Customer Reviews

Williams: The Five Sacred Trees (Bassoon Concerto) / Takemitsu: Tree Line / Hovhaness: Symphony No. 2, Op. 132 "Mysterious Mountain" / Picker: Old and Lost Rivers

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

 

 

Williams, although best known for his film music, shows himself once again to be a great classical composer and conductor. The most attention goes of course to the bassoon concerto of Williams. This is an excellent impressionistic piece with some very moving and some very arrousing melodies. It starts with a lamenting solo for the bassoon that promisses the listener a very good use of the bassoon's lyrical qualities. The second part is a very lively, celtic-like dance in which the major parts are for the violin and the bassoon. The third part is a very gentle almost medieval solo-melody for bassoon accompanied by harp. The fourth movement resembles Williams film music the most. Think of the "mysterious movements in the undergrowth" kind of music Williams wrote for Jurassic Parc. Without pase the fifth movement follows which is again a more contemplation of the bassoon which uses features from the first movement. Judith LeClair's performance of this technically difficult piece is impeccable. The Five Sacred Trees is followed by a very moody piece of Toru Takemitsu. Although undoubtedly not a bad composition or performance, this is not music that I find very interesting. It's too unsubstantial and unmelodic for me. The fact that this piece is incuded on this CD is the only reason for four and not five stars. The symphony of Hovhaness is really breathtaking. From the first few bars of the first movement, the tone for the entire symphony is set. Williams performs this piece with great tenderness. But for me, the real surprise was the last piece: Old and Lost Rivers from Tobias Picker. Picker is not very well-known outside the U.S., which is really a shame. This piece of Picker is absolutely the most beautiful work of this CD and one of the most beatiful pieces I've come across in recent years. It's a tonal with no real melody but continually recurring chords. It knows few climaxes but is gentle and tender. Williams performance, though rather on the fast side, is very well balanced and with a clear vision of the piece. Over all, I find this a very satisfactory CD which offers a very well balanced (except for Takemitsu) and pleasing compilation of contemporary pieces.

This disc contains great performances of some of the finest examples of sheer beauty in 20th century music that I've heard in some time - in a recording of exceptional quality. It's a wonderful opportunity for those who equate `20th century music' with `cacophony' and `discord' to experience how incredibly beautiful it can be. I discovered it while browsing - the Ansel Adams cover photography caught my eye, which then widened when I saw the bassoon reference prominently displayed (one of my favorite instruments).

The title piece, a concerto for bassoon and orchestra by John Williams, takes up roughly half the disc. The five-movement composition is an homage to the majestic and sacred qualities of trees. Williams says he wrote the concerto with the bassoon in mind, believing it to be `haunted' by `the spirit of the tree from which it is made'. Utilizing Celtic imagery and titles, each of the five movements evokes one of the legendary trees featured in the mythology of that ancient culture. The mood and tone of each section reflects the characteristics attributed to those trees: the sturdiness of the oak; Tortan, the mythical tree associated with witchcraft; the yew, symbol of destruction and creation; the ash, symbolic of strife; and Dathi, the tree-muse of poets and the last tree to fall in the mythological Celtic forest, appropriately placed at the end of the program. Williams translates his reverence for the forest into his music skillfully and with great feeling, and the performance by Judith LeClair and the LSO complement his vision perfectly, bringing the `personality' of each of the movements to life with sensitivity and passion.

Toru Takemitsu has long been one of my favourite modern composers - I discovered his work back in the 1970s, and I soon learned that I could count on the intelligence and quality his music. It has never failed to both challenge and reward me. Listening to the work included here, `Tree line', I'm amazed at the complexity and delicacy represented in this short (under ten minutes) example of his work - I've often compared his compositions to the work of traditional Japanese brush artists, whose works achieve so much with apparently so few strokes. The beauty of the haiku form of poetry also comes to mind. Takemitsu was a master at combining the ancient spirituality and traditions of Japan with modern classical music.

I haven't heard much by Alan Hovhaness - an oversight I plan to correct. The piece which represents this composer here, his Symphony no. 2 (`Mysterious mountain') is, I'm told by a friend who is well-schooled in classical music, one of his most widely appreciated. An American composer who pioneered the `fusion' of western and eastern ideas and traditions, his writing as showcased here is breathtakingly beautiful - I was especially taken with the layers-upon-layers sound of the strings. The notes here indicate that this piece was intended to pay homage to the great American landscape painters of the 19th century Hudson River School - and it evokes the images they captured on canvas beautifully.

