The Planets dedication notwithstanding, Imogen Holst "would have been both amused and dismayed by the venture." On 24 August 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined what it means to be a "planet" within the Solar System. This definition excluded Pluto as a planet and added it as a member of the new category of "dwarf planets", along with Eris and Ceres. Following the IAU decision, Kenyon D. Wilson composed a trombone quintet piece titled "Songs of Distant Earth". The title comes from Arthur C. Clarke's novel of the same name. The composition contains five movements, each named after one of the
The Planets the suite and that the movements on either side are in mirror images. Thus Mars involves motion and Neptune is static; Venus is sublime while Uranus is vulgar, and Mercury is light and "scherzando" while Saturn is heavy and plodding. This hypothesis is lent credence by the fact that the two outer movements, Mars and Neptune, are both written in rather unusual quintuple meter. Holst suffered neuritis in his right arm, which caused him to seek help from several amanuenses in scoring "The Planets". This is clear from the number of different hands apparent in the full score. Neptune was