Symphony No.19 "Vishnu" - Alan Hovhaness

Описание: Sevan Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alan Hovhaness.

I - Cosmic Adoration (0:00) - Cosmic Processional-Dance (12:16) - Cosmic Death and Glorification (23:48)

Hovhaness' Symphony No.19 was composed between July and August of 1966, finishing it as a composer-in-residence with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. It was premiered in June 2 1967, by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andre Kostelanetz, who comissioned the piece. Unfortunatelly for the premiere, Kostelnetzr retouched, cuted-off and rearranged full sections, performing a 11 minute piece of a 30 minute symphony.

Originally conceived as a cosmic tone poem entitled "To Vishnu", the work is in one continuous movement cast as "an unfolding giant melody of adoration to the immensity and sublimity of limitless stellar universes". The form is totally free, being composed of a wide 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 classic Japanese concept of Jo-Ha-Kyu, roughly translated to "beginning, break, rapid", it essentially means that all actions or efforts should begin slowly, speed up, and then end swiftly.

Vishnu is an Indian god, considered as the creator, preserver and destroyer of the Universe. His name derived from Sanskrit could mean something like omnipresent. He is part of the trinity of Hinduism. In forming the Universe he divided himself into three parts, the right part of him giving rise to the god Brahma, the passionate creator. Vishnu himself originated himself from the left side of him, being the kind preserver and finally he divided himself again forming the third person, Shiva, the destroyer symbolizing ignorance.

The work opens with a prelude of controlled chaos, reflecting the initial stages of the universe, with chaotic entrances without rhythm of brass and percussion, sound clusters and glissandos. The flutes present a wide melody in form of an hymn, representing the worship of the different parts of the cosmos. This melody is interrupted several times by chaotic sections, with the use of various clusters or dense accumulations of sounds. The bassoon recapitulates the melody in a more somber and disonant way, joined by other wood instruments, concluding with gentle canons from the flutes over an ostinato of the harp. Tremolos of the strings introduce a new chaotic section, which slowly fading away with the soft touches of the percussion. The clarinet presents a lyrical and expansive melody, shared with other woodwinds instruments. A chaotic whirlwind based on the previous melody takes place, leading to a lyrically mystical section of flute canons over the harp's ostinato.

The strings perform mysterious glissandos before the wood reappears in warm solos. A new interlude links us to the second part, where we listen to bird-like chants from the woods. A solemn cosmic hymn is presented in form of a renaissance processional. After a chaotic transition, a rhythmic and energic dance takes place, the dance of the whole universe. After an imposing transition, the hymn reappears in the form of a solemn and mystical march, famous for being used in Carl Sagan's television series "Cosmos." The music reaches intense climaxes of cosmic adoration. After several alternations between the whole orchestra and percussion interventions, the third and final section begins. English horn and trumpet restates the hymn as a melancholic march, representing the decay and death of the universe. An extensive and slow coda opens with new canonic solos of the flutes over the harp's ostinato. The music mystically fades away, slowly dissolving in the silence.

Picture: Masha Vishnu in the Yoga Nidra state (didn't found more info about it, sorry in advance).

Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://bit.ly/3rCmCcj and https://bit.ly/2Tyq9fe