Dynamic
Hovhaness: Piano Works / Pompili
$18.99
Details
- Composer
- STRAUSS, RICHARD
- Artist
- Alessandra Pompili
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Dynamic
- Released
- Oct 14, 2014
- Catalog #
- DYN-CDS7701
- UPC
- 8007144077013
About
Hovhaness' admirers often tend to overlook the piano works in favour of his big orchestral statements. Nevertheless there's much to enjoy in these compact pieces which are here drawn from a wide time frame, spanning Op.36 to Op.390. The Twelve Armenian Folk Songs were composed around 1943 but not published until two decades later. The melodies are attractive in themselves but, more than that, they are most attractively played by Alessandra Pompili who shows a very strong affinity with all the music in this 52-minute disc. She plays the 'unfamiliar melodies' - in the composer's words - with simplicity and a real degree of affection in an acoustic that tends to the dry, though on balance I'd rather that than a billowing sound in these pieces.
Ghazal and Ghazal-Sufi date from 1938 and here the bass line underlies a weaving lyric right hand melody line. The former, which is the longer, has a tolling, melancholy-sounding motif whilst the latter is the more rarefied in expression. This is, it would seem the first ever recording of both pieces. Composed in 1959 whilst Hovhaness was in the Kashmir, Shalimar reflects his huge enthusiasm for Indian music. Formally, he introduced the idea of borders in this suite in an attempt to suggest the carpet-like designs of Moghul gardens. As much as rhythm drives this music, there is a huge amount of nature painting involved, the composer evoking the now-silent fountains through the memory of their music. Much is coolly flowing, beautifully expressive and often hypnotically rhythmic but there is also the Bachian element of the Third Interlude. Helpfully each incident - there are eight in all - is separately tracked.
The 'Cougar Mountain' Sonata, Op.390 dates from 1985 and returns to his love of nature - of vistas and expanse. As well as a slow opening movement there is a lament, a slumber song and, as finale, a dance. There are hints of Ravel in the early part of the sonata and the stomping dance with which the sonata ends certainly generates considerable dynamism. Its compact nature still allows a rich sense of characterization to emerge. The Fantasy, Op.15 - again this is a first recording - was written in 1938 but was later re-worked and absorbed into the Blue Job Mountain Sonata, Op.340. It's an unusually alternating work for Hovhaness, in which lyricism and percussiveness sit on opposite sides of the equation. Finally there is Dark River and Distant Bell which, with its oriental mood, was originally intended for harpsichord or clavichord. This is its first appearance on disc in piano guise.
Pompili, then, is a splendid young exponent of Hovhaness' music. That dry sound does help to clarify and centralize the piano writing without sounding off-puttingly objectified. Liner notes are in Italian and English and worth a detour, as indeed is this disarmingly well-played disc.
– MusicWeb International (Jonathan Woolf)
Ghazal and Ghazal-Sufi date from 1938 and here the bass line underlies a weaving lyric right hand melody line. The former, which is the longer, has a tolling, melancholy-sounding motif whilst the latter is the more rarefied in expression. This is, it would seem the first ever recording of both pieces. Composed in 1959 whilst Hovhaness was in the Kashmir, Shalimar reflects his huge enthusiasm for Indian music. Formally, he introduced the idea of borders in this suite in an attempt to suggest the carpet-like designs of Moghul gardens. As much as rhythm drives this music, there is a huge amount of nature painting involved, the composer evoking the now-silent fountains through the memory of their music. Much is coolly flowing, beautifully expressive and often hypnotically rhythmic but there is also the Bachian element of the Third Interlude. Helpfully each incident - there are eight in all - is separately tracked.
The 'Cougar Mountain' Sonata, Op.390 dates from 1985 and returns to his love of nature - of vistas and expanse. As well as a slow opening movement there is a lament, a slumber song and, as finale, a dance. There are hints of Ravel in the early part of the sonata and the stomping dance with which the sonata ends certainly generates considerable dynamism. Its compact nature still allows a rich sense of characterization to emerge. The Fantasy, Op.15 - again this is a first recording - was written in 1938 but was later re-worked and absorbed into the Blue Job Mountain Sonata, Op.340. It's an unusually alternating work for Hovhaness, in which lyricism and percussiveness sit on opposite sides of the equation. Finally there is Dark River and Distant Bell which, with its oriental mood, was originally intended for harpsichord or clavichord. This is its first appearance on disc in piano guise.
Pompili, then, is a splendid young exponent of Hovhaness' music. That dry sound does help to clarify and centralize the piano writing without sounding off-puttingly objectified. Liner notes are in Italian and English and worth a detour, as indeed is this disarmingly well-played disc.
– MusicWeb International (Jonathan Woolf)
Tracklist 19 tracks
-
1 12 Armenian Folk Songs, Op. 43 09:34
- Track
- 1
- Title
- 12 Armenian Folk Songs, Op. 43
- Duration
- 09:34
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
2 Ghazal No. 1 04:04
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Ghazal No. 1
- Duration
- 04:04
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
3 Ghazal - Sufi 02:58
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Ghazal - Sufi
- Duration
- 02:58
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
4 1 - Fantasy 04:45
- Track
- 4
- Title
- 1 - Fantasy
- Duration
- 04:45
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
5 2 - First Interlude 00:38
- Track
- 5
- Title
- 2 - First Interlude
- Duration
- 00:38
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
6 3 - Jhala of the Fountains 01:02
- Track
- 6
- Title
- 3 - Jhala of the Fountains
- Duration
- 01:02
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
7 4 - Second Interlude 00:47
- Track
- 7
- Title
- 4 - Second Interlude
- Duration
- 00:47
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
8 5 - Jhala March 00:58
- Track
- 8
- Title
- 5 - Jhala March
- Duration
- 00:58
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
9 6 - Rain Jhala 01:23
- Track
- 9
- Title
- 6 - Rain Jhala
- Duration
- 01:23
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
10 7 - Third Interlude 00:34
- Track
- 10
- Title
- 7 - Third Interlude
- Duration
- 00:34
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
11 8 - Jhala of the Waterfall 01:05
- Track
- 11
- Title
- 8 - Jhala of the Waterfall
- Duration
- 01:05
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
12 I - Adagio cantabile 02:50
- Track
- 12
- Title
- I - Adagio cantabile
- Duration
- 02:50
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
13 II - Mountain Lament 03:00
- Track
- 13
- Title
- II - Mountain Lament
- Duration
- 03:00
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
14 III - Mountain Slumber Song 01:52
- Track
- 14
- Title
- III - Mountain Slumber Song
- Duration
- 01:52
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
15 IV - Cougar Mountain Dance 04:11
- Track
- 15
- Title
- IV - Cougar Mountain Dance
- Duration
- 04:11
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
16 Fantasy, Op. 15 07:15
- Track
- 16
- Title
- Fantasy, Op. 15
- Duration
- 07:15
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
17 I - Andante con moto 02:44
- Track
- 17
- Title
- I - Andante con moto
- Duration
- 02:44
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
18 II - Allegro 00:44
- Track
- 18
- Title
- II - Allegro
- Duration
- 00:44
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili
-
19 III - Adagio 02:27
- Track
- 19
- Title
- III - Adagio
- Duration
- 02:27
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Performer
- Alessandra Pompili