Gustav Holst - Mercury

Mercury, from Gustav Holst's Planet Suite, being played by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras.

[noncrediblecase]

The way the melody is passed around by different instruments starting at 1:10 is sort of like a group of messengers relaying a message between each other.

[TallGlassOfLemonade]

Shame this song is only 4 minutes, but I guess Mercury has messages to deliver.

[ZZgS]

When the violin hands off the melody to the oboe at 1:15... Gorgeous <3

[bigleo]

This is fitting for the Planet Mercury. The tiny little planet zooms around the sun at a MANIC pace and this piece illustrates the speed of Mercury (and the god from which the planet gets its name) down to a T.

[fionamaddock]

Yes from 1:10 to 1:57 some of the most beautiful music ever written by a human. How was this ever thought of in the mind? Beyond comprehension!

[mariamoooooo]

1:10 IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL I CANT

[austinthomas]

Gustov Holst : John Williams I am your father

[FootknightProductions]

"Enter Mercury, the planet of extremes, it freezes at the same pace at which it scorches in the full force of the star from which it was formed. A tiny dot on a never-ending marathon through the cosmos. Eighty-Eight rotations to a revolution. Burned and frozen repeatedly for the end of time." - Random thoughts while listening to the music

[jonathanhadden]

I consider myself EXTREMELY fortunate to have caught a performance of Holst's Planets performed by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra with a slideshow prepared by NASA (Imagined & Real from Voyager), with interspersed narration from astronaut John Glenn (1st American to Orbit the Earth) on Jan-10th, 2009.

[stupidelephant]

Idk why but I imagine The Planets being played over a 60s black and white documentary about space

[wolffang]

Beautiful. Portrays the intense heat of the sun, the eccentric orbit....even the plummeting temperature during Mercury's nighttime. Definitely one of my favorite of the suite.

[mariamoooooo]

okay another planet that i love to pieces. argh they're all so beautiful.

[zachruhmann]

2:37 is my favorite part of this piece, love the fast exhilarating strings and woodwinds

[radioactiveseaotter]

I like how the melody get passed from one instrument to another like how ancient postal systems had messengers pass mail from one to another across the empire

[rat]

In my opinion, this song actually gives the impression of something entirely different to what it suggests. Mars is war and Venus is peace, but this sounds like a person going through their lives more than a messenger

[melissapavek]

I love how there are parts sounding like a telegraph. but besides that, i love Mercury.
-Love, Neptune.

[joshpeterson]

I feel like these were based more off the Roman gods than the planets...

[RaahimOmer]

Although I like this one, Mars is my personal favorite.

[theimmortalcolasour]

Ah, Hermes. The God of Roads, Thievery, the Alphabet, um... Everything the others haven't taken?

[DavidCase-ovuo]

Is it me or was this the inspiration for the Star Trek IV the voyage home theme? Especially the later part.