Hovhaness: "Blending Eastern and Western culture"
Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000) was an American composer who wrote the large number of 467 compositions, including 67 symphonies, 22 concertos, 2 ballets and more than 100 works for chamber ensembles, and 7 operas.
Hovhaness, born Alan Vaness Chakmakjian, was the son of an Armenian chemistry teacher and a mother of Scottish descent. He began composing at an early age, reportedly from the age of four. He studied at the New England Conservatory in the 1930s; piano with Adelaide Proctor and Heinrich Gebhard, composition with Frederick Converse. In 1942 Hovhaness won a scholarship to study at Tanglewood, but left after a week of disappointment. Shortly thereafter, he came into contact with the Greek painter (he himself called him a spiritual teacher) Hermon di Giovanno, who advised him to return to his origins, in this case the liturgical music of Armenia. Because of his interest in Eastern music, philosophy and religion, Hovhaness became dissatisfied with his youth work, which he mostly destroyed. He organized an amateur orchestra and began to perform his new style of music, including such works as Celestial Fantasy, Three Armenian Rhapsodies, and the Saint Vartan Symphony.
After teaching composition at the Boston Conservatory from 1948 to 1951, he moved to New York, where he composed for radio, television, and the theater, including three scores for Martha Graham. In 1956, Leopold Stokowski, who had conducted the Symphony No. 1 "Exile" in 1942 and 1943, commissioned the Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain". Stokowski became a champion of Hovhaness and conducted many of his works in the following years.
Hovhaness, born Alan Vaness Chakmakjian, was the son of an Armenian chemistry teacher and a mother of Scottish descent. He began composing at an early age, reportedly from the age of four. He studied at the New England Conservatory in the 1930s; piano with Adelaide Proctor and Heinrich Gebhard, composition with Frederick Converse. In 1942 Hovhaness won a scholarship to study at Tanglewood, but left after a week of disappointment. Shortly thereafter, he came into contact with the Greek painter (he himself called him a spiritual teacher) Hermon di Giovanno, who advised him to return to his origins, in this case the liturgical music of Armenia. Because of his interest in Eastern music, philosophy and religion, Hovhaness became dissatisfied with his youth work, which he mostly destroyed. He organized an amateur orchestra and began to perform his new style of music, including such works as Celestial Fantasy, Three Armenian Rhapsodies, and the Saint Vartan Symphony.
After teaching composition at the Boston Conservatory from 1948 to 1951, he moved to New York, where he composed for radio, television, and the theater, including three scores for Martha Graham. In 1956, Leopold Stokowski, who had conducted the Symphony No. 1 "Exile" in 1942 and 1943, commissioned the Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain". Stokowski became a champion of Hovhaness and conducted many of his works in the following years.
[Hovhaness seen working on a manuscript, c. 1970-79]
During the summers of 1956 and 1959, Hovhaness taught composition at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, and fellow composer Howard Hanson conducted a number of his works. In 1959, Hovhaness received a Fulbright Research Scholar Grant to study music in Madras, India, where he also composed for South Indian instruments. In 1960 he went to Tokyo, where the Nippon Philharmonic performed his Symphony No. 3. In 1962, Hovhaness returned to Japan on a Rockefeller Fellowship to study the ancient Gagaku music. In Korea he studied similar ancient music.
In 1963, Andre Kostelanetz conducted many of Hovhaness' works and commissioned several, including Symphony No. 19 "Vishnu," And God Created Great Whales, and Rubaiyat. After serving as composer-in-residence with the Seattle Symphony in 1967, Hovhaness moved to Seattle in 1972 for the rest of his life. In 1983, the C.F. Peters Corporation commissioned Symphony No. 50, "Mount St. Helen's".
Alan Hovhaness has been married six times. With his first wife, Martha Mott Davis, he had his daughter and only child, Jean Nandi. His last wife, Hinako Fujihara, his muse and a coloratura soprano by profession, who lovingly cared for him until his death, was about 25 years younger.
Believing atonal music to be unnatural, Hovhaness eschewed the serialism that prevailed in intellectual musical circles and instead followed his own path. Although his music often contained dissonance, it was always within the context of (often modal) tonality. Influenced by Sibelius early in his career, Hovhaness maintained long melodic lines and transparent harmonies in his music. By the 1940s, he had absorbed his Armenian musical heritage along with Renaissance and Baroque fugues, canons, and arias; medieval and Greek modes; Byzantine polyphony; and Indian, Japanese, and Korean classical music. These many influences never obscured his own voice. He did not ignore contemporary trends, using prepared and quarter-tone piano as well as contrasting rhythms. His early experiments with aleatoric music, which he called "oriental spirit murmur," foreshadowed John Cage's fascination with chance in music. But above all, Alan Hovhaness strove to communicate beauty through his music.
