Reflecting Alan Hovhaness' extremely varied oeuvre, this 2005 Delos compilation presents six works in as many media, and makes the listener pay close attention to the track listing and credits. The Symphony No. 29, arranged for trombone and band, Op. 289, gives the fullest account of Hovhaness' mildly atmospheric harmonies and melodically fluid style, a mixture of late Romantic tone-painting, Western hymnody, and Eastern mysticism that runs throughout the work in a somber ecumenical procession. The solemn intonations of ...
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Reflecting Alan Hovhaness' extremely varied oeuvre, this 2005 Delos compilation presents six works in as many media, and makes the listener pay close attention to the track listing and credits. The Symphony No. 29, arranged for trombone and band, Op. 289, gives the fullest account of Hovhaness' mildly atmospheric harmonies and melodically fluid style, a mixture of late Romantic tone-painting, Western hymnody, and Eastern mysticism that runs throughout the work in a somber ecumenical procession. The solemn intonations of trombonist Christian Lindberg and the organ-like sonorities of the Ohio State University Concert Band, under Keith Brion, fully convey Hovhaness' devotional intentions. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Op. 282, warmly recited by actor Michael York and sensuously played by accordionist Diane Schmidt, conductor Gerard Schwarz, and the Seattle Symphony, is more pointedly exotic and theatrical; the success of the piece depends more on the narrator's delivery, though, than on the music, which...
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