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Excerpt from CD Liner Notes by Mark
David Needle, from New Albion Records (NA081):
The Music of Carson Kievman
Carson Kievman's Symphony No. 2(42) retains the emotional, spiritual, and dynamic intensity if his opera
and music-theater work, throuh developed within a symphonic structure.
To some degree autobiographical, the music expresses basic human
issues such as loss and spirituality with the insights of a personal
statement. While his influences are diverse, Kievman's work might
be viewed in the tradition of Western individualists, such as Ives,
Satie, or Varese.
Stylistically, the recording suggests a dynamic reconciliation of
classicsm and modernism. Rebelling against academic tendencies within
modernist music, Kievman has pursued an aesthetic that links 20th-century
experimentation with a genuine emotional depth and meaning. Orchestral
innovation is used not simply for intellectual effect, but to lead
the listener into new musical territories. On its surface, the music
displays the timeless elements that have historically drawn audiences
to the orchestra: harmony and rhythm, lyricism and drama. Yet underlaying
these elements, the writing and performances reveal complexities
of sound and meaning. In Kievman's world, modern techniques of layering,
juxtaposition, and dissonance are shifted and combined in origianl
ways to achieve simultaneous - or classical - unities of expression.
The work is thus historically grounded, but thoroughly of the present.
Symphony No. 2(42) was commissioned by the Florida Philharmonic
Orchestra in 1991 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Mozart's
death.
The music conveys a sense of Mozart as visionary artist, striving
to pursue creative freedom despite the ultimate costs to his career
and health.
The final movement incorporates the "Lacrymosa" from Mozart's
unfinished Requiem: the last bars of music that he wrote from his
deathbed at age 35.
For Kievman, this tragic ending becomes the frame of reference for
the creative life, with the symphony's four-part structure depicting
a metaphorical journey from youth through death, and beyond.
Stylistically, the recording suggests a dynamic reconciliation of
classicism and modernism.
Kievman has pursued an aesthetic that links 20th-century experimentation
with a genuine emotional depth and meaning.
Orchestral innovation is used not simply for intellectual effect,
but to lead the listener into new musical territories. On its surface,
the music displays the timeless elements that have historically
drawn audiences to the orchestra: harmony and rhythm, lyricism and
drama.
Yet underlying these elements, the writing and performances reveal
complexities of sound and meaning. In Kievman's world, modern techniques
of layering, juxtaposition, and dissonance are shifted and combined
in original ways to achieve simultaneous - or classical - unities
of expression.
The work is thus historically grounded, but thoroughly of the present.
Resurrection" (Movement 4)
The transcendent final movement continues the journey towards a
new psychic and spiritual terrain - or, in the words of the Lachrymosa,
an expectation of mankind arising from the ashes on the day of judgment.
An ethereal quality pervades the opening, as fragments of the familiar
and unfamiliar float in a dreamlike state: echoes from each of the
earlier movements and foreshadowing of new themes, accentuated by
flutter-tongue playing of the winds and bold glissandi of strings.
From the opening bar, these elements are linked by a subtle melodic
figure in the bass and violas, a chant-like theme that progresses
with the hypnotic steadiness of a train; the fragments develop over
the course of its voyage, guided by the inexorable undercurrent
of motion.
A new melodic theme, somewhat nostalgic yet elegant, is first introduced
by cellos and presented in ever longer appearances, as echoes of
Mozart are continually asserted by various instruments.
Interruptions by the harp, and later by tubular bells and vibraphone,
suggest the heavenly nature of the destination.
A string of timpani signals the sublime entrance of the chorus,
emerging angelically from the instrumental fabric. The music then
undergoes a gradual and organic transformation towards the Lacrymosa,
as if summoned by the strengthening upward pull of choral voices.
The developing lyricism is obscured by expressionistic surges -
the metallic rhythm of timpani and tenor drums being played on their
sides, or flaring interruptions of brass and orchestra.
After a muted trumpet sounds the secondary theme for the last time,
a new rhythmic transition appears in the marimba and vibraphone;
no longer resisting the inevitable, the music is led to its destination
by a delicate choral ascent.
From the midst of modernist techniques, Mozart's 18th-century theme
arrives with an aura of otherworldly clarity and purity.
The fatalism, sadness, and fear of earlier movements have yielded
to the expression transcribed by Mozart at his own moment of death,
reassuring and expectant.
From this brief plateau of eight bars, Kievman carries forward the
rising notes of the Lacrymosa in a beautiful and majestic ascent.
The spiritual intuition is developed seamlessly, free now of worldly
constraints, as if Mozart could suddenly experience the motion of
time in an accelerated vision.
Mozart's classical theme goes through an historical metamorphosis,
from the romantic and chromatic to the modern and postmodern.
The chorus and orchestra become gradually more expressive, colorful,
and rhythmic, reaching a powerful crescendo; from this summit, the
individual voices become more free and complex, resuming the ascent
towards a final point of unison, then beyond into infinite silence.
© 1995 Mark David Needle
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