Hovhaness's work has many Asian influences, not because he is the son of an Armenian, but because of his travels to India, Japan, and South Korea. The composer was deeply interested in religion and mysticism. Hovhaness was a Buddhist, which is expressed in his work through mysterious yet serene melodic lines. Hovhaness was also influenced by medieval and Renaissance music, and sometimes applied Bach's formal theory, especially his polyphony.
Hovhaness himself says that his work is mainly inspired by nature, especially the mountains. Hovhaness was not an innovative pioneer like his contemporaries Stravinsky and Schoenberg. His music is melodious and lilting in nature and was appreciated by many during his lifetime. Hovhaness's work is relatively easy to perform. Like Olivier Messiaen, Hovhaness has tried to combine the mystical and the secular, the Eastern and the Western, the ancient and the modern in his very personal music.
Hovhaness' two most recorded works, and among the most rewarding, are his Symphony No. 2 "Mysterious Mountain" op. 132, with lush, sweeping melodies like an Oriental-tinged Sibelius, and Prayer of St. Gregory for trumpet and strings (or organ) op. 62.
Symphonies
Alan Hovhaness's catalog of symphonies is numbered up to 67, but 75 is closer to the mark if suppressed early works and an unnumbered chamber symphony are included. It was Hovhaness's longevity that allowed him the time to compose so many, the last 43 of which were written after his 60th birthday. There is a parallel here with the prolific English symphonist Havergal Brian, who composed some 28 of his 32 symphonies after the same birthday.
But if we look at the number of Hovhaness's symphonies as a percentage of his total surviving output (about 500 works), we see that he did not specialize in this genre any more than other 20th-century symphonists: 67 symphonies represent about 13% of his output; compare this, for example, with Miaskovsky's twenty-seven (26%). The difference is that Hovhaness had an irreverent attitude toward contemporary notions of the modern symphony - he almost never wrote in sonata form, but for him the term "symphony" simply encompassed any multi-movement or substantial orchestral piece. His symphonic movements are not inherently different from the other music he wrote. Further evidence of Hovhaness's somewhat loose conception of the term "symphony" is that many of his symphonies acquired their designation quite arbitrarily, several years after their composition, while others are clearly solo concertos in all but name (e.g., No. 36 for flute and strings). Still other works betray a genuinely symphonic conception and yet escape the designation "symphony," such as the admirably crafted Concerto No. 7 for Orchestra.
Hovhaness's most famous symphony, the Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain," is discussed in my article "Best Symphonies of the Twentieth Century, Part Three" on this blog so I will skip it here.
Symphony No 1 "Exile" (1936)
The earliest "official" Hovhaness symphony was premiered in England in 1939 by the BBC Orchestra under Leslie Howard. The conductor heaped praise on Hovhaness, declaring his First Symphony "powerful, virile and musically very solid. It was also the work that won the composer the admiration and support of Leopold Stokowski, who introduced the symphony to the American public in 1942 and later commissioned Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain.The "Exile" of the title alludes to the plight of the many Armenians (including Hovhaness's paternal family) who were either uprooted or killed before and after World War I, and moods of both anguish and heroism permeate the outer movements. Nevertheless, the work is dedicated to the English philosopher and writer Francis Bacon, the composer's literary hero.
The original titles of the three movements were Lament, Conflict and Triumph, reflecting the plight of the exiled Armenians. In 1970, the composer replaced the central "Conflict" movement with a new Grazioso movement and retitled the outer movements with non-programmatic tempo markings, somewhat diluting the symphony's original political connotations.
It is easy to hear Oriental influences in the rich melodic arcs, and a connection to ancient civilizations in the modal tonalities. That the composer's compassion and prayers for the liberation of the persecuted were intense is perhaps most dramatically characterized in the startling fanfares, fugues and chorale of the final movement.
https://youtu.be/2ITnukC88fg?si=TBbrV-4cIIJw3pxU
Symphony No 6 "Celestial Gate" (1959)
As Lou Harrison noted, Hovhaness was "one of the greatest melodists of the 20th century," and this symphony certainly exemplifies Hovhaness' gift for beautiful melodic writing. It is not surprising, then, that after Mysterious Mountain, Celestial Gate is the most frequently recorded symphony.
