The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s latest album unites Holst’s beloved Planets suite with the World Premiere Recording of Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Earth.

More than a century after its premiere, Gustav Holst’s The Planets remains one of the rare orchestral works whose title alone can fill a concert hall. From the ferocious intensity of Mars to the otherworldly mystery of Neptune, the suite guides listeners on a cosmic journey, exploring the emotions and character each planet evokes.

Throughout a long and distinguished career as a soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO (Yorta Yorta / Yuin) has championed the voice and visibility of classically trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island musicians, and in 2021 she began a five-year appointment as MSO First Nations Creative Chair. Written in response to the accompanying work on this album, Earth represents her seventh composition created for the musicians of the MSO, and brilliantly highlights Cheetham Fraillon’s exceptional talents as both a composer and singer.

“Ultimately the Earth is set apart from its neighbours in this solar system by our humanity. And so, in the process of composing this work I decided to include that which truly defines us—our Voice.” – Deborah Cheetham Fraillon

Jaime Martín, Conductor
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon, Soprano & Composer
Upper Voices of the MSO Chorus
Warren Trevelyan-Jones, Chorus Director
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra