Pranav Ranjit | Pranav Ranjit - Angles of Light for harp @towardthesea_ | Uploaded December 2020 | Updated October 2024, 7 hours ago.
Ben Albertson, harp
Every time my ears experience the ethereal sound of the harp, I immediately associate the instrument with radiance and light. The subtle changes in timbre the instrument can produce - warm harmonics, percussive string noise effects, metallic nail pizzicato – are audially reminiscent of light refracting through a prism, producing a veritable spectrum of sound color. “Angles of Light” draws from the Carnatic ragas Hamsadhvani and Mayamalavagowla, as well as the tradition of late 19th and early 20th century harp writing exemplified by Tournier and Salzedo. The title also calls to mind the similarly-named seventh symphony of Einojuhani Rautavaara, whose treatment of harmony and tone clusters has also influenced my approach to composition.
Ben Albertson, harp
Every time my ears experience the ethereal sound of the harp, I immediately associate the instrument with radiance and light. The subtle changes in timbre the instrument can produce - warm harmonics, percussive string noise effects, metallic nail pizzicato – are audially reminiscent of light refracting through a prism, producing a veritable spectrum of sound color. “Angles of Light” draws from the Carnatic ragas Hamsadhvani and Mayamalavagowla, as well as the tradition of late 19th and early 20th century harp writing exemplified by Tournier and Salzedo. The title also calls to mind the similarly-named seventh symphony of Einojuhani Rautavaara, whose treatment of harmony and tone clusters has also influenced my approach to composition.
![Eduard Tubin - Symphony No. 11 [unfinished] (Score Video)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l-vYcU8buKo/hqdefault.jpg "Eduard Tubin - Symphony No. 11 [unfinished] (Score Video)
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Arvo Volmer
Eduard Tubin (1905-1982) was an Estonian composer and conductor, his countrys most prolific and arguably greatest symphonist. Having completed his studies under another very prominent Estonian composer, Heino Eller (whose music I also plan to upload), in independent Estonia, Tubin fled following the Soviet reoccupation of his country in 1944. He settled permanently in Sweden for the rest of his life, writing many of his most important works, being elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and becoming a Swedish citizen in 1961. In addition to an impressive eleven symphonies, Tubin wrote two operas, the first Estonian ballet (Kratt), concerti for double bass and balalaika, choral music, art songs, and chamber and solo works (particularly violin and piano music.)
For those unacquainted with Tubin, his orchestral music - particularly the symphonies of his middle and later period - shares some common elements with Shostakovich, often marrying relatively rigid formal structures like fugues with rather astringent harmonic ideas and an unexpected emotional intensity. He also often brought Estonian folk music into several of his works. Although Tubins work was initially somewhat unrecognized outside Estonia (even in Sweden), it has gained prominence in the last few decades due to the efforts of Estonian conductors including Neeme and Paavo Järvi.
The eleventh symphony, which Tubin was working on when he passed away in 1982, combines the aforementioned characteristics with a rather bright orchestration typical of his later music. The last minute or so of the first movement was completed by the Estonian-Canadian composer Kaljo Raid, resulting in the recording here; the score I have available is a copy of Tubins manuscript and thus does not contain this completion.
I now have scores of all of Tubins symphonies except the first; some of them are scans of old and battered copies, so they will take a little longer to upload - especially as most of his symphonic works are quite substantial in both musical material and length. I also plan to post his balalaika concerto soon, so if you enjoyed this work, stay tuned for more!")
![Vasily Kalinnikov - The Cedar and the Palm, symphonic picture (Score Video) [N. Järvi]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qdxe9NZg7EU/hqdefault.jpg "Vasily Kalinnikov - The Cedar and the Palm, symphonic picture (Score Video) [N. Järvi]
Performed by the Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi
Based on a poem by Heinrich Heine (English translation by Hal Draper)
Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam
Im Norden auf kahler Höh.
Ihn schläfert; mit weißer Decke
Umhüllen ihn Eis und Schnee.
Er träumt von einer Palme,
Die, fern im Morgenland,
Einsam und schweigend trauert
Auf brennender Felsenwand.
A pine is standing lonely
In the North on a bare plateau.
He sleeps; a bright white blanket
Enshrouds him in ice and snow.
He’s dreaming of a palm tree
Far away in the Eastern land
Lonely and silently mourning
On a sunburnt rocky strand.
Vasily Kalinnikov (1866-1901) was a Russian composer who, if not for his death from tuberculosis at the age of 35, would undoubtedly have become a leading light of Russian music. Kalinnikov - who counted both Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff among his friends and advocates - is best known for his two vibrant symphonies, which are masterfully orchestrated and draw from rich Russian folk melodies; both works are achieving increasing recognition outside of the USSR, particularly among youth orchestras and community orchestras. The Cedar and the Palm, which Kalinnikov completed in 1898 - the year after his second symphony - is in a similar vein, although perhaps more rhapsodic in quality than some of his other orchestral works.
Read more about Kalinnikov on my blog here: https://unknowncomposers.org/2019/03/25/special-feature-vasily-kalinnikov-the-forgotten-russian-romantic/
A full score can be found at the New York Philharmonic archives: https://archives.nyphil.org/index.php/artifact/c3e6418e-44e4-4ab8-8eb8-cf833f3d84cc-0.1/fullview#page/1/mode/1up. An IMSLP score is also available but is missing page 7 (page 9 in the NY Phil edition.)")
