Overview
Introduction
British composer Colin Matthews, with this six-minute orchestral movement, succeeds splendidly in a dangerous undertaking: the alteration and extension of one of the best-loved masterpieces of the twentieth century orchestral repertory.
Gustav Holst wrote his seven-movement suite The Planets after developing an interest in astrology from reading Alan Leo's What is a Horoscope? (1913). Omitting the sun, moon, and earth, The Planets is based on astrological characteristics of the seven remaining known planets. Although he lived past the discovery of Pluto, there is no reason to believe he contemplated adding a new movement to The Planets.
When conductor Kent Nagano wanted a Pluto movement for a performance of The Planets, Matthews was the natural person to approach. Early in his career he assisted Deryck Cooke in his completion (or "performing edition") of Mahler's Tenth Symphony and later, as a trustee of the Britten-Pears Foundation, had edited and orchestrated several unknown Britten works for publication. Furthermore, he was also the administrator of the Holst Foundation. (He and Holst's daughter, Imogen, had worked together as musical assistants for Benjamin Britten.) Matthews says he had "mixed feelings" about Nagano's request, primarily based on the fact that The Planets is not only satisfying as it stands, but has a famously original ending.
Matthews' first decision was to write the movement in his own style. Pluto is in a more modern style that is nearly atonal. Since there is no consensus on the "astrological character" of the "new" planet, Matthews decided rather arbitrarily to call it Pluto -- The Renewer and then ignored astrology altogether. However, the mysterious, glittering sounds of this movement have an ominous, expansive feeling that suggests Matthews had in mind the mysterious final vestiges of the sun's realm outside Pluto's orbit in addition to the small, eccentric planet itself: the myriad proto-comets of the Oort Cloud and the solar wind.
Matthews links his new movement to the ending of Neptune. While the famous choral "fade-out" of that work is a cappella, Matthews retains the last ultra-high notes of the violins throughout it, then keeps it going at a nearly inaudible level until the chorus disappears. Then there is soft trombone chord, and a very quiet stir on the strings. By degrees the music moves into action in a texture that might momentarily remind listeners of some of the mysterious music in John Williams' score to Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Even after springing into action in a rapid triple time, the music retains for a while its mysterious, quiet mood, though this is broken momentarily by some strong, threatening orchestral outbursts.Towards the end the forward momentum disappears. The chorus, which enters on the last full chord, is gradually revealed as Pluto fades out, almost as though it had continued singing Neptune all along.
As the composer planned, the music is largely in his own style, though he says, "I came perhaps closer to Holst than I had expected."
