Music KS3 / GCSE: Katie Melua on 'Mars, the Bringer of War' by Gustav Holst

MUSIC: Mars, The Bringer Of War by Gustav Holst

KATIE MELUA:'How does this music make you feel?'

KATIE MELUA:Very strong or very scared? Are you preparing for a battle or running from your enemy?

KATIE MELUA:I get so excited knowing that music can make you see things you'll never see in real life.

KATIE MELUA:Listening to this piece, I think I'm an astronaut travelling through space maybe with one of the first creatures to be sent up there, like Laika the dog.

KATIE MELUA:Laika and I travel to Mars, full of excitement.

KATIE MELUA:When we get there we discover an orchestra deep in one of the underground caves on Mars, playing this very piece.

KATIE MELUA:Can you believe music this loud and fiery was written by a quiet and shy Englishman?

KATIE MELUA:His name was Gustav Holst, and as well as writing music he was a teacher in a school.

KATIE MELUA:He was also interested in astrology. The idea that the different planets, up in the sky, might affect how we feel down here on Earth.

KATIE MELUA:'Holst thought that music would be the perfect way to show these different moods.'

KATIE MELUA:'He started off with Mars, a planet which was named after the Roman god of war.'

KATIE MELUA:For this planet Holst wanted to create music that felt powerful, strong and even angry. He decided to call this piece Mars, Bringer Of War.

KATIE MELUA:Holst wrote Mars in 1914 before the First World War started. But it wasn’t played until the war was over in 1918.

KATIE MELUA:That war must have been a horrible and frightening experience, and I wonder if some of the audience were thinking of those experiences when they heard this terrifying piece of music for the first time. So, does this music make you think of war?

KATIE MELUA:Maybe the marching rhythm reminds you of an army preparing to fight. And what about the booming beats on the big drums? They're called timpani, and Holst uses them a lot. What do those timpanis sound like to you?

KATIE MELUA:Holst wrote a different composition for each planet. You can hear this one, for Venus, sounds very different. Holst called this Venus, Bringer Of Peace. How do you feel listening to this?

MUSIC: Venus, Bringer Of Peace by Gustav Holst

KATIE MELUA:'I used to listen to classical music by candlelight, and it was so powerful because I couldn’t see anything, it was complete darkness. And with a candle, my mum would be at the piano, playing beautiful pieces of music that were very moving and very inspiring.

KATIE MELUA:And I couldn’t believe that something that I couldn’t see or touch was making me feel such strong emotions.

KATIE MELUA:Modern film composers often write music like Mars for movies. And I bet you've heard pieces like this in the cinema. Perhaps while battles in space or invasions of Earth are happening onscreen.

KATIE MELUA:'Some of the melodies and chords in this music are so tense and colourful, I'm frightened. But I'm imagining things in my mind and heart and like when you watch a scary movie, I love the feeling of being on the edge of my seat.

KATIE MELUA:'This is just my reaction though, and you may hear the sound of space or war, or hear the music in a completely different way. That's a great thing, it's your music. The only thing we need to know is how to press play. Then after that you can let the orchestra take you wherever you want.'

KATIE MELUA:Mars finishes with an explosion of music. Music that sounds as big as a planet to me. At first, the melody seems to fade away into the distance.

KATIE MELUA:'But then listen for the surprise attack.

KATIE MELUA:'It's loud enough to make your bones rattle.

KATIE MELUA:'I wonder how you feel at the end. Are you running for your life or safe and strong on top of the world?