Customer Reviews

Mysterious Mountain

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Alan Hovhaness was the first composer where I heard his music and I thought, here are sounds put together I had never heard before. Often a mixture of Asian or Mid-eastern sounds, fused with forms from the Baroque Era (a feature on this disk), his music is truly unique.

Alan Hovhaness' "Mysterious Mountain" Symphony No. 2 premiered in the 1950's and still captivates audiences today. He uses techniques from the past, but also uses modern chord progressions, not to mention exotic modes of far-away cultures. To today's ears, the music almost sounds cinematic, or could be confused as. The theme is an imaginary mountain that is conjured in each of our minds, whether real or fantastical. The grandeur opens the work in the first movement with heavily divided strings in a chorale setting, but a unique one that moves to tonally interesting chords. While the chorale continues, an "out-of-tune" walking bass invades the interesting string harmonies, almost playing in a key of its own. Eventually the harp and celeste have their say, with flourishes of unknown modes not related to the string chorale. It is a very interesting sound that captivates me when I listen. The brisk second movement is a double fugue, with a long, almost chant-like, pentatonic, melody, which when harmonized, is reminiscent of Bach and the Baroque Era, with minor clashes of dissonance. After a skippy little string motive is started, a fugue is begun. Eventually, the two themes overlap to create the double fugue. The last movement is also chorale-like, but highly rhythmical, but eventually the techniques from the first movement invade, and a brilliant chorale ends the work. A charming 17-minute symphony, conjures so many personal images, yet the sound is entirely new. A historical and interesting work.

Three neo-Baroque works fill up much of this disk, usually based on forms that Bach used, most often the fugue. The Prelude and Quadruple Fugue was composed at the request of the American composer Roy Harris as a dare. Hovhaness writes an almost mid-Eastern flavored Prelude, and a jaunty lilting fugal section. Alleluia and Fugue, like other pieces on this disk, employs the older form with modern sounds. There is a definite sadness to this melody, certainly an impassioned forlornness. He mixes fugue with chorale statements, of which, the chords almost have a medieval quality. Celestial Fantasy is also a fugue, beginning with a rather troubled theme first stated by the cellos. A throwback to the Baroque again, Hovhaness creatively makes these pieces thoroughly 20th century works.

The Prayer of Saint Gregory for string orchestra and solo trumpet is standard trumpet literature today. Haunting and prayerful, Hovhaness exceeds in the spiritual sounds. And God Created Great Whales uses some aleatoric and electronic devices to show the beauty and chaos of nature. An almost Asian pentatonic melody opens the work, but trembling strings along with recorded whales, thrusts the listeners into the deeps of the Earth. An exultant exclamation of the opening motive with bells follows, and great sliding brass and strings giving an uneasy feeling, which lead to more taped whales. Another masterpiece of orchestral literature, this is a totally different Hovhaness than the rest of the disk, but his inventiveness makes it a success.

The Seattle Symphony on this Delos offering, play with luxurious warmth, allowing the listener to be bathed in sound. Gerard Schwarz has led world-wide releases of little-known American composers, and this recording still remains the one to have of Hovhaness' most famous works. A mixture of old world traditions, folk elements, and unique modern ideas, this is a great disk to try out something new. Along with Delos' release of Hovhaness' Symphony No. 22 "City of Light" and Symphony No. 50 "Mount Saint Helen's", there is plenty to experience of this American composer.

Hovhaness' compositions create a whirilwind of pictures in the mind of his listeners. As the sounds enchant you the mood strikes out images of Pacific Northwest, Humpback Whales, a crystal night of stars, and one mountain shrouded in enigma.

It is almost like hearing a Monet painting. Many sounds that create a melodious blur adding up to a beautiufl musical landscape. What Monet did for French gardens, Hovhaness does for the North Pacific sea life! Hovhaness paints scenic symphonies dotted with flections of color and mood.

I highly recomend this album to anyone in search of beautiful symphonic sound pictures!

The rendition of the "Mysterious Mountain" symphony is excellent. But a work, new to me, "The Prayer of St. Gregory" is my favorite on this CD. This CD is Hovhaness at his best.

Alan Hovhaness has long been a favorite fro concertgoers and now Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony Orchestra bring us one of the most thrilling performances right to our home. The CD begins with Mysterious Mountain which is a piece that has tone colors and orchestral flavor that only Hovhaness could have created. As you listen to this piece, you can almost invision these great mountain climbing into the sky; a boundless mass of strength and glory. The other piece that sticks out on this CD is "And God Created Great Whales." The work begins with the string section; quiet and unoticed as it gathers strength. The music builds and the addition of real whale sounds make the work an exceptional listening experience. The work ends with a final crash as though a whale has just dived into the water.

American composer Walter Piston once said:
"The best way to serve the American cause
in music is to remain true to a personal
style instead of trying to figure out formulas
for'Americanisms'".Alan Hovhaness does just that,
he remains true to his very personal and original
musical style, like no other composer in the
20th century. His music is tonal, he uses polyphony
in some works.His works evoke a very spiritual
world and his music is tonal; "Atonality goes against
nature" the composer once said.
If you are not familiar with the music
of Hovhaness, this is a good time
to start listening to his works...

