March 28, 2014

  • Engaging Orchestral Music by Peter Boyer

     

    Boyer: Symphony No. 1; Orchestral Music
    London Philharmonic Orchestra/Peter Boyer
    Naxos 8.559769
    Total Time:  55:14
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    The life of an American classical composer is often focused on creating a number of smaller works for orchestra unless given a great chance for a more substantial work.  In this new release of music by composer Peter Boyer, we get a cross section of his work for orchestra that illustrates this current art music situation by including a number of works for festive occasions with an opportunity to hear a larger symphonic work.  Boyer’s music has appeared before on Naxos with his monumental work for actors and orchestra, Ellis Island (2002).  It has become one of his most-performed pieces to date, the recording even received a Grammy nomination.  Boyer counts Elmer Bernstein among his composition teachers.  He has provided orchestrations for a number of noted film composers including Thomas Newman, James Horner, Michael Giacchino, Alan Menken, Mark Isham, and Harry Gregson-Williams, as well as work for the Academy Awards and The History Channel.

    There are three overture-like opening pieces on the disc.  The first of these, Silver Fanfare, was part of a longer piece (On Music’s Wings) composed for the Pacific Symphony’s 25th Anniversary Season.  This delightful concert work has a sort of Bruce Broughton/John Williams-esque style with great writing across the orchestra.  This same style continues in the equally exciting Festivities (2011).  The piece was a commission by Gerard Schwarz for the 50th anniversary  of the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina.  At its core is a gorgeous oboe solo, later expanded by winds, which makes this a slightly more interesting piece overall.  A slight break from the large orchestral works is featured in Three Olympians (2000) for string orchestra.  Here is a the sort of string writing one often associates more with mid-century British pieces, a reality that certainly was not lost on this English orchestra which manages to really make a case for this equally engaging work.  Each movement here is named after a respective Greek God.  “Apollo” begins with strong statements and a great deal of forward propulsion.  The music also manages to make interesting motifs tossed about the orchestra and feels almost “classical” in nature.  The second movement, “Aphrodite”, allows for some repose and a more lyrically romantic theme that is simply beautiful.  “Ares” completes this brief suite of sorts exploring some of the more rhythmic and percussive effects for strings while also introducing a bit more dissonance.  The result is an almost cinematic essay.  Being placed third in this CD program lets this work really shine and provides some great aural contrast to the fuller orchestral pieces.  Composed for the Henry Mancini Institute, the Celebration Overture (1997) is the earliest work on the disc and received an additional performance with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and was subsequently revised.  One can hear all of the musical gestures that appear in the later works, but the orchestral forces, especially percussion, seem just a bit more expanded.  The central lyrical melody is quite beautiful.  The music generally has that sort of Star Trek quality which no doubt was useful for his work with Giacchino on that film’s reboot.  All the same, it too is an exciting work that throws in pretty much everything it can to announce Boyer’s distinct style.

     

    Of primary interest will be the concluding work on the disc, Boyer’s first symphony completed last year.  The piece grew out of a residency with the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra.  Taking his inspiration from Copland and Leonard Bernstein, Boyer chose a three-movement scale for this more abstract composition.  A “Prelude” opens the work with a long lyrical thematic idea that will be the basis for a set of variations in an overall arch form movement.  Elements of fugato are also employed as this theme is first spread from second violins across the strings and eventually into the full orchestra as it continues to grow.  The central movement is a more traditional scherzo formally with interesting rhythmic structure and a lyrical trio.  The exciting syncopated material is certainly in a long line of American orchestral dance ideas with an exciting assymetrical feel.  As is often the case with many new symphonic works, the piece moves into a final “Adagio” that is equal in length to the previous two movements.  Again, monothematic in nature, the movement is a sort of experiment in an orchestral crescendo as new instruments are added for color and the theme continues to grow in intensity.  The theme itself is very romantic in nature and equally stunning as it develops.  Rapid accompaniment patterns help lend the sense of faster movement as the work comes to a joyfully and exhilarating close.

    To have the London Philharmonic at his disposal is no doubt a thrill for Boyer.  The performances here are simply superb showing off his engaging and easily accessible cinematic style.  This is certainly a recording that should have broad appeal and one which you will likely find yourself returning to time and again.  The music is brilliantly orchestrated with engaging thematic ideas and a fine sense of dramatic shape.  On top of that, it seems that it would be great fun to play as well.  How good is the LPO?  Well, they managed to get through all these pieces on one single recording day schedule!  Here’s hoping more of his work makes it to disc!