the planets, op. 32: I. mars, the bringer of war
“mars the bringer of war is widely celebrated as a revolutionary, intimidating piece.”
notes ! as i mentioned in my introductory post, this post is going to consist of known facts about this extraordinary piece, but it will also include a lot of my own personal opinions and interpretations about it as well. hope you enjoy!
Mars the Bringer of War is so well known and celebrated that it inspired many movies and artists, such as heavy metal singers and even the amazing films of Star Wars! It's intense 5/4 time signature, unsettling build ups, and relentless musical jump scares are what make this piece so incredible. (fun fact: Gustav Holst grew to not like The Planets, because everyone liked it so much that they did not pay much attention to his other pieces!)
The slow buildup and sudden musical jump scares of this phenomenal piece leaves you with the perfect sense of dread and despair that Holst was going for, to mimic the feeling of being at war. Now, something I feel is important to note is that soldiers usually walk at a 4/4 or 2/2 rhythm, walking in the well known left, right, left, right march. However, Holst was very clever and chose a 5/4 time signature because if you try walking at a 5/4 march, your feet won't align clearly. You start the first pattern on your left foot (left, right, left, right, left) and start the second pattern on your right foot (right, left, right, left, right). It breaks the symmetry of human movement, making it impossible for soldiers to march to it. Instead of mimicking human soldiers, Holst uses this time signature to show relentless, war machines instead. This pattern repeats over and over, almost like an industrial machine, implying that war is an inhumane thing that crushes everything in its path.
Furthermore, because 5/4 is an odd meter, the human ear naturally feels off-balance. This imbalance makes it seem like the music is always missing a beat, and the ear looks for something it wont ever find. This creates a psychological sense of unending tension and dread that never seems to dissolve, just like war.
This piece is also widely considered as an anti-war piece, since it was written right before World War One. This piece was composed in 1914, which was the same year that World War One unfortunately started. For this reason, many stopped looking at this piece in a roman mythology aspect, but more of a protest against war due to the terrible dreadful feeling it gives you as you listen to it.
I am now going to dive into my own interpretations of this piece, including what I imagine as I listen to it...
This piece starts off with a somewhat calm but yet unsettling beginning, with sudden buildups that eventually die off quickly. Since this piece is about "The Bringer of War", I imagine this is the part where both sides are fighting. The sudden buildups imply that one side is in the lead. About 2 minutes and 50 seconds in, one side seems to be more in the lead as I mentioned previously, because one side is just sort of repeating what the other side is playing. And then there is a big buildup, and all the music stops, implying that one side "won" this war. However, it doesn't seem to be over...
After this supposed "win", we can hear a little bit of music still playing very quietly, I interpret this as the side that "lost" slowly gaining back their armies and getting ready for a surprise attack while the side that "won" thinks the battle is over. As the music gets gradually louder, the side that is preparing for the attack is approaching, and with a sudden fortissimo, they attack the other side!
After this attack, the music sounds pretty much the same as the beginning, implying that there is yet another war, except one side is at a clear disadvantage due to the sudden attack. And eventually, we can hear the familiar sound of one side repeating the other, except I interpret this as the side that was losing at the last war being now in the lead.
Eventually, all the music dies down, implying defeat for the side that thought they won, and with yet another sudden buildup, the music completely comes to an end, which also brings an end to this battle.
You could also interpret the ending of this piece as that there is no true winners in war, as both sides lose many soldiers and resources. Since the piece ends on a terrifying and depressing note rather than a triumphant one, it implies that neither side considered the war a win. Considering that this was composed in 1914 (right before World War I, which started in that same year) you could use that as evidence for the interpretation that the ending means there are no winners, and there never will be. All the hurt and loss from war leaves everyone devastated and despondent, and rarely ever triumphant and happy.
However this is all just my interpretation, but feel free to have different opinions, and if you feel like it, share it down below! I'd love to hear some other opinions on this piece as well. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this!
