Saturday 21st June 7pm
Program: COPLAND Fanfare for the Common Man BRITTEN Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra HOLST The Planets Conductor: Sarah-Grace Williams Narrators (Britten): Estelle Gilmovich (Santa Sabina College), Scarlett Rigato (Orange Grove Public School), Hugo Gilmovich (St Andrews College) Riverside Theatre ParramattaAcknowledgment Of Country
The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land.
We acknowledge this is a country in which the members and elders of the local Aboriginal communities have been custodians for many centuries, and on which these people have performed age-old ceremonies.
The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges and pays our respects to the Gadigal, Wangal and Dharug peoples of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land on which we perform, and we pay our respects to all Elders both past and present.
Presented by Riverside Theatres and The Metropolitan Orchestra
| Copland, Aaron (1900 – 1990) | Fanfare for the Common Man |
Composed in 1942 at the request of conductor Eugene Goossens to preface the 1942-3 Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s season, Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man has become beloved by classical music, tv, film and sports fans alike. Goossens wrote to Copland suggesting, ‘Its title is as original as its music, and I think it is so telling that it deserves a special occasion for its performance. If it is agreeable to you, we will premier it 12 March 1943 at income tax time’. Copland replied, ‘I am all for honouring the common man at income tax time’.
In film and tv scores, the fanfare has been used directly as well as the style influencing composers since the 1970s. Australian tv viewers (of the same generation of the program note author…) no doubt remember hearing the opening of 7 Sport coverage using the Fanfare, making it iconic to Australia tv history.
A striking opening to any concert program, Copland’s Fanfare is sure to set the expectation of grandeur that will be delivered by Holst’s The Planets.
| Britten, Benjamin (1913 – 1976) | Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra |
Base on Purcell’s Rondeau from Abdelazar which was composed almost 300 years earlier in 1677, Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a set of musical variations that musically traverses the whole orchestra. The work was originally composed to accompany the 1945 British educational film, Instruments of the Orchestra, however the work has since developed to help educate generations of children to understand and identify with different instruments of the orchestra. Every instrument has a moment in the spotlight, grouped in their conventional sections – woodwind, strings, brass, then percussion.
The accompanying narration explains each instrument and their role in the orchestra and upon conclusion of the final variation being played by solo piccolo, the tutti orchestra reunites to a thunderous fugue, displaying the full power and beauty of the symphony orchestra.
Tonights Narrators are all TMO Junior graduates: Estelle Gilmovich (Santa Sabina College), Scarlett Rigato (Orange Grove Public School), Hugo Gilmovich (St Andrew’s College)
| Holst, Gustav (1874 – 1934) | The Planets |
Premiered in 1918, Gustav Holst’s The Planets is one of the most iconic orchestral suites of the 20th century. Written between 1914 and 1916, the seven-movement work is a vivid and imaginative musical portrayal of the astrological character of each planet in the solar system (excluding Earth and Pluto, which was yet to be discovered). Holst, a keen student of astrology, was more interested in the planets’ mythological and psychological significance than in their astronomical properties.
Each movement is a miniature tone poem, evoking a particular mood associated with a planet. The suite is scored for a large orchestra, with each movement showcasing Holst’s superb understanding of orchestration and instrumental colours.
I. Mars, the Bringer of War
Aggressive, mechanical, and unrelenting, Mars is one of the most powerful depictions of warfare in classical music. Written before World War I erupted, it eerily anticipates the brutality and chaos of modern conflict. The 5/4 rhythm, pounding ostinatos and brassy dissonances create a mood of dread and inevitability.
II. Venus, the Bringer of Peace
In stark contrast to Mars, Venus offers a serene and lyrical interlude. Venus is delicate and expressive, evoking calm and beauty through luminous harmonies and gentle solo passages. It represents not only peace as the absence of war but a deeper, more spiritual kind of harmony.
III. Mercury, the Winged Messenger
Light, quick, and mercurial in every sense, this scherzo-like movement captures the fleet-footed energy of Mercury, the Roman messenger god. Holst uses rapid figures, shifting rhythms, and bright orchestration to convey the sense of motion and elusiveness.
IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
This movement is the emotional and musical heart of the suite. Jupiter bursts with life, joy, and ceremonial grandeur. Its sweeping central melody – later adapted into the British patriotic hymn, I Vow to Thee, My Country – offers a noble contrast to the surrounding exuberance, uniting the festive and the reverent. Used as a soundtrack for many popular movies and tv shows, Jupiter’s melodies are sure to bring tears to the eyes of all parents in Bluey’s ‘Sleepytime’.
V. Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age
Holst considered this movement the most personal of the suite. Saturn unfolds slowly, with tolling bells and a sense of inexorable passage. It reflects not simply ageing, but the philosophical weight of time, decline, and eventual transcendence. What begins as sombre ends in a kind of ethereal acceptance.
VI. Uranus, the Magician
With its bold brass fanfares and a mischievous character, this movement evokes the spirit of a cosmic trickster. Holst’s orchestration bristles with energy, parodying the form of a scherzo and march while unleashing sudden surprises. Think of a magical sorcerer casting unpredictable spells with theatrical flair and your mind will conjure images of Uranus.
VII. Neptune, the Mystic
The suite ends with a mysterious, otherworldly meditation. Ethereal textures and distant harmonies create a sense of infinite space and unknowable mystery. The movement fades into silence with an offstage wordless choir – an innovation that was radical at the time – leaving listeners suspended in the vast emptiness of space.
© Andrew Doyle 2025
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