Yesterday, in writing about a concert I attended with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, I made a remark about Aaron Jay Kernis’ “Musica Celestis” that might be construed as flippant, describing a certain genre of mystic music as holy schmoly, perhaps inadvertently suggesting a touch of kitsch and even insincerity. If so, the work is in good company, since the same charges were leveled in some circles against Wagner’s “Parsifal.” As I said, “Musica Celestis” is probably my favorite piece by Kernis, and Lord knows, I meant no disrespect to Vaughan Williams’ masterly “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis,” mentioned by way of comparison.
Alan Hovhaness’ name was also bandied in close proximity, and I want to make very clear that I have nothing against Hovhaness and indeed have enjoyed most of the music by him that I have heard (and I have heard a lot). “Holy schmoly” was merely an adolescent attempt to punch up the prose of that particular sentence. And I’m not going to change it, because I admit I never grew up, and as Polonius exhorts, “To thine own self be true,” etc. Love me for who I am!
To prove there was no offense intended, here’s one of Hovhaness’ 67 symphonies (give or take). It’s unusual, in that Hovhaness is often influenced by music of the East (he is of Armenian descent), and you might detect some of that even here, but in this case, he also assimilates American folk song and shape-note melodies, of all things. I think it’s a great listen for Thanksgiving. Here’s the Symphony No. 60, “To the Appalachian Mountains.” The work was commissioned in 1985 to celebrate the cultural heritage of Tennessee. The third movement is freely based on the folk song “Parting Friends.”
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