Gustav Holst's suite The Planets has been the subject of frequent adaptations and additions, and many later works, particularly in popular music, have been derived from it. There are numerous references to the suite in popular culture.
Adaptations
Non-orchestral arrangements
Piano duet (four hands) – an engraved copy of Holst's own piano duet arrangement was found by John York. Two pianos (duo) – Holst had originally sketched the work for two pianos, due to a need to compensate for the neuritis in his right arm. His two friends, Nora Day and Vally Lasker, had agreed to play the two-piano arrangement for him as he dictated the details of the orchestral score to them. This they wrote down themselves on the two-piano score, and used as a guide when it was time to create the full orchestral score. The two-piano arrangement was published in 1949. Holst's original manuscripts for it are now in the holdings of the Royal College of Music (Mars, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune), Royal Academy of Music (Mercury) and British Library (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus). Pianola – In the early 1990s an arrangement was made for piano rolls by the English pianolist, Rex Lawson, and published on the Perforetur label. Organ – American harpsichordist and organist Peter Sykes transcribed The Planets for organ. Ensemble or Chamber Orchestra – English orchestrator George Morton transcribed The Planets for 15-piece ensemble or chamber orchestra. Moog – Isao Tomita adapted The Planets for a Moog and other synthesizers and electronic devices. The original LP release prompted legal action from Holst's estate. The composer's daughter, Imogen Holst, worked hard to prevent the recording being distributed in the UK. Brass instruments – Hungarian trombonist and arranger Áron Simon transcribed the Mars movement for 6 trombones, euphonium, tuba, timpani and percussion. Brass band – Stephen Roberts, associate conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra, transcribed the entire suite for brass band. Marching band – the movements Mars, Venus and Jupiter have all been arranged for marching band by Jay Bocook. Paul Murtha also arranged the chorale section of Jupiter for marching band., Kevin Shah and Tony Nunez created the work "Bringer of Joy", based on "Jupiter". Percussion ensemble – James Ancona arranged Mercury for a percussion ensemble. It consisted of 2 glockenspiels, 2 xylophones, 2 vibraphones, 2 marimbas, 5 timpani, a small suspended cymbal, and 2 triangles. Drum corps – selections from The Planets were performed by The Cavaliers as part of their 1985 repertoire, and as the entirety of their 1995 feature field show, as well as appearing in their 2017 production Men Are From Mars. Rock bands: Death metal band Aeon recorded a version of "Neptune, the Mystic" for their album Aeons Black. Though much shorter than the original it was derived from a select few of the main melodies Emerson, Lake & Powell recorded a version of "Mars, the Bringer of War" for their self-titled 1986 album Cozy Powell, the band's drummer, joined Black Sabbath after Emerson, Lake & Powell disbanded and included samples from "Mars" in his drum solos on Black Sabbath's 1990 concert tour. The 1985 album Beyond the Planets, by Jeff Wayne, Rick Wakeman and Kevin Peek (with narration by Patrick Allen), is a rock arrangement of the entire suite. In 2020, the Jeremy Levy Jazz Orchestra released The Planets: Reimagined, recasting all seven moments into a jazz arrangement. Levy's arrangement of "Uranus: The Magician" received a Grammy nomination for 'Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella' at the 2021 Grammy Awards show.
"Thaxted" from Jupiter
The most-adapted part of The Planets is an anthemic melody found in the central section of Jupiter. In 1921, Holst was asked to write a melody for the poem "I Vow to Thee, My Country" by Sir Cecil Spring Rice. According to his daughter Imogen Holst, at the time he "was so over-worked and over-weary that he felt relieved to discover they 'fitted' the tune from Jupiter". The poem and hymn "I Vow to Thee, My Country" became known as a response to the human cost of World War I. The hymn was first performed in 1925 and quickly became a patriotic anthem. Imogen commented in 1968 that for more than half a century the hymn had been affecting the original Jupiter with "unwanted associations".
In 1926, the melody was published on its own, as part of the hymnal Songs of Praise. Holst gave it the name "Thaxted", after Thaxted, Essex, the English village where he lived much of his life.
Since the 1920s, the "Thaxted" melody has been widely used, both as part of "I Vow to Thee, My Country", as an instrumental, and with other lyrics, both religious and secular.