Symphony No.25 "Odysseus" - Alan Hovhaness

Polyphonia Orchestra conducted by Alan Hovhaness I - Senza misura - Andante expressivo - Andante appasionata ma con licenza - Senza misura - Allegro - Andante - Largo - Allegro - Allegretto - Allegro - Adagio - Allegretto - Adagio - Andante con licenza - "Beyond the Curtain" - Largo - "Triumphal homecoming". Adagio, noble and heroic: 0:00 Hovhaness' Symphony No.25 was finished in November 1973, being premiered by the own composer in London, England. The work is more of a symphonic poem than an actual symphony, being written in a single movement. The work is not a literal retelling of Homer's Odyssey, but rather evokes the trials of Odysseus as he returns to his beloved Penelope. The symphony is a good example of how Hovhaness's harmonic palette had again evolved by the early 1970s. Here there are sections whose string writing recalls the sensual chromaticisms of Wagner and the late Romantics, a long way from the virtual harmonic stasis of Hovhaness's overtly Oriental works of the mid-to-late 1960s. The music is continuous, scored for a small orchestra, with woodwind and brass confined to one of each instrument. The work is very free in form, being structured around three "love themes", each one a variation of the previous one. Opens with murmurs of the woods in free rhythm, becoming the background of the lyrical first love theme. Follows a reference of Penelope's weaving during day and unweaving at night, presented through three violins in canon. The first love theme is referenced by the wood with nostalgic phrases, later followed by the strings as expressing Penelope's love to Odysseus, of which many thought he died in the war. Several wood instruments perform solos over smooth chords of the strings. Follows a brief contrapuntal section opened by the strings, almost like a fugue. However, it is sudenly cut-off by a chaotic senza misura passage (controled chaos) over which heroic calls of the trumpets rise. It could represent the determined spirit of Odysseus in his travel back to his home. The second love theme is presented by the strings, being more expressive and romantic. Follows an energetic and intense bacchanale, developed through canons. A lyrical passage offers the adequate contrast, being followed by an intensely dissonant section. The bachanale theme returns full of force. A lyrical section of an oriental flavour comes, characterized by it's canons with disjointed melodies. The third love theme is presented by the strings, later appearing in the horn and trumpet, briefly recapitulated before the music becomes extremely turbulent, maybe representing the travels of Odysseus. Follows a lyrical passage of the flute over the strings. A brilliant call of the trumpets signals the arrival of Odysseus to home, with Penelope. A homecoming procession takes place, followed by a lyrical passage dominated by the horn. A mysterious coda ends the work as Odysseus and Penelople enter "the world beyond the curtain of time and space." Love and heroism are the main qualities expressed by the music, in the end transcending human time and space in an ascent to mystical realms. Hovhaness uses modal scales of both East and West to create his long, beautiful melodies. Hovhaness identifies the three love themes of the symphony as love songs, which he dedicated to his wife, Hinako. Picture: "Odysseus and Calypso" (1882) by the Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin. Musical analysis partially written by myself. Sources: https://bit.ly/37EI9rA and https://bit.ly/2VNvxvE