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- John Harbison
Book of Hours and Seasons (1975)
- Associated Music Publishers Inc (World)
- fl, vc, pf
- mezzo soprano
- 18 min
- German; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Programme Note
Composer note:
The Book of Hours and Seasons began with the setting of Um Mitternacht written for D’Anna Fortunato; gradually other Goethe settings and an interlude were added. Immer and Uberall uses four eastern modes, which then form the basis of an instrumental piece in four sections. This interlude is a miniature “Seasons” with the listener invited to decide where the cycle begins. The outer movements express my love for the German language and the aspects of German culture represented by Goethe’s poetry; it was my second language and culture as I was beginning in music, and these pieces reflect upon those times. The bell-like chords, which begin Um Mitternacht, were the germinating force for all the movements.
— John Harbison
The Book of Hours and Seasons began with the setting of Um Mitternacht written for D’Anna Fortunato; gradually other Goethe settings and an interlude were added. Immer and Uberall uses four eastern modes, which then form the basis of an instrumental piece in four sections. This interlude is a miniature “Seasons” with the listener invited to decide where the cycle begins. The outer movements express my love for the German language and the aspects of German culture represented by Goethe’s poetry; it was my second language and culture as I was beginning in music, and these pieces reflect upon those times. The bell-like chords, which begin Um Mitternacht, were the germinating force for all the movements.
— John Harbison
Media
Scores
Reviews
Indeed, the theme of cyclical, natural patterns, such as the rising and falling of the moon and the coming and going of the midnight hour, runs throughout Goethe’s four poems…the Book of Hours and Seasons is an intriguing composition.
17th May 2016
Discography
- LabelNaxos
- Catalogue Number8.559188
- EnsembleChicago Chamber Musicians
- SoloistLorraine Hunt Lieberson and Emily Lodine, mezzo-sopranos