A native of Massachusetts, Alan Hovhaness was born March 8th, 1911 to Armenian and Scottish parents. He expressed an interest in music, composition, mysticism and meditation early in childhood. In the early 1930’s, Hovhaness studied with Fredrick Shepherd Converse at the New England Conservatory(NEC) and Bohuslav Martinů at Tanglewood. While at NEC, he was exposed to the music of India and the far east. Even though Hovhaness showed a great interest in this “new” music, his works pre-1936, are all very much in the style of the Renaissance and incorporate late Romantic chordal language. The characteristics of the Renaissance and Romantic period are marks of his “first period”. In the summer of 1943, Hovhaness had a life changing experience at the Berkshire Music Center where Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland criticized his music. Hovhaness was crushed by their criticism, so much so that he destroyed many pieces. He began rethinking his style and turned to his Armenian roots. His main focus was on the music of priest/composer - Komitas Vardapet. From this exploration in Armenian music, his “second period” became more rhythmically and contrapuntally alive. However, he stuck to his old habit of harmonies. In 1948, Hovhaness began teaching at the Boston Conservatory. This lasted until 1952, when he moved to New York. He traveled almost continuously through the 1950’s. During this time he rethought his style again and the outcome was his “third period”. His music became very popular in the post WWII era due to the fact that he took active rhythm, romantic flavored chords, and a pinch of armenian music and added a little bit of experimentation with a side of eastern flare. In 1960, Hovhaness had to of course vamp up his style by adding in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean influences and instruments to ring in his “fourth period”. He let these eastern ideas and sounds dominate in his style of composing and the out come was well received in a society that was terrified of communists and anti-war in Vietnam. In the 1970’s, like everyone else, Hovhaness had to experiment with his style (surprise!) and out came his “fifth period”, which is really his last. In this groovy period, Hovhaness started to incorporate western ideas back into his works in the sense of harmony and not form. He took a leaf from Rock n’ roll’s book and made his pieces longer and slower (rock pieces from this time are often very, very long and the performers were so drugged up that they were very slow), however, these pieces are decadent in how they are scored and the chords magniloquently soar over time. Up until his death in 2000, Hovhaness mostly wrote in the style of his “fifth period”. As mentioned at the beginning, Hovhaness was interested in mysticism and meditation. Almost all of his works are rooted in religion and not just one religion. He uses Indian raga and tala, Western isorhythm,modal fugues, polymodal canons, and different modes in addition to other techniques, to evoke different feelings towards a supreme being such as fear, tranquility, thankfulness, and repentance. His work totals over 400 opus numbers including 60 symphonies (the majority of which were written after he turned 60), 12 operas, 6 ballets, and countless choral, solo, and chamber pieces.
Hovhaness’ Harp Sonata, op. 127 movement 1. Allegro, exemplifies his broad spectrum of musical interests, especially in music of other cultures. It was written in 1954 during his “third period” for Basque-Spanish harpist, Nicanor Zabaleta. The first movement is driven by a simple rhythmic pattern as well as certain other repeated rhythmic motifs and written-out metrical shifts. Harmonically, the piece is based on simple modes, especially the Eastern-associated pentatonic scale. There are three basic sections to the first movement, AbA1. The final return to the opening material is a bit surprising as it comes in a different mode with the same tonal center, which sequences to bring us to the exact reiteration of the opening. The entire movement is stock-full of these exotic sounds of foreign lands. See if you can identify the areas in which Hovhaness uses the pentatonic scale and other places where you can hear other cultural influences.
An excellent recording of this piece as well as some of Hovhaness' other chamber pieces is available on iTunes on Yolanda Kondonassis' CD "Music of Alan Hovhaness".
Persian Roasted Chicken with Dried Cherry-Saffron Rice
Ingredients
1. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1 onion, finely chopped
3. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
5. 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
6. 6 pounds chicken breasts, thighs and legs, with skin, on the bone
7. Salt and freshly ground pepper
8. Water
9. 2 cups basmati rice
10. 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter
11. 1/2 cup dried sour cherries (4 ounces)
12. 2 tablespoons sugar
13. 1/4 cup slivered almonds
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, onion, lemon juice, cumin and half of the saffron. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and turn to coat. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Drain the chicken, scraping off the onion and saffron and transfer it to a large metal roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 25 minutes longer, or until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the rice and cook until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the rice in a colander and shake out any excess water. In a small bowl, dissolve the remaining saffron in 1 tablespoon of water. Return the rice to the saucepan and stir in the saffron water.
4. In a small skillet, melt the butter with the dried sour cherries and sugar. Spoon one third of the rice into a buttered 2-quart soufflé dish. Top with half of the sour cherries and slivered almonds. Cover with half of the remaining rice and the remaining sour cherries and almonds. Top with a final layer of rice and pour any remaining butter on top. Cover the soufflé dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes (while the chicken is baking), or until the rice is tender, light and fluffy.
5. Preheat the broiler when the rice is done. Broil the chicken, skin side down, for 2 minutes. Turn the chicken and broil until the skin is browned and crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Pour the pan juices into a warm gravy boat. Serve the chicken with the rice, passing the pan juices at the table.
* ACTIVE: 25 MIN
* TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS
* SERVINGS: 6
Anoosh Shariat, the executive chef at Park Place on Main in Louisville, Kentucky
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