Today in the Holywell Music Room we will be looking at one of Britain's most famous compositions, Gustav Holst's 'Planets Suite'. Holst was Director of Music at St Paul's Girls' School in London and the most famous section of the movement 'Jupiter' has been made famous in recent times as the theme tune of the Rugby World Cup.
The Planets seem to have been an important theme in CS Lewis' Narnia collection which we are studying at the moment. Oxford academic, Michael Ward, argues in his book, 'Planet Narnia', that each book in the Narnia series equates to one of the 'seven heavens', the seven objects in the sky which medieval astronomers believed revolved around the earth. These were: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.
Jupiter, the bringer of Jollity, is the planet which influences 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe'. Mars, the bringer of war, influences 'Prince Caspian'. And the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which we are currently reading, has the theme of the sun woven into the whole story - Reepicheep's search for the utter east, the home of Aslan, is a reflection of this.
As you listen to LaRae's description of the Planets and listen to the music, see if you can imagine the pieces set to different books of Narnia.
You can view the sheet LaRae is referring to in her video below:
