One Enchanted Evening
I'm a pretty big fan of classical music, thanks in part to my father who was also a fan. And one of my all-time favorite symphonies is "The Planets" by Gustav Holst. Much of the seven-movement "Planets" would be familiar to the ear of even the casual classical listener, in particular "Mars - The Bringer of War" "Venus - The Bringer of Peace" and "Jupiter - The Bringer of Jollity". "Mars" written in 1914, perfectly captured the incoming storm-clouds of world war, with it's relentlessly dark driving rhythm. It's arguably the most recognizable of the seven movements. The last movement "Neptune - The Mystic" is the only one that includes the human voice. On the night of its premiere, the women's choir performing it was kept off-stage, so that the effect was that their haunting, ethereal notes drifted down through the hall in a disembodied manner that suggested the vast eternity of space. I ha...