From Deep Space

This Wednesday, 60 singers from Women's Chorus will join the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra for a performance of one of the most iconic orchestral suites of all time: "The Planets," written between 1914-1916 by Gustav Holst. In the suite, Holst takes listeners on a journey through the galaxy in an astrological context. Having become intrigued by horoscopes and the differing personalities of planets, he formed his musical thesis around the ideas and emotions associated with their alleged influence on the human psyche.

"Neptune, the Mystic," was the seventh and last planet he featured as a movement of his work (Earth was excluded for astrological reasons and Pluto was not yet discovered to even be considered a planet). Holst saw Neptune as the most transcendent and distant planet of all. He captured that mysticism with long, lyrical phrases featuring various winds and an eight-part women's chorus.

Listen to a recording of "Neptune" below, performed by the BBC Philharmonic, and then hear the BYU Women's Chorus and the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra present the full suite on Nov. 17 in the deJong concert hall (http://www.byuarts.com/).

FYI: The female chorus begins singing at about 4:27 in the video and breaks into the eight-part harmonies at about 5:05.