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Metric and Pitch Tension in Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War"

2023; Indiana University Press; Volume: 38; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2979/itr.2023.a892246

2474-7777

Jayson R. Smith,

Music and Audio Processing

Abstract: Although authors recognize the war-like nature of rhythm and meter in "Mars," their observations are mostly superficial. For example, Richard Greene briefly suggests the 5/4 ostinato is a metaphor for battle, but he does not detail the extent of this metaphor. Michael Short prescribes the persistent 5/4 meter as the movement's "most striking feature" and briefly mentions the hemiola created by the superposition of 5/2 over two bars of 5/4, but he does not detail the metric features of "Mars" any further. Dickinson and Gibbs claim the quintuple meter "precludes a dull monotony and makes a firm basis for theme and counter-theme." They point to musical features that deserve more attention, including "twisting trochees, trumpeted declamation, and uneven bar-rhythm."