Switched On Holst – Mars, The Bringer Of War

Classitronica: Reader Mike Leghorn sent word, via the synthesizer forum, about his progress on a new synthesized arrangement of Holst’s The Planets.  So far, Leghorn has completed his versions of Mars and Mercury.

Tackling The Planets is a huge and interesting undertaking. Tomita did a seminal synth cover in the 70’s, along with Patrick Gleeson. Others have been tackling the work since.

The various versions offer insight both into the musicians making the arrangements and times, because synth technology and tastes have changed so much in the last 40 years.

Check out Mike’s arrangement and let him know what you think. You can follow his progress on his SoundCloud page.

6 thoughts on “Switched On Holst – Mars, The Bringer Of War

  1. My schoolfriend Chris and I pooled our meagre finances and managed to snatch a copy of Tomita’s LP of ‘The Planets’ the day after it was banned by Holst’s family, claiming it ‘demeaned’ his work, and I’m a big fan of Tomita’s version. However, this is every bit as good. Mike, I’ll buy the final Suite without a moment’s hesitation. Good call, great sounds.

  2. A commendable effort! I did the whole Planets Suite a few years back along with music inspired by it on an album entitled AD ASTRA. You can find it up on iTunes and CDBaby.com to name a few. There’s few videos from tracks on YouTube as well.

    Best success to you! I would love to hear your finished project.

    Rob Astor

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