Gustav Holst - III. Mercury: The Winged Messenger (The Planets)

Appropriately, Mercury is the “Winged Messenger.” The smallest planet in our solar system zips around the Sun closer than any other. Mercury completes a full circuit in its orbital relay race every 88 days, at varying speeds around 100,000 miles an hour. At first glance, this tiny rock may look rather dull, but as we’ve learned, Mercury has a lot to say. Despite how close it is to the Sun, there are places on Mercury that never see sunlight. We know now there is water ice hiding in these shadows. One of Mercury’s more important messages to science was that this Albert Einstein guy might be worth listening to. Einstein’s theory of relativity explained a wobble in Mercury’s orbit that puzzled astronomers for 50 years. Holst’s composition for Mercury features a fittingly brisk pace, with punctuated, almost Morse Code-like conversations among the instruments.

The Planets, Op. 32, is a seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the solar system and its corresponding astrological character as defined by Holst. This is Movement III of "The Planets" by Gustav Holst, Mercury, the Winged Messenger as performed in 1998, performed by the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band in a transcription by Merlin Patterson.

Images: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Music: United States Air Force Band | IPGS Music

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