Like other reviewers here, I flipped on the radio one night & caught the tail-end of "Mysterious Mountain" and was thunderstruck by the beauty pouring out of my speakers. I strained to catch the name of the composition and the composer: Alan Hovhaness...Mysterious Mountain. That night was a revelation to me and the beginning of my explorations into the musical realm of Mr. Hovhaness. Several CD's later, I still return to this one. All of the selections here are wonderful with the possible exception of the composition, "And God Created The Great Whales"... I have never been able to latch onto that one, but that is just me. Otherwise, this CD is absolutely superb; the music is richly textured and satisfying. Highly recommended.

Boy, it's amazing how different sets of ears hear things differently! I was just musing on the purity of sound that the Seattle strings are able to produce on this disc, nimble and without the heaviness that some more famous string bodies under certain conductors (say, Philadelphia under Ormandy or Sawallisch) would proffer. And I was further thinking that Delos' clean, clear recording was a big help, especially in the "Prayer to Saint Anthony," where the lonely sound of solo trumpet is etched against the accompanying strings. Then I read the comments by others on this page and am amazed to read that some think the sound on this disc "tinny...muddy." Obviously, I don't agree.

As to the performances, Schwarz seems to me a master Hovhaness interpreter, as other performances from Seattle and elsewhere have proved. I, too, recall the classic recording of "Mysterious Mountain" with Reiner, and I think Schwarz yields nothing to Reiner in terms of depth of feeling or any other musical criteria. Schwarz's is a lovely performance, with all the required mystery and majesty of this seminal piece intact.

In other hands than Hovhaness's, "God Created Great Whales" could have emerged as a one-trick pony of a piece. I happen to think that Rautavaara's "Cantus Arcticus," mentioned by at least one other reviewer, comes far closer to this downfall. I find that Rautavaara's music is no more or less interesting than, nor does it shed special light on, the recorded bird sounds in his piece. As you can guess, I'm not a great admirer of the Finnish composer. But Hovhaness manages to mirror the sounds of the whales, in both the strings and brass (hard feat!) in such a way that we come to appreciate the remarkable communicativeness of these great beasts of the sea. At least I do. Plus, the technique that Hovhaness employs--a rare foray into aleatory music--is in the service of the work's program: the emergence of the earth from primordial chaos.

Of the other pieces on this disc, I find "Prelude and Quadruple Fugue" the most memorable. A dry, pedantic name perhaps, but not a dry piece: the fugue manages to be both very traditional and very modern, which is true of Hovhaness's best music. As I say, Schwarz, Seattle, and Delos all do Hovhaness full justice on this CD.

Alan Hovhaness is probably one of the most underrated, unappreciated composers this country has ever produced. How unappreciated? I've been a passionate lover of classical music for fifteen years, took a few courses in my undergrad years on music theory and the history of music in the West, have been a season ticket holder in more than one city's philharmonic/orchestras, and it was not until about five years ago that I heard of Hovhaness--and even then it was only because I so happen to listen to his Symphony No. 2 (`Mysterious Mountain') on a local public radio station during classical music hour.

The first time I heard `Mysterious Mountain,' I almost mistook it for Dvorak or Smetana. Hovhaness might have lived in the 20th century, but his compositional approach and philosophy was very much in the mold of the 19th century romantics. It is grandiose in style, haunting and yet beautifully majestic in sound, and it never ceases to amaze me every time I listen to it.

The remaining pieces of music, particularly the Prayer of St. Gregory and Alleluia and Fugue, betray Hovhaness's earlier work as a composer of music (and organist) for the Armenian Church. It surprises me still that more of his music is not played, although he is best known for Mysterious Mountain (a symphony that was composed and premiered in 1955). This CD itself is an excellent addition to any classical music collection and a must for anyone wanting to discover more about American composers.

In many ways Hovhaness' music is what America is all about. It has a certain confidence that is uniquely American, yet it isn't a brash or proud confidence, it is just one that is self assured. However, it is also somewhat eastern in color. Hovhaness is of Armenian ancestry and the more mystical Armenian outlook on life is present in the music too. It's equal parts new world and old world.

Hovhaness' music is majestic, and sweeping. "Symphony no. 2" (Mysterious Mountain) sounds much more like the tonal music of today than it sounds like it emerged from the 50s. I think many film composers have taken a page or two from Hovhaness. His music is very emotional and direct.

"Prayer for St. Gregory" ranks up there for me as one of the greatest short pieces of music ever written (it clocks in under 5 minutes.) It can walk shoulder to shoulder with pieces like Arvo Part's "Silouan's Song" and "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten." The solo trumpet is truly remniscent of prayer. One can hear a voice calling for strength and direction and for mercy. Truly beautiful music.

There are several other short works on this CD, but I'm only going to mention one more, "And God Created Great Whales." You can hear the churning of the ocean as the whale emerges from the water and crashes back into the ocean. Music truly befitting the grandeur of the earth's biggest animal. Hovhaness incorporates taped whale calls into the piece. It's not nearly as modernistic as it sounds and anyone that enjoys Rautavaara's "Cantus Articus (Concerto for Birds)" would probably enjoy this as well.

This is a brilliant work combining the compositional artistry of Alan Hovhaness with the music from the orchestra of the sea, the great whales themselves. To be listened to over and over again as there are always some new nuances that won't have been heard on previous visits.