Alan Hovhaness * Sinfonia n. 39 op. 321

[@batistacostapiano]

Hovhaness music is awesome, spiritual and introspective, everything we need in these days of chaos!

[@dorianmclean6755]

I am listening to him for days .... Performed Mysterious Mountain I think....w/ Sacramento symphony Echos of it have come often When I see ....beauty

[@henryomeara9701]

Raises Our Consciousness to Highest Moral Altitude! Hail Hovaness! Thanks for this Artistic Perfection! God Bless!

[@lejayarielle3877]

What a beautiful acoustic recording. Everything is beautiful in this video. Respectfully. +ArmoniaRecondita

[@StephenAku]

Dear soulful Alan, thank you again...and again

[@allisonsingh4728]

I love it so much! His music is the best to listen to when you're doing homework because it keeps you from getting frustrated.

[@steveegallo3384]

Oh no! I STILL get frustrated. Turns out though that Hovhaness #39 is particularly more fully enjoyed while driving a hearse to the wholesale liverwurst outlet when suddenly a hermaphrodite in a piano truck backs out of a crackhouse driveway and, as your shoes catch fire, pirouetting across Ricardo Montalbán Boulevard, slapping the truck driver six times in the loins with a Chattanooga road map, even though he was only humming "The Pussycat Song. Now, in THAT instance, it surpasses even 'Le Marteau sans Maître,' believe me...….

[@kaybeenullenvoyde9196]

@@steveegallo3384 Now that was a panoply of hilarity, but us weezers fron the 'boomer' days had only AM classical radio and the ONLY Hovhaness we got was 'Mysterious Mountain'. And we LIKED IT! *giggles*

[@steveegallo3384]

@@kaybeenullenvoyde9196 -- In 50's & 60's, Yonkers, New York we had WQXR (Manhattan)....a Treasure in those olden times....Greetings from Mexico!

[@garymahon1955]

Very spiritual music by this composer.

[@slothropgr]

Wow! Too many thanks for all this magnificent Hovhaness to fit into this limited space. Wonderful to see America's most prolific and unique composer so honored! And my budget so rescued (otherwise I'd have to spring for the overpriced CDs)! I must end with a request of course--any chance of the "St. Vartan"?

[@johnhuggins2873]

So beautiful and serene.

[@binkley62]

The 2nd movement begins at 19:20. The 3rd at 26:21. The 4th is 37:21.

[@eottoe2001]

TY

[@kuang-licheng402]

great, enchanting

[@bryxer7v7]

Cool sinfonia really enjoyed it!

[@digitalmaestrorich]

St Vartan (Symphony No. 9) is available on the CRYSTAL CD label, and the old MGM mono LP is also posted elsewhere.

[@bridgetbardo5277]

Bravo

[@isis690]

like 33. a vista alzada. tan bueno que duele.

[@Rasplata5]

Michael Long, guitar. Vakhtang Jordania,conductor

[@pgroove163]

masterpiece

[@SpecialtyHorseTraining]

Did you take your name from the tenor aria in Tosca? And yes, this Hovhaness is lovely.

[@FeonaLeeJones]

Why is his music never studied at music schools?

[@AlexNiedt]

I was lucky enough to play the Psalm and Fugue in high school orchestra. I've loved Hovhaness ever since, but I don't think I've ever heard a single person mention his name, unfortunately.

[@cneggen]

Because he has not been dead long enough.

[@O-sa-car]

Vaughan Williams meets Rodrigo

[@O-sa-car]

also reminds me of De Meij

[@bgccallahan4116]

May he be reincarnated to compose and realize such magic evermore.

[@ronaldbwoodall2628]

What a contrast this symphony makes with some early Hovhaness works! Where is the urgency and creative inspiration of, for example, the 2nd, 4th, 9th, and 19th? Instead, here is a skeleton of a score that aches (it's too tired to cry) to be fleshed out. It has beautiful melodies, but only boredom in their presentation and development. This simplicity is too deep for me to fathom.

[@dugitomi]

ronald b woodall if you would like to hear something similar to this with a bit more textural depth in the sonority, you can listen to Delius' Florida Suite as re-edited (?) and conducted by Beecham. i like this symphony by Hovhaness and the re-edited (?) Florida Suite of Delius very much. they speak volumes to me and seem like they are direct progeny of 'Impressionism' (a bastard term, but useful in terms of reference). the slow tempi and the lightly orchestrated sonic textures are very comforting, but i am 55 years old and have lived a very full life already. i am tired now. muchas gracias y saludos desde Tokio.

[@ronaldbwoodall2628]

tom d I do enjoy the Florida Suite and some of Delius' other works, but not all, as he did lack melodic inspiration at times - something that I can't accuse Hovhaness of. Actually, this symphony is the first one of his that I haven't liked at all, comparisons aside. Generally, his works have given me much pleasure, and am glad to hear any that are new to me. I did miss the textural depth this one could have had, however.

[@fflambeauutube]

+ronald b woodall In musical circles, it is called minimalism. Philip Glass is another composer of similar sentiments (although less versatile than Hovhaness). Glass even eschews the label "minimalism" for repetitiveness. But you are right: there's a lot of variety in Hovhaness, from the symphonies you cite to this, to the Prayer of St. Gregory etc. He was a genius.

[@rolandbuck4005]

+ronald b woodall One of the false criticisms raised against Hovhaness is that his music all sounds the same. This is one of many counter examples. He wrote in a number of different styles. As a result we should not be surprised that some people may like some of his works, and not like some of his others. If you do not like this particular style, allow that it may appeal to others and just listen to the works that appeal to you. Since he wrote a huge volume of works there will be much for you to choose from.

[@kuang-licheng402]

i am glad to learn that more and more people are doing justice to him

[@57monks]

I was on a Hovhaness high when I was discovering his music some 25 years ago. For a time I could not get enough of it, but I eventually came to realize that so much of it sounds the same with similar effects throughout and with limited imagination and inventiveness. Admittedly, there are a few compositions that I greatly enjoy to this day, but for the most part Hovhaness is a one shot pony.

[@FredGarvin-bn8lj]

Derp...