Symphony No.60 "To the Appalachian Mountains" - Alan Hovhaness

Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz.

I - Adagio doloroso: 0:00
II - Allegro - Adagio con molta espressione - Tempo I: 10:45
III - Senza misura. Adagio: 20:18
IV - Finale. Andante - Allegro: 23:31

Hovhaness' Symphony No.60 was composed betwee November and December of 1985, being commissioned in August 6, 1985, by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. for "Homecoming '86", an event celebrating the cultural heritage of Tennessee. The work was premiered by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra with an unknown conductor. Unfortunatelly, the lack of rehearsals and the rushed performance ruined the piece, being a major disappointment for the composer. As the subtitle of the work implies, the work is inspired by Appalachian culture, music and mountains.

About the work, the composer said the following: "While composing this symphony I studied many Appalachian songs, but did not quote any of the melodies except in the third movement. However, I tried to put myself into the spirit and moods of the Appalachian idioms and culture, the spiritual life, the religious singing from shaped-notes under the oak trees, and the Appalachian ballads and their tales of love and death. I studied the structures of motives and scales in the Appalachian music and tried to create my own melodies within the boundaries of the modes which employ altered major scales and minor pentatonic [black-key] scales."

The first movement is structured in ternary form. Begins with a lyrical solo of the clarinet over the harp, briefly joined by the flutes. Suddenly, horns and trumpets present a majestic hymn, full of a fervorous faith. It is briefly developed in a majestic processional. The whole orchestra rises in a sudden massive climax. A vigorous contrasting theme becomes the subject of a fugue, based on the pentatonic scale. The music rises in a new brilliant climax, followed by a recapitulation of the opening hymn in mysterious passage, with brass calls over a percussive background. The music rises to a festive ending with the full orchestra and bells ringing.

The second movement is a kind of modern scherzo in ternary form. Begins with a vivacious theme in mountain style, developed into a long, dance-like line in the violins over drum rhythms. The music rises in a massive climax, leading to the middle part. The trio opens with a lyrical solo of the English horn, in an Appalachian ballad style. Follows a dramatic solo of the trumpet on the theme, followed by a calmer solo of the flute and English horn over string's pizzicatos. The main theme returns in full force, recapitulated majestically by the trumpet. This leads into a pentatonic canon of the theme. The theme fully reappears gloriously in the whole orchestra, concluding with a brilliant coda.

The third movement is freely based on a folk song, "Parting Friends." The American composer John Gordon McCurry heard "Parting Friends" sung when he was only eight years old. Since McCurry was born in 1821 this tune dates from 1829 or earlier. The movement is also structured in ternary form. Opens with a lyrically melancholic solo of the oboe, quoting the aforementioned song, over a free, murmuring pizzicato in the lower strings and harp. Strings open a fugue section with this lyrical theme as subject, working as a brief development before it suddenly ends. The oboe recapitulates the nostalgic theme before the music starts to slow down, fading into silence.

The fourth movement is more complex in form, beign divided in five parts. The first section opens with portentous pentatonic hymn, presented brilliantly by the whole orchestra. The second section consist of a gracefully fugal development opened by the strings, with this solemn theme as subject. The third section is a gentle dance, which begins with the arabesques of the woodwinds, accompanied by string's pizzicatos. The fourth section consist of a canon for strings over drum blows, of a certain folkloric character. The fifth section begins with the initial hymn reintroduced by the brass, leading to a grand final climax with wild ringing bells supported by the full orchestra.

Picture: Photograph of the Appalachian mountains.

Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://bit.ly/3AJgRNN and https://bit.ly/3ib7SgX