The symphony is in one movement and scored for chamber orchestra. After a brief introduction setting the mood of the work, one of the main features of the piece, an extended melody of great beauty, appears on the clarinet over a viola countermelody; the string accompaniment includes scalic pizzicato motifs that come to the fore in a later dance-like section. A number of solo instruments play this material at various times throughout the symphony. There is also a fugal development of the first phase of the theme. The work, which began in the depths of the lower strings and bassoon, ends with 'floating' high tessitura con sordini violin clusters, taking the listener from our mundane world to an ethereal world of serenity, even bliss. It is as if a new dimension is revealed to us as we finally pass through the heavenly gate.
Symphony No 19 "Vishnu" (1966)
The Vishnu Symphony is one of the most original orchestral works of the 20th century and deserves to be widely known. From the unsettling low brass growl of the opening, it is clear that this is a work of astonishing invention. It is certainly his boldest work in terms of exploring the limitless sonorities afforded by his 'senza misura' aleatoric technique, which had come a very long way from the hushed pizzicato murmurs of 1944's Lousadzak. Yet the composer's facility with what he called "controlled chaos" makes it sound completely at home in this adulatory hymn to the universe, where its purpose is to portray mystery, grandeur, and cosmic energy. The aspect of the Hindu god Vishnu with which this tone poem is primarily concerned is related to his most ancient character as a sun god, depicting him as "protector and preserver of life."Originally conceived as a cosmic tone poem entitled "To Vishnu", the work is cast in one continuous movement as "an unfolding giant melody of adoration to the immensity and sublimity of limitless stellar universes". The form is completely free, consisting of a broad melodic line interrupted by preludes and interludes composed of a chaos of controlled sounds, never reaching aleatoric music. Its structure, according to its author, is inspired by the classical Japanese concept of Jo-Ha-Kyu, roughly translated as "beginning, pause, rapid", which essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, accelerate and then end quickly.
https://youtu.be/AMFjiunPyq4?si=5LKIoaFQZvMCrCte
Concertos
Hovhaness wrote 22 concertos for various solo instruments. One of the most famous is his piano concerto, Lousadzak ("Coming of Light," 1944), but as I have already introduced that in my "Best Piano Concertos of the Twentieth Century Part Two," I will skip it here.
Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra "Artik" (1948)
Composed in 1948 for Hovhanes' students at the Boston Conservatory of Music. The concerto is named after a 7th-century octagonal Armenian church with a central dome and four semi-domes. It consists of eight short movements (I. Alleluia, II. Ballata, III. Laude, IV. Canzona: To a mountain range, V. Processional, VI. Canon, VII. Aria, VIII. Intonazione) and suggests the spiritual form of a mass with long melismatic melodic lines and motet-like responses. All melodies are original.
https://youtu.be/fFrHR1H-RVs?si=vJeBjUaMqOMTaXf-
https://youtu.be/fFrHR1H-RVs?si=vJeBjUaMqOMTaXf-
Orchestral
Prayer of Saint Gregory for trumpet and strings (1946)
The Prayer of St. Gregory op. 62b, an intermezzo from the opera Etchmiadzin with the trumpet's prayer over plaintive, hymn-like strings, is a moving spiritual piece that has already become a staple of the trumpet repertoire. It is a quietly sinuous trumpet psalm over a bed of strings - an oriental extension of the Tallis fantasia.
Listen to: David Krauss with Gerard Schwarz and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra:
Listen to: David Krauss with Gerard Schwarz and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra:
Fantasy on Japanese Wood Prints, for xylophone and orchestra (1964)
This is one of the better known works resulting from Hovhaness's contact with Japan and its culture. A single-movement concerto for xylophone, Hovhaness uses Western instruments in unconventional ways to create impressions of traditional Japanese instrumental techniques. In addition, his melodies are heavily influenced by the modalities found in traditional Japanese music. Hovhaness did not attempt to create a direct musical equivalent of ukiyo-e prints, but rather intended this piece to be a reflection of the delicacy, charm, and vitality characteristic of Japanese printmaking, as well as a reflection of his own love for Japan.
