Naxos
Hovhaness: Symphonies No 7, 14, 23 / Brion, Trinity College Wind Orchestra
$19.99
Details
- Composer
- HOVHANESS, ALAN
- Artist
- Brion
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Naxos
- Released
- May 25, 2010
- Catalog #
- 8559385
- UPC
- 636943938522
About
Admirers of the composer need not hesitate.
An hour’s worth of Hovhaness in ‘wind band plus percussion symphonic garb’ is the raison d’être of this Naxos release. It bears all his most obvious hallmarks, sometimes starkly: vistas, intense tattoos, hieratic brass, convulsive dialogues, chimes, noble perorations, edifices of almost Mayan splendour.
The Seventh Symphony dates from 1959. The purity of its rhythmic percussion tattoos and the hieratic nature of its brass calls give one an idea of the processional intensity of its dramaturgy. The loquacity of his wind writing implies a raft of interior monologues. The writing becomes more concentrated in the central movement where Hovhaness ensures themes are less fragmentary and by the finale things have turned positively Olympian. The percussion is now subservient to the to the brass calls, themselves more legato and ushering in a sunset glow, and a cooling, reflective consonance.
The following year he wrote Ararat, Symphony No.14. It makes much of ‘dragon fly’ sonorities, bright trumpets and glittering percussion once again but adds a further percussive layer via bell chimes and a buzzy series of terraced sonorities – dramatic, florid, and ground shaking in the central movement. The percussion starts up immediately in the finale but is gradually worn down by the sheer pugilistic insistence of the conquering brass.
The final symphony of the three is written on a much broader canvas than these two quarter of an hour works. But it too is a powerful construction, its chattering winds and terse declamation capturing the ear with great trenchancy. Drunken lowering lower brass add a leering patina as well, as do the aero engine and gamelan evocations. The finale is a wonderful example of nobility and processional tread with repeated figures passed from brass to wind adding a layer of sonic depth. We feel as if some vast castle is being evoked, as the brass calls resound from battlement to crenellation; Gormenghast in music.
Keith Brion has a long track-record with Hovhaness and he directs his forces with great vitality and precision. This splendid disc has been excellently engineered and admirers of the composer need not hesitate.
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These three symphonies for wind orchestra treat some recurring themes in Alan Hovhaness' work: mountains (Symphonies Nos. 7 and 14) and his Armenian heritage (Symphony No. 23, evocative of the medieval city of Ani, "The City of A Thousand and One Cathedrals"). The later work is by far the most substantial, but all of them constitute worthy additions to the repertoire for winds and percussion. They are very well played here by the Trinity College ensemble under Keith Brion, who has lived with this music for many decades. Perhaps the English horn soloist in "Sunset", the last movement of Symphony No. 7, is a touch "quacky", but this and any other criticisms would be mere quibbles. The brass play with confidence and the sort of imposing serenity that Hovhaness so often requires, while the drums, bells, and tam-tam punctuate the texture atmospherically. Sonics are very fine, and the entire production is dedicated touchingly to the memory of Lady Evelyn Barbirolli (d. 2008), who some readers may recall was a noted oboist in her day. Recommended to fans of the composer, and of good music for concert band.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
An hour’s worth of Hovhaness in ‘wind band plus percussion symphonic garb’ is the raison d’être of this Naxos release. It bears all his most obvious hallmarks, sometimes starkly: vistas, intense tattoos, hieratic brass, convulsive dialogues, chimes, noble perorations, edifices of almost Mayan splendour.
The Seventh Symphony dates from 1959. The purity of its rhythmic percussion tattoos and the hieratic nature of its brass calls give one an idea of the processional intensity of its dramaturgy. The loquacity of his wind writing implies a raft of interior monologues. The writing becomes more concentrated in the central movement where Hovhaness ensures themes are less fragmentary and by the finale things have turned positively Olympian. The percussion is now subservient to the to the brass calls, themselves more legato and ushering in a sunset glow, and a cooling, reflective consonance.
The following year he wrote Ararat, Symphony No.14. It makes much of ‘dragon fly’ sonorities, bright trumpets and glittering percussion once again but adds a further percussive layer via bell chimes and a buzzy series of terraced sonorities – dramatic, florid, and ground shaking in the central movement. The percussion starts up immediately in the finale but is gradually worn down by the sheer pugilistic insistence of the conquering brass.
The final symphony of the three is written on a much broader canvas than these two quarter of an hour works. But it too is a powerful construction, its chattering winds and terse declamation capturing the ear with great trenchancy. Drunken lowering lower brass add a leering patina as well, as do the aero engine and gamelan evocations. The finale is a wonderful example of nobility and processional tread with repeated figures passed from brass to wind adding a layer of sonic depth. We feel as if some vast castle is being evoked, as the brass calls resound from battlement to crenellation; Gormenghast in music.
Keith Brion has a long track-record with Hovhaness and he directs his forces with great vitality and precision. This splendid disc has been excellently engineered and admirers of the composer need not hesitate.
-- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These three symphonies for wind orchestra treat some recurring themes in Alan Hovhaness' work: mountains (Symphonies Nos. 7 and 14) and his Armenian heritage (Symphony No. 23, evocative of the medieval city of Ani, "The City of A Thousand and One Cathedrals"). The later work is by far the most substantial, but all of them constitute worthy additions to the repertoire for winds and percussion. They are very well played here by the Trinity College ensemble under Keith Brion, who has lived with this music for many decades. Perhaps the English horn soloist in "Sunset", the last movement of Symphony No. 7, is a touch "quacky", but this and any other criticisms would be mere quibbles. The brass play with confidence and the sort of imposing serenity that Hovhaness so often requires, while the drums, bells, and tam-tam punctuate the texture atmospherically. Sonics are very fine, and the entire production is dedicated touchingly to the memory of Lady Evelyn Barbirolli (d. 2008), who some readers may recall was a noted oboist in her day. Recommended to fans of the composer, and of good music for concert band.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Tracklist 9 tracks
-
1 I. Con ferocita 05:43
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Con ferocita
- Duration
- 05:43
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
2 II. March (in isorhythmic form) 03:40
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. March (in isorhythmic form)
- Duration
- 03:40
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
3 III. Sunset 04:47
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Sunset
- Duration
- 04:47
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
4 I. — 07:06
- Track
- 4
- Title
- I. —
- Duration
- 07:06
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
5 II. — 04:13
- Track
- 5
- Title
- II. —
- Duration
- 04:13
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
6 III. — 03:03
- Track
- 6
- Title
- III. —
- Duration
- 03:03
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
7 I. Adagio legato espressivo 10:51
- Track
- 7
- Title
- I. Adagio legato espressivo
- Duration
- 10:51
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
8 II. Allegro grazioso 07:01
- Track
- 8
- Title
- II. Allegro grazioso
- Duration
- 07:01
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion
-
9 III. Adagio con molta espressione 16:19
- Track
- 9
- Title
- III. Adagio con molta espressione
- Duration
- 16:19
- Composer
- Alan Hovhaness
- Ensemble
- Trinity College of Music Wind Orchestra
- Conductor
- Keith Brion