Customer Reviews

Into The Light: Symphonic Expressions Of The Spirit

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I bought this album for Thomas Canning's "Hymn" after hearing the piece in the play "Worksong: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright". During the show, it was used in such a haunting fashion that listening to it along with the on stage action was enough to bring shivers to your body and goosebumps to your skin. It's one of my favorite classical pieces of music...

I'm only reviewing the track which pertains to the performance of Hovhaness' "Mysterious Mountain" symphony on this CD.

This performance is very tight and nicely balanced. Unfortunately, this work (which was Hovhaness' Magnum opus) lends itself best to thinking outside the box. For a notably superior "Mysterious Mountain," (in terms of an artful rendition) you'll find this memorable performance and recording to be the most articulate of them all: Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain.

Still, Conductor Lopez-Cobos has his great moments in this instance, chiefly towards the conclusion of the work which is the most emotive that I've heard to date. And the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra was at its best on this one as well. So I can still heartily recommend Lopez-Cobos' worthy version of this terrific composition.

I'm a huge fan of the late Alan Hovhaness and if you enjoy "Mysterious Mountain" then you'll almost certainly savor this one, (in spite of the horrific slime green cover!): Music of Alan Hovhaness: Saint Vartan Symphony; Artik.