It is clear that Hovhaness' music is finally finding a wider audience. This American mystic has