Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer, arranger and teacher.

The Planets, Op. 32, is his seven-movement orchestral suite written between 1914 and 1916. Each movement of the suite is named after a planet of the Solar System.

In ancient Roman religion Mars was the god of war. Holst composed this piece in anticipation of the outbreak of World War One.

Listen out for: The opening two harps, strings playing with the wood of the bow, timpani using very hard-headed sticks and the gong. There’s also a solo from the euphonium.