Hovhaness Organ Music on Toccata Classics

Photograph of Alan Hovhaness on the cover of the album being discussed (from its Amazon.com Web page)

This Friday will see the release of a Toccata Classics album of the complete works for solo organ by Alan Hovhaness (TOCC 0763). He was born in Massachusetts and was living in the Bay Area when I made my move to Cambridge to begin my undergraduate education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I was aware of his name but knew little about his music. During the time I served as announcer for the twentieth-century music program at the campus radio station, I do not think I ever played any of his music; and, since that time, I have no salient recollection of any of his works. I probably knew more about his Armenian heritage than I knew about his music!

The notes on the back cover of the album suggest that his music sounds “like an eastern cousin of Vaughan Williams.” I am far more familiar with Vaughan Williams than I am with Hovhaness; so I would assert that, where his organ music is concerned, any resemblance would be at most accidental. To be fair, however, Vaughan Williams’ organ repertoire is very modest; and I do not think I have had an opportunity to listen to any of it (with the possible exception of hymn settings)!

For the most part Hovhaness’ organ music is secular. The only exceptions are the Opus 62b “Prayer of St Gregory,” composed in 1946, and the 1995 Opus 434 “Habakkuk,” named after the eighth of the so-called “Twelve Minor Prophets” found in the Old Testament. Most of the repertoire consists of three sonatas (the last having only a single movement), a three-movement sonatina, and an eight-movement partita given the title Sanahin, which is named after an Armenian monastery. Nevertheless, the note on the back cover reflects a sacred bias in its final sentence: “The organ is an ideal medium for his musical language, allowing it to range from timeless, questioning prayer to gloriously full-bodied statements that stir the soul.” (Mind you, any organ performance that unleashes a generous number of ranks of pipes is likely to “stir the soul!”)