Harmony Study Of Gustav Holst's "Planetary Suite"

Gustav Holst(1874-1934)was a famous English composer,best known for large-scale Orchestra music “The Planets”.Since the debut of “The Planets”,it has always been very popular and influential.Some scholars have conducted academic research on it,affirming its influence and value.At the end of the nineteenth century and the twentieth century,the development of music showed a situation of “a hundred flowers blooming together”.Against this background of music where tradition and modernity blend and collide,Holst was still moving along the path of tradition,reflecting the extension of tradition.In “The Planets”,tradition is the cornerstone,and modern harmony was closely blended with it,reflecting the superb harmony technique.This paper will analyze it from three aspects: firstly,starting from the aspect of harmonic progression,mainly from the perspective of continuous sound,termination,parallel progress and line harmony to illustrate the characteristics of harmony.Holst was particularly inclined to use a large number of continuous and parallel harmonies to enrich the background of the harmonies.Secondly,from the perspective of chord structure and interrelationships,this paper explains the chords and interrelationships of various structures of triad and non-triad.Holst was accustomed to using a variety of chord progressions that can produce strong antithetical effects,so that it produces intense antagonistic,colorful harmony effects.Thirdly,from the perspective of mode and tonality,on the basis of tonal music,this paper applies a variety of tonality relations(third,changing tones,parallel keys),tonal scale(major and minor modes,church modes,pentatonic modes,comprehensive modes)to enrich the mode and tonality thinking.This paper analyzes the characteristics of harmony reflected in“The Planets”from three aspects.Through the analysis of harmony,people can appreciate the superb harmony language technology and the overall music style in “ The Planets ”Characteristics.Besides,this paper provides a shallow but relevant reference value for scholars who will study“The Planets”or other works of Holst.