Songs of the Celestial Beings

The Planets orbit the Sun.


I know we've been celebrating a lot of music related birthdays recently, but I've got yet another one for you. Gustav Holst was born on this date in 1874. His most famous composition is the orchestral suite, The Planets.

This work has served as a source of inspiration for many 20th century orchestral composers, most notably John Williams and his score for the Star Wars movies. Although it was written without a direct programmatic element, the inherent sense of drama that the music conveys seems to tell a story, like a tone poem. This has made it a paradigm to which modern soundtrack composers turn when arranging an orchestral score.

Holst felt a great deal of ambivalence towards The Planets. He was of the impression that it overshadowed all of his other works. That's a valid complaint. However, I'd say it dominates his compositions because it is it is by far and away his strongest piece of music. Heck, it's one of the most powerful works of the standard Classical repertoire.

Mars (Photo by NASA, J. Bell, M. Wolff)

My favorite part of the work is Mars: the Bringer of War. It's a wonderfully dramatic and strong piece that captures the "warrior" vibe.

Frazetta and the Martian Princess

". . . Nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her figure!"


My earlier post focused on colored artworks, but some of my favorite illustrations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom series are Frank Frazetta's pen and ink interior illustrations. Here are two from Princess of Mars. Good stuff!!!



"Scarcely had his hideous laugh rung out when I was upon him. . ."



Music or Mars?

John Carter of Mars and Dejah Thoris (2009) by Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo


Since I'm in a bit of a rush today, we'll compress the celebration of Edgar Rice Burroughs' birth date (1875) and Johann Pachelbel's (1653) into one post. This may become the model for future days when I'm torn between two inspirations. Since Burroughs has plenty of illustrations to depict his work, but few quality videos, he'll have the front page. Meanwhile, Pachelbel has virtually no interesting images but many, many vids. So he'll come after the jump.

Today we'll focus on images of Burroughs' Barsoom. Why? Well, there is a John Carter of Mars movie coming out later this year. Second, Dejah Thoris, princess of the Martian city-state of Helium, is the original interplanetary super-hottie. Many an illustrator has been inspired by this Martian muse. ;-)


Cover art to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Princess of Mars by Frank Frazetta (1970)


If it's Tarzan or images of the Hollow Earth land of Pellucidar that you desire, then wait until next year or so.



Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium (2010) by Frank Cho


As regards Barsoom, Princess of Mars was published as a serial in 1912 and republished as a novel in 1917. The series spans 11 books. The success of this series created the Planetary Romance subgenre of Science Fiction.

Music for Aliens and Oddities

Flying Saucers from Mars Attacks! (1996)

We can't let the birth date of Leon Theremin pass without celebrating his great invention, the Theremin! An electronic instrument, the theremin is played without being touched by the performer. Here's Wikipedia's description of how it is played:

The theremin is almost unique among musical instruments in that it is played without physical contact. The musician stands in front of the instrument and moves his or her hands in the proximity of two metal antennas. The distance from one antenna determines frequency (pitch), and the distance from the other controls amplitude (volume). Most frequently, the right hand controls the pitch and the left controls the volume, although some performers reverse this arrangement. Some low-cost theremins use a conventional, knob operated volume control and have only the pitch antenna. While commonly called antennas, they are not used for receiving or broadcasting radio frequency, but act as plates in a capacitor.

The sound is weird and unearthly, yet with a distinct and authentic quality. It has been featured in science fiction soundtracks ever since the '50s, most notably in Bernard Herrmann's score for The Day the Earth Stood Still.



Leon Theremin demonstrating his electronic invention.


Let's listen to some examples.

Under the Moons of Mars

Bellona by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick

I have long been a fan of planetary romances. The idea of ancient alien civilizations upon distant planets has captured my imagination. I've often considered writing within the genre, but I worry that I'd end up writing some imitative tripe, a Barsoom rip-off. To a degree, the entire subgenre can be described as a reiteration upon the themes that Edgar Rice Burroughs set forth in the novel A Princess of Mars.

A good planetary romance explores the concept of "civilization" by constructing alien societies and assessing them through a narrative with which the reader can closely identify. So ideas, such as decadence, patriotism, isolationism or exploitation, are integral elements of the subgenre. Yet, while these ideas play across the narrative, it is under an atmospheric mood of loneliness and yearning. The narrator is a "stranger in a strange land".

And it is the ability to capture this mood that I find so compelling in the Kopeikin Gallery's exhibit "Mars: Adrift on the Hourglass Sea. Desolation and the Sublime on a Distant Planet" by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick.



Earthrise by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick