Small Ensemble - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.869210 Composed by Thomas Oboe Lee. 20th Century,Baroque,Classical,Contemporary,Romantic Period. Score and parts. 39 pages. Thomas Oboe Lee #2016283. Published by Thomas Oboe Lee (A0.869210). Instrumentation: 3333-4331-timp-2perc-cel-hp-strings Program Notes: When Charles Ansbacher, music director of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, commissioned me to write Pluto as a grand finale for The Planets by Gustav Holst, I immediately thought of Pluto, the Disney character; but common sense took over when I sat down to work. So instead of Disney’s faithful dog, I gravitated to the Pluto of Roman mythology. After a long battle with the Titans, the three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon and Pluto, divided the world among themselves. Zeus had the sky; Poseidon, the sea; and Pluto, the Underworld. According to mythology, the spirits of the dead, whether good or bad, enter the Underworld. Cerberus, a vicious three-headed beast, stands guard at the entrance - preventing the living from entering the world of the dead. The movement begins with a fanfare: Cerberus at the gates of the Underworld. Then a grand waltz materializes in the bass: Pluto dances!! As the waltz fades away, a lyrical tune emerges: Persephone, the wife of Pluto, appears. The work ends with a reprise of the opening fanfare, slightly altered.
