Hohvaness: Spirit of Trees; Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra; Upon Enchanted Ground; Sonata for Harp; The Garden of Adonis Yolanda Kondonassis, harp/I Fiamminghi/Rudolf Werthen, conductor (Telarc CD-80530).

Hohvaness: Spirit of Trees; Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra; Upon Enchanted Ground; Sonata for Harp; The Garden of Adonis Yolanda Kondonassis, harp/I Fiamminghi/Rudolf Werthen, conductor (Telarc CD-80530)

Armenian-American composer Alan Hohvaness (b. 1911) passed away not long after the release of this recording. His music is typically characterized by ample melody, mild exoticism, and a sense of joy in life, music, and nature. Harpist Kondonassis seems to share in that joy, as her performances seem "just right" for this program. The opening composition, Spirit of Trees, is a sonata for harp and guitar (played here by David Leisner). The two instruments blend together marvelously, and the music is gentle but evocative. In the brief (about 18 minutes) Concerto for Harp and String Orchestra, Ms. Kondonassis is accompanied by I Flamminghi in a work that emphasizes beauty and expression more than virtuosity. Upon Enchanted Ground, featuring the unusual combination of harp, flute, cello, and giant tam-tam, sounds something like a miniature ballet score as it leaps and twirls and pirouettes. The Sonata for Harp continues the dance-like atmosphere, and the concluding Garden of Adonis is a duet for harp and flute (here played by Eugenia Zukerman), has an air of mystery about it. All in all, this is a delightful recording, and the sound quality is exquisite.-- KWN