Listen to Unites States Marine Band with SSgt Gerald Novak, xylophone soloist:
Listen to Unites States Marine Band with SSgt Gerald Novak, xylophone soloist:
Mountains and Rivers Without End (1968)
And God Created Great Whales, for taped whale sounds and orchestra (1970)
One of Hovhaness's most famous works, mixing the taped sounds of the "song" of various whale species with a mystical score evoking the wash and depth of an imagined eastern sea. There are some conceptual parallels here with the taped birdsong in Einojuhani Rautavaara's Cantus Arcticus. This is a powerful amalgam and is made extremely moving by the counterpoint between the whale song and Hovhaness's inspired music. It contains one of Hovhaness's most inspired melodies towards the end.Listen to: YOSA Philharmonic, Troy Peters, Music Director:
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam for speaker, accordion, and orchestra (1975)
In The Rubaiyat, a narrator intones stanzas from the Fitzgerald translation while the orchestra provides an oriental background that enhances the poems. Hovhaness, with his fascination for Eastern music and motifs, brings joy to a reading of Khayyam's poetry. An accordion is used in the orchestra, making truly beautiful and exotic sounds. You will never find a better contrast between what most people think of when they hear the words "accordion music" and what is heard here. Hovhaness does an admirable job of capturing the poetry's mixture of youthful exuberance coupled with the inevitability of mortality.
https://youtu.be/FeDwYOni_eQ?si=BDYefisxAe791UCo
https://youtu.be/FeDwYOni_eQ?si=BDYefisxAe791UCo
Chamber
String Quartet No 1 "Jupiter" (1936)
Among the highlights of Hovhaness's chamber music output is his String Quartet No. 1 "Jupiter" op. 8, an early and lush work. Interestingly, Hovhaness's quartets were written to be played in his home with his friends. Even in the quartets, Hovhaness' music inhabits a distinctive sound world, with strong, simple, modal harmonies mixed with elements from the composer's Armenian heritage and the Far East. But Hovhaness also loved the music of Bach, as evidenced by his heavy use of fugues here. In other words, Hovhaness' contrapuntal skills are very much on display in this first quartet. The opening "Prelude" and the second movement (an impressive quadruple fugue) were reworked for full orchestra in the 1950s into the popular Prelude and Quadruple Fugue. The prelude has a jaunty, interesting oriental-sounding melody, while the second movement is stylistically more strictly fugal, before a zigzagging theme builds to an urgent and busy conclusion. The slow 3rd movement is tenderly elegiac. The work concludes with a lively fugal finale that is also used in the second movement of the Mysterious Mountain Symphony.
https://youtu.be/3nMsyIniZfk?si=Hzbpwai6eoI90w_G
https://youtu.be/3nMsyIniZfk?si=Hzbpwai6eoI90w_G
Sonata for ryuteki and sho (flute and organ, 1968)
As the title suggests, this sonata is Japanese in inspiration, the result of Hovhaness's study of Japanese court music called gagaku (which itself originated in China in the 8th century). The ryuteki (literally "dragon flute") is a Japanese transverse flute (fue) made of bamboo. It is one of the three types of flutes used in gagaku. The sound of the ryuteki is said to represent dragons ascending into the sky. The sho is a free-reed instrument descended from the Chinese sheng of the Tang Dynasty, although the sho tends to be smaller than its contemporary sheng relatives. It consists of 17 slender bamboo pipes, each with a metal-free reed attached to its base. Two of the pipes are silent, although research suggests that they were used in some music during the Heian period. It is speculated that they were kept as part of the instrument to maintain the symmetrical shape. The sound of the instrument is said to imitate the call of a phoenix. Inspired by these exotic instruments, Hovhaness subjects their modern Western counterparts to a unique treatment: in the five short movements, the organ plays only chordal clusters in the upper register, while the flute is given melodic lines influenced by Japanese gagaku modes.
https://youtu.be/GqVRQ_hqwFU?si=0LP8v_4nygPhzTIp
https://youtu.be/GqVRQ_hqwFU?si=0LP8v_4nygPhzTIp
Piano
Fred the Cat (piano sonata) (1977)
The Sonata "Fred the Cat" was written for music writer Jurgen Gothe, who commissioned the work after the death of his pet. Hovhaness happens to be another cat lover who has written other pieces influenced by cats. The sonata is a heartfelt work that again dissects the oriental accented and the hymn-like. The first movement, "Give a cat a twig and he takes a tree," is very lyrical and in ABA form. There are also many rhythmic ostinatos. The second movement, "Purr Dance," is a short and lively movement in AB form: Part A is in the style of Armenian dance music and Part B is a short jhala, Indian bell-like music. The third movement, "Fred the Cat and Distant Mountain," is also in AB form: the A section contains hymn-like material, and the B section is choral, with a bass part that moves in steps. The whole movement is religious in spirit. The final movement, "Fred the Cat flies to heaven," is in ABA form and features expressive melodic lines in the right hand against rhythmic ostinati in the left. All of the melodic phrases have a Far Eastern flavor. At the same time, this movement is reminiscent of sentimental folk art.