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The Religious Vision of Richard Yardumian

Thomas F. Bertonneau | Oswego, NY United States | 02/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Richard Yardumian (1917 - 1985) maintained a long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy; almost all of his works had their premiere under Ormandy's baton. Yet Yardumian - of Armenian extraction but a follower of Swedenborg's theosophical church rather than of Armenian Orthodoxy - was little recorded and never really extended his audience beyond his native city. There were one or two exceptions: his Piano Concerto ("Passacaglia, Recitatives, and Fugue") appeared on RCA as an LP in the late 1960s, paired with Peter Mennin's keyboard concerto; and his First Symphony, with two smaller works, appeared on EMI in the mid-1970s. The music of Yardumian sounds nothing at all like that of Alan Hovhaness, nor again like that of Aram Katchaturian, being more closely related to that of Ernest Bloch. This is a kinship emphasized by the three works recorded on the new BIS CD, which one hopes is the harbinger of a Yardumian series. The Violin Concerto (1949 - revised in 1960 and again in 1985), while not quite on the same scale as Bloch's, shares its precursor's impassioned, religious character, as though the soloist gave voice to a Biblical prophecy. Like Bloch in his final phase of the 1950s, Yardumian would assimilate his own version of "serialism." The notes to the old LP of his First Symphony included a lengthy explanation, by the composer, of how his melodies derived from certain basic chords on which a given work would be founded. What one hears, quite apart from the "theory," are modally inflected melodies unfolded over harmonic progressions that would not have disturbed Cesar Franck. (Bloch, too, was rooted in an essentially Franckian idea of harmony.) I do not suggest that this is a deficit: on the contrary - I heartily approve. There is, as in the Franckian symphonic plan, a motto-theme, played initially in the opening "Maestoso" not by the violin soloist but by the first horn. The "second subject" takes the form of a cadenza-like passage (with gymnastic double stops) for the solo violin. Later in the movement, the flute has an important part. The middle panel, designated "Slow," is prayerful, in the manner both of Bloch and of Bartók (think of the middle panel of the latter's Viola Concerto): there is a heart-on-the-sleeve sweetness to this movement that makes it endearing - provided that one is neither wood nor stone; there are also moments of Bloch-like ceremonial splendor in the trumpets and trombones. A variant of the motto-theme returns, again on the horn, near the end of the movement. In the concluding "Allegro," a sprightly, dance-like character prevails, with some challenging fugato passages to live up the affair. Violinist Alexandr Bulov has a rich tone and is entirely convincing in his part. Yardumian's Symphony No. 2 (1947 - revised 1964) is a setting for "medium voice and orchestra" of texts from the Psalms. There are two movements, the second twice as long as the first. While I do not argue for "influence," I do observe a strong family resemblance to Bloch's Psalm settings for voice and orchestra. This is especially apparent in Yardumian's First Movement, which sets the famous "De Profundis" (Psalm 130), translating the text into English. The Second Movement anthologizes from Psalms 24, 27, 95, and 121, mixing the verses. There is an orchestral "Prologue" and, halfway through, an orchestral "Fugue." The verses from Psalm 121 constitute what the composer describes as a "Vocal Cadenza." Mezzo Nancy Maultsby's enunciation is perfect. The listener can follow without recourse to the printed texts. While called "Symphony," the score has the character of a ceremonial vocal concerto. The pairing with the Violin Concerto is thus quite logical. The last item on the program is Yardumian's best known work, his "Armenian Suite," written in 1937 and arranged for orchestra in the 1950s. This is pleasant "rush hour" music - and I have indeed heard it being broadcast by the Syracuse classical music radio station during the heavy-traffic period late in the day. The Singapore Orchestra under Lan Shui sounds as good as any Western orchestra. Let us hope that BIS gives us the First Symphony and the Piano Concerto. Recommended."