The last piece on the CD is `Old and lost rivers' by Tobias Picker - another composer with whose work I am sadly unfamiliar. The shortest work on the album (under five minutes), it's a masterful exercise in tranquility and beauty. It certainly makes me want to seek out more compositions by Picker.

The four pieces presented here go together perfectly in theme and mood - and the recording is of stellar quality, made crystal clear through the full digital recording process, which utilizes the 20-bit technology. The notes are informative and well-written, and the graphics are appropriate and lovely. It's a wonderful package for multiple senses.

A little known fact about legendary conductor and composer, John Williams of the Boston Pops, is that he also composes many concert pieces. It's no wonder that this new piece has recieved so much crtitical acclaim in its first appearance in 1995. This recording features wonderful moments with Ms. LeClair and the London Symphony Orchestra. This music is as good as, if not better, than many of his film scores.... an excellent buy for fans of classical music or his film music.

For those moments of reverie, escape form the frenetic pace of the world in which we live and run, for those times when space form all that is needed this stunning album of music is a must. John Williams conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in his own work as well as works by Takemitsu, Hovhaness, and Picker that at first ground us to the memory of what truly counts in life and proceeds to lift the soul out of the state of pixelation and return it to the realm of nature, the place where all things relate.

John Williams' own Concerto for bassoon & orchestra "The five sacred trees" occupies the greater part of this CD and while it may not be great classical music, it is hauntingly moody, and quite simply beautiful music. Judith LeClair plays the solo parts with exceptional balance and technical aplomb. In keeping with the concept of musically painting trees, Williams programs 'Tree Line, for chamber orchestra' by Toru Takemitsu and once again we can readily relate to this gifted composer's union with nature.

Alan Hohvaness' Symphony No.2 (better known simply as 'Mysterious Mountain') enjoys more exposure than his other works and for good reason. His chordal structure pulses his work with grandeur as well as simplicity and of the current recordings available of this work, Williams enters the arena of the fine ones.

For this listener the joy of the CD is the Tobias Picker 'Old and Lost Rivers for orchestra', a wholly tonal composition of spare beauty and superb writing. Though short, this work transports with its ability to conjure images relevant to everyone's past. It is a wondrous work. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, October 06

First of all, I must confess that I noticed this album just because I found it at an incredible low price! Then, I noticed that the cover artwork was quite interesting too (forgive me, but being a designer I am an extremely visual person)! Then, I found that it had something by Takemitsu (whose work I really like)!...So, I decided to give it a try! When I got home and listened to it, I realized what a great album this really is! What a nice surprise!!!

Williams' bassoon concerto ("The Five Sacred Trees") is a very nice work! It sounds absolutely different from his film music! Don't expect any "Star Wars" or "Jaws" theme to pop up! Oh, and the soloist (Judith LeClair) plays beautifully!!!

Takemitsu's "Tree Line" is quite nice too, just as I was expecting it to be! But, the real surprises here were the gorgeous Second Symphony by Hovhaness and "Old and Lost Rivers" by Tobias Picker!!! I was curious about these two composers, and now I'm quite delighted to have finally been able to listen to their work!

This album has a very atmospheric, ethereal and somehow mystical feel about it! It is relaxing without being boring, it is modern without being difficult to listen to, it is surprising without being weird! This is a great album indeed!!!

Caught "Old and Lost Rivers" the other day for the first time on the radio and I immediately fell in love with the piece. I went ahead and picked up this CD this weekend and, it was even more moving than the first time I heard "Old and Lost Rivers" the other day on the radio. I cannot get over how little we've heard of Tobias Picker! If he cranked out more like this, he could have easily been the next Copeland. At any rate, even the most stout hearted person will give way to tears at the touching, yet uplifting melody of "Rivers". I guess what made it even more touching was the fact that lately I have been trying to reach out to this girl in Montreal who has HIV and was emotionally negleted and possibly sexually abused when growing up. Thinking of this, along with listening to the tear-jerking melody of "Rivers", I'm not to proud to admit that I cried a whole lot of "old and lost rivers". It has to be the most saddening piece I have heard next to Samuel Barber's "Adagio". Anyway, I highly recommend this CD to anyone with an ear for touching, yet inspiring music. Well worth your time and money.

Williams is profound composer of our time. Here, outside of his normal mode of soundtrack, Williams excels. His composition to the Five Trees is diverse, high arching, swaying sounds concentrated in a double-reed instrument which holds its very essence from trees, cane and maple, et al.

These five contrasts surround profound,passionate bassoon playing of Judith LeClair. Especially fond of opening "Eo Mugna" and harp featured "Eo Rossa."

In Takemitsu's "Tree Line" we have colorstudded musical idiom intermingled with Oriental and Debussy like shinings. While some reviewers are not encanted with this style, its shimmerings and stylistics tone patches capture this reviewers ear. I enjoy this.

Hovhaness excels in sublime aura sound, much what feeling of mountains provide, stark, reaching, soaring, echoing. I liked this offering very much, well done under Williams by the London Symphony Orchestra. Especially grandeur is tymp playing, which is so controlled, and creates sublimity. His use of oboe is exquisite on opening Adante..grandeur and majesty that opens up and envelopes one upon first viewing mountain rising up before one's field of vision.

"Old and Lost Rivers" images flows and tributaries and ebb/flow, gushing to the drought. From urbania to bayous to the oceans, this hydrophonic composition exhibits tranquility and dynamicism of the very fabric of life.

This is magnificent combining of 20th C. composers around natural theme. Most enjoyable and recommended. Easy to listen and be moved by its twists and rivulets.

Unlike most CDs I have listened to recently, this proceeds from the least accessible music to the most accessible. It starts with some rather abstruse Williams music and then proceeds in stages to some very accessible works.

I have listened to this a number of times and have yet to be really captivated by the Williams suite. As it has been wrapped in a layer of mysticism, I think it is fair to say that it is rather weak thematically. As a talented film composer, Williams certainly knows how to create atmosphere, and there is plenty of it here. But apart from the odd melodic line and the occasional homage to some well-known works (Sorcerer's Apprentice, for one) the overall impression is of a sandwich with no filling, or perhaps just of leftover remnants from film scores. This does not seem to be John Williams playing to his strengths. The suite does however set the listener up very nicely for the next piece.

The Takemitsu piece seems to be a great precis of whatever John Williams was trying to say, minus the clutter. It challenges the listener, while also keeping his or her attention. A very pleasant surprise as I was expecting the rest of the CD to be filler.

The conventional forms of the Hovhaness symphony come as a very welcome respite after all the atonality and discordance of the earlier works. Rich and expansive, it is a joy to listen to.

The final nostalgic Picker piece is the most accessible. Once again lush and expansive, probably playing to the strengths of the LSO. This ending music feels worlds apart from the starting music.

I would have given this CD 5 stars based on the extra pieces, however I felt the John Williams music itself deserved 3 stars at best. Apart from the music, everything else about this CD is first-rate, although they do bury the track listings in the insert (meaning that you will forever be digging it out to find out what you are listening to).

Buy it, the price is very reasonable for a recording of quality such as this.

Along with his violin concerto, I reckon this is JW's very best work. Words fail me when trying to describe the merits of this music. I'd soon run out of superlatives. Don't be put off by the term "serious music". Its actually very accessible listening. However, that doesn't mean that it sounds like JW's film music either. It doesn't. Its fifty times better!
Also, I really enjoy the Hovhaness symphony. Its not a great piece of music. But its a nice relaxing listen.

After the third listen, this album is becoming a favorite. Though just short of audiophile quality, the production is still easy on the ears. This would be a perfect 5 if the overall sound was a bit warmer. The performance is inspiring and the compositions are gems of modern accessible sonic pleasure. If you are a John Williams fan and a bassoon player, this album is a must-have. For the rest of you, the album provides plenty of sublime orchestral coloring and a wide variety of compositional emotions.

As for the Hovhaness, It was interesting to compare this recording to the 2003 Telarc recording with Gerard Schwartz conducting. The production has that added warmth (possibly due to 7 years of advancement in digital recording). As for the performance, Schwartz conducts with more stately tempos which evoke the title of the work. Williams' style is marked by some interesting dynamic interpretations, especially in the second movement.

Over all,this is a truly remarkable album. Highly recommended.