Hearing a collection of different pieces is a good way to get a grip on the music of American composer Alan Hovhaness. Taken in single doses his music can seem simplistic, but the key to understanding it is the fact that he truly did create a compositional world of his own. Once you start to set pieces against each other you notice the details, like the subtle variety of ways the percussion instruments can set off Hovhaness' basic modal counterpoint in the strings. The booklet to the centennial release makes the point that ...
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Hearing a collection of different pieces is a good way to get a grip on the music of American composer Alan Hovhaness. Taken in single doses his music can seem simplistic, but the key to understanding it is the fact that he truly did create a compositional world of his own. Once you start to set pieces against each other you notice the details, like the subtle variety of ways the percussion instruments can set off Hovhaness' basic modal counterpoint in the strings. The booklet to the centennial release makes the point that Hovhaness was for a time better appreciated in Asian countries than he was in the U.S., and one can see why: he drew techniques from the music of India, Korea, Japan, China, and Indonesia, in all of which he lived, yet he never was "Orientalist," and even when he directly refers to an external tradition, as in "Gamelan in Sosi Style," from the String Quartet No. 2, Op. 147, he does not imitate it. The compilers bookend the program with Hovhaness' two best-known works, Prayer of St....
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The 100th anniversary of the birth of the American composer Alan Hovhaness (1911 -- 2000) did not receive the full attention the occasion deserved. But this new CD from Delos, "American Mystic", offers an introduction to the composer's vast output for listeners wanting to get to know or to revisit his music. The CD offers selections from the many CDs of Hovhaness that Delos has released over the past 20 years.
Lindsay Koob's liner notes point out that Hovhaness was an eclectic composer whose works show a marked Eastern and Armenian influence. Hovhaness' musical output was extensive and his work was largely programmatic in character. His work celebrates spirituality and nature. For all its frequent exoticism, Hovhaness' music is readily accessible. During the composer's life, his music tended to be more popular with listeners than with critics. But Hovhaness' stature continues to grow. This CD includes performances from a variety of artists and includes works that were both familiar and unfamiliar to me. It includes works in several genres but does not include any of Hovhaness' compositions for solo piano.
Hovhanness wrote nearly 70 symphonies, the most famous of which is the Symphony No. 2, op 132 "Mysterious Mountain" composed in 1955. This is the work which introduced me to the composer when I heard it as a child live in a concert by the Milwaukee Symphony more that 50 years ago. There is a classic recording of "Mysterious Mountain" with Fritz Reiner conducting the Chicago Symphony. The version here is by Gerard Schwarz, a champion of Hovhaness and of modern music, conducting the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. It is an excellent reading which captures the brooding mystery and the orchestral color of this excellent introduction to Hovhaness.
Another familiar Hovhaness composition is the short "Prayer of St. Gregory" Op 62b which dates from 1946. This work features a meditative trumpet solo in the voice of this great Armenian saint together with a highly mystical, flowing orchestral accompaniment. Charles Butler captures this music beautifully on trumpet together with Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony.
In 1970, Hovhaness wrote "And God created Great Whales" a composition which became highly popular much to the composer's later chagrin. This work includes some highly free-flowing improvisatory writing for orchestra together with a sound track of whale-songs. The music to me is more effective than the interludes with the whales. Perhaps this work influenced the composer Einojuhani Rautavaara in his 1972, "Cantus Arcticus" which likewise features tapes of recorded Arctic bird song together with accompanying music for orchestra.
The remaining selections of the CD are vintage Hovhaness but were previously unknown to me. I enjoyed the eight part suite "The Flowering Peach", opus 125 (1954) performed by Keith Brion conducting the Ohio State University Concert Band. This work was written for a retelling of the story of Noah and the Ark and features a wailing alto saxophone in the role of Noah and a varied percussion and wind accompaniment. There is lovely, spare melodic writing in this suite.
The final extended composition on this CD is "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam" op. 308 (1975), setting verses of the famous Persian poet. Michael York narrates this 13 minute work which has a perfumy art noveaux feel. But the music is set apart by its unusual scoring which includes the accordion, performed by Diane Schmidt, together with Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony. Few composers would have the audacity to feature the accordion in a classical piece, but it works effectively here playing Greek and other folk dances to accompany York's readings from the poetry.
Hovhaness also composed a body of chamber music which is sampled on this CD. There is a selection of four brief bagatelles, op.30 and two short movements from a string quartet, op. 147, performed by the Shangai Quartet. These short works generally feature the violin playing a varied and modal solo part over a hushed accompaniment, frequently played pizzicato. These selections are short and intriguing.
For listeners wanting an introduction to Hovhaness, this CD is an excellent place to start. For some listeners, a little Hovhaness will go a long way. As mentioned above, I heard the "Mysterious Mountain" early in life and returned seriously to Hovhaness several years ago with renewed appreciation. For those wanting more of Hovhaness, there are several CDs available on Naxos' "American Classics series" including some little-known works, on the Delos CDs from which the recordings on this disk are drawn, and on many CDs on other labels.
