Among Hovhaness's influences was his Armenian heritage inherited through his father. These are very much to the fore in his First Symphony subtitled Exile which references the plight of Armenians who were forced to flee in their millions in the face of an onslaught by Ottoman Turks during the First World War. Lovers of big tunes will revel in the lush sonorities on display. They’re in evidence right from the first notes. These are given to the clarinet which introduces a plaintive tune taken up by other woodwind with the orchestra continuing the Middle Eastern-sounding scales and the music becoming disturbed and agitated. The second, short movement marked Grazioso is further demonstration of the melodies for which Hovhaness is rightly renowned. Woodwind sings out against a background of pizzicato from strings and harp. This allows for an interlude of calm before the third and final movement brings us back to agitation. Driving strings and winds recall the opening theme in chorale form which then becomes the main focus of the orchestra. The powerfully expressed message is that a whole people cannot be suppressed. Its spirit will reassert itself and prevail against all the odds. Enjoy!
"The Rubaiyat conjures up the spirit of ancient Persia in the time of the revered poet and sets his immortal lines in a framework of musically haunting images that evoke the fragility of life and of love - the fragility of everything, except fate. By the interweaving of narration, orchestra, and accordion, the composer demonstrates that the imperishability of the poetry is matched by the inevitability of the music," - Tom Carlson, from the liner notes of the world premiere recording by Andre Kostelanetz and the New York Philharmonic released on Columbia Masterworks in 1977.
Now, nearly two decades later, "The Rubaiyat" has finally been recorded a second time, in this case on the Delos label, and it is every bit as expressive and exciting as the first recording, which featured Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as narrator and Carmen Carrozza as accordionist.
I was, at first, tempted to compare the two recordings, (on the whole Douglas Fairbanks narrates with more passion and drama than Michael York, and Diane Schmidt's accordion seems to have a sweeter and more mellow sound than Carmen Carrozza's) but after listening to them one after another, I concluded that both recordings, although distinctive in flavor, (actually there are some minor musical revisions in the score) are also remarkably similar to each other.
For example, the original Kostelanetz recording is 13 minutes 52 seconds long and the Schwarz recording is 13 minutes 51 seconds long! This seems to indicate that both conductors took great pains to carefully follow the directions of the composer. Alan Hovhaness himself was present at the recording sessions of the recent Delos release and assisted in preparing the disc.
Alan Hovhaness, born in 1906, professes a strong dislike for serial music and other types of modern music that he describes as "machine music." He is firmly convinced that for music to be accepted and successful, it must be tonal and melodic. "People must get pleasure out of music. It must sound good." (interview with Daniel A. Binder)
The accordion is the featured solo instrument in the work and is blessed with many beautiful melodies, some gentle and lyrical and some driving and rhythmic. Many are derived from modes and seem to have a middle-eastern origin. Ms. Schmidt plays her part superbly and is prominently mentioned in the CD booklet. She received her Masters in Music in composition at the University of Washington and presently teaches theory and composition through the Seattle Community College system.
She won the World Accordion Competition (classical) in 1971, against a field traditionally dominated by Russians and Europeans. She has performed with Luciano Pavorotti and with chamber music groups such as the Philadelphia Quartet. She also recorded the Paul Creston Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra with the Seattle Youth Symphony.
"The Exile Symphony," Hovhaness' first symphony (1936) was inspired by the tragic plight of the Armenian people who endured severe persecution in Turkey in the 1930s and were forcibly exiled. One hears Oriental influences in the modal tonalities.
"Meditation on Orpheus" is a rather dark work which depicts that part of the Orpheus legend that describes the Greek hero's descent into the underworld in search of his deceased wife, which results in his own subsequent death. The piece includes ominous gongs, rippling harp, throaty bass of growlings, a rush of wind created by the strings playing fast random passages, and a fearsome crescendo for the brasses at the conclusion.
"Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints" Op. 211 (1965) evokes mystical atmospheres of the Far East with microtonal slides, pentatonic scales and the delicate use of the marimba, expertly played by Ron Johnson, marimbist for the Seattle Symphony for 30 years. A very memorable section of the piece for me is the oboe and clarinet solos about halfway into the work, which are note-for-note direct quotes from the second movement of Hovhaness' "Suite for Accordion" Op. 166 written in 1959! (review from 1995, I don't recall the source)
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