Hovhaness: Guitar Concerto No. 2 / Symphony No. 63 / Fanfare for the New Atlantis

"I cannot over-emphasise how attractive this music is. Hovhaness wrote in the 1960s of the importance of identifying our own kind of beauty. These three works bear him out completely."
(MusicWeb Bargain of the Month June 2008)

Alan Hovhaness was one of the most prolific composers of the twentieth century. He stood alone among composers who were otherwise writing according to the flow of modern thinking, opposed to melody and emotion, and dismissing classical form and contrapuntal writing. Fanfare for the New Atlantis is a symphonic celebration of the rebirth of the legendary island of Atlantis. The Guitar Concerto No. 2 is full of lively dance-like music and rapidly changing rhythmic patterns. Symphony No. 63 'Loon Lake' is full of nostalgia for the New Hampshire countryside of Hovhaness's youth. It was commissioned by the New Hampshire Music Festival in conjunction with the Loon Preservation Society, who specifically requested the sound of the loon cry to be in the symphony. All three works are world première recordings.