Howard Hanson (1896-1981)

[vandermolen]

I had this CD waiting for me when I returned from my holiday last Friday (with a couple of others  ). It is a very fine CD and I enjoyed every work on it. It is from the long-gone Bay Cities label. Hanson himself conducts the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen. I find it very moving with the elderly Hanson conducting a youth orchestra in the first recording of his lat symphony 'A Sea Symphony' (and the only recording I think until the one recorded by Gerard Schwarz.
Pan and the Priest in one of my favourite of Hanson's tone poems and the fine String Quartet was a new discovery for me. The 'Extended Theme' is from Hanson's 2nd Symphony 'Romantic' (the bit played at the end of the film 'Alien'). I picked this CD up very cheaply on Amazon and would recommend it. The performances seem very fine to me:

[relm1]

I had this CD waiting for me when I returned from my holiday last Friday (with a couple of others  ). It is a very fine CD and I enjoyed every work on it. It is from the long-gone Bay Cities label. Hanson himself conducts the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, Interlochen. I find it very moving with the elderly Hanson conducting a youth orchestra in the first recording of his lat symphony 'A Sea Symphony' (and the only recording I think until the one recorded by Gerard Schwarz.
Pan and the Priest in one of my favourite of Hanson's tone poems and the fine String Quartet was a new discovery for me. The 'Extended Theme' is from Hanson's 2nd Symphony 'Romantic' (the bit played at the end of the film 'Alien'). I picked this CD up very cheaply on Amazon and would recommend it. The performances seem very fine to me:

That is a really good album that I recently heard too.  He was a very fine composer. 

[vandermolen]

That is a really good album that I recently heard too.  He was a very fine composer. 

I'm glad that you think so too.

[Roasted Swan]

That is a really good album that I recently heard too.  He was a very fine composer. 

I like Hanson a lot and I do enjoy this disc too - but I have to say I find his Sea Symphony one of his weaker works - for whatever reason he just can't match the scale/vision of Whitman's poetry to my mind.

[kyjo]

I like Hanson a lot and I do enjoy this disc too - but I have to say I find his Sea Symphony one of his weaker works - for whatever reason he just can match the scale/vision of Whitman's poetry to my mind.

I'd have to agree; my favorite part of the work is where he simply quotes the famous "big tune" from the 2nd Symphony. It's not a bad work by any means, but certainly the weakest of his 7 symphonies in my view (all the other 6 are quite marvelous in their own ways). The neglect that his most "epic" and substantial symphony, the magnificent 3rd, still suffers is a continued source of bafflement to me; it's truly one of the Great American Symphonies.

[Roasted Swan]

I'd have to agree; my favorite part of the work is where he simply quotes the famous "big tune" from the 2nd Symphony. It's not a bad work by any means, but certainly the weakest of his 7 symphonies in my view (all the other 6 are quite marvelous in their own ways). The neglect that his most "epic" and substantial symphony, the magnificent 3rd, still suffers is a continued source of bafflement to me; it's truly one of the Great American Symphonies.

Yup!

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

The neglect that his most "epic" and substantial symphony, the magnificent 3rd, still suffers is a continued source of bafflement to me; it's truly one of the Great American Symphonies.

Yeah, that's the one I like most too. It should be in the pantheon of American 3rds along with Schuman, Copland and Harris.

I like both the 3rd and the "Nordic" more than the more famous "Romantic."

[vandermolen]

I find Hanson's Sea Symphony rather moving and it works well as an epilogue to the cycle. I like them all but my favourites are 1 'Nordic', 3 (Koussevitsky's recording is very special, especially in its Dutton transfer), 5 'Sacra' and 6. As with Malcolm Arnold I tend to prefer the odd-numbered symphonies.

[relm1]

I like Hanson a lot and I do enjoy this disc too - but I have to say I find his Sea Symphony one of his weaker works - for whatever reason he just can't match the scale/vision of Whitman's poetry to my mind.

As someone who's set alot of of Whitman and read so much of his poetry, I want to push you a bit and question exactly what are your credentials on this?  Is it perhaps because RVW set this so successfully?  The poetry as actually way broader and that is why it is so wonderful at being set to music. 

[Roasted Swan]

As someone who's set alot of of Whitman and read so much of his poetry, I want to push you a bit and question exactly what are your credentials on this?  Is it perhaps because RVW set this so successfully?  The poetry as actually way broader and that is why it is so wonderful at being set to music. 

That's a very fair question and you are quite right in that I am making a direct comparison between the 2 "Sea Symphonies".  My knowledge of Whitman only extends as far as the (many) settings by various composers so clearly my understanding/appreciation of his body of work is "limited"/defined by those settings.  But whether its Holst or Bliss or Delius or Hindemith or indeed more RVW they all seem to capture the visionary or exaultant qualities in those specific poems for me "better" than Hanson here.

Let me bounce a question back to you - which Whitman poems have you set and also which settings by other composers do you consider the most successful?

[relm1]

That's a very fair question and you are quite right in that I am making a direct comparison between the 2 "Sea Symphonies".  My knowledge of Whitman only extends as far as the (many) settings by various composers so clearly my understanding/appreciation of his body of work is "limited"/defined by those settings.  But whether its Holst or Bliss or Delius or Hindemith or indeed more RVW they all seem to capture the visionary or exaultant qualities in those specific poems for me "better" than Hanson here.

Let me bounce a question back to you - which Whitman poems have you set and also which settings by other composers do you consider the most successful?

I can't remember which thread I discussed my thoughts on Whitman in quite a bit of detail, I might try to find it later, but when looking for text, I read A LOT and sometimes you hold on to something but it isn't quite right.  Like the words might be ok but not particularly imaginative or maybe the idea isn't strong enough, etc.  Then reading that concept in Whitman, it is very musical.  It's economical and visual but most importantly, it is full of rich context.  As an example, the text of Passage to India is about a brand new train to India which opened a new "passage" there.  One can take the text and set it musically as music of motion of people going from one location to another as part of an adventure to an exotic land or something.  That would work.  But wouldn't be interesting.  What Whitman is actually talking about is leading one from the past, to the present, and the future as a path to finding god. The poem is much richer and deeper than what the text suggests so composers can play this at multiple levels.  I think in some ways, Hanson is playing the text and RVW is playing the subtext.  The sea is a metaphor for the spirits journey and the horizon is death...the point which the spirit voyages beyond where we can see.  RVW gets that and imbues the music with this while still keeping it firmly footed in the real life and locations that Whitman uses.  This is why I think he is very good at setting Whitman. 

As for me, I've set some the concept of Passage to India in a chamber piece and some verses of his in my cantata, here is an excerpt but the full thing is in the composer's thread.  https://clyp.it/htraqsht