ought to, considering it has been in my collection for at least fifteen years. I suspect that with repeated listening it could become embedded in me. It's pleasant, and lyrical, and is memorable for me because of the opening theme that repeats throughout. Being a Deutsche Grammophen production (Wiener Philharmoniker under Lenny Bernstein), it has detailed academic liner notes, which are a bitover my head, bt worth perusing.
Yup, I'll give it a few more listens; in the meantime, I have three years, eight months and five days to play the rest of my record collection!
