ROY HARRIS: Symphonies 5 and 6; Acceleration – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop – Naxos

by | Jun 12, 2010 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

ROY HARRIS: Symphonies 5 and 6; Acceleration – Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/Marin Alsop – Naxos 8.559609, 61:44. ****:
 
Johanna Harris, the wife of the American composer Roy Harris (1898-1979) once said that the song, “Don’t Fence Me In” “describes the prime basic law that governs my husband’s life.” Born in a log cabin in Oklahoma, Harris drew from cowboy songs, American hymn tunes and Civil War music, to write compositions that express the wide open spaces that are so typical of rural America. His music is tonal, characterized by long flowing contrapuntal melodies that are invigorated by dissonances, polytonality and irregular rhythms. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, taught at the Juilliard School, UCLA, and other universities.  He directed the music section of the Overseas Division of the Office of War Information in 1945. Much of his output was forgotten in the American avantgarde domination of classical music in the 1960s and 70s, but it has re-emerged in the last few years, as tonality has re-established it’s rightful place as a force in the eclectic music of the 21st century.
 
The late Russian-born American composer and critic Nichoas Slonimsky wrote of Harris, “He has a natural gift for the melodic line, and his melodies are in the uncanny way reflective of the American scene without being literal quotations.” The two symphonies on this disc represent a musical picture of America in the years of World War II. Symphony No. 6 “Gettysburg” was written in 1943-4 and was dedicated to the “The Armed Forces of Our Nation.” The four movements use direct quotations from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address of 1863. Awakening’s long crescendo is magically inspired, using a vibraphone that adds brightness to the massed strings. Conflict’s truculent march rhythms descend into the chaos of battle, ending suddenly. Dedication is the emotional center of the work, as it movingly mourns the casualties of war. Affirmation patriotically concludes this compelling symphony. Acceleration (1941) is a one-movement, seven-minute work that is energetically American in the ‘Harrisonian’ mode.
 
Symphony No. 5 exhibits “…qualities of heroic strength-determination-will to struggle-faith in our destiny,” the composer wrote. It opens with a declaratory first movement using horns and brass that characterize the “fierce, driving power-optimistic, young, rough and ready.” In the second movement, a somber dirge transforms into an uplifting stringed chorale. The composer’s colorful use of strings and brass make this the most dramatically potent movement on this disc. Tempo changes in the triple fugue of the final movement makes it a structurally complex and bold-spirited statement of the American character. The Fifth Symphony is a work of monumental directness and Marin Alsop and the Bournemouth Symphony fully express the wide range of moods from patriotic vigor to nostalgic tenderness.  
 
The recording is clear, but lacks some of the vivid resonance that characterizes the music. This disc is a significant addition to the Naxos’ Harris discography and an essential disc for anyone interested in symphonic Americana.

— Robert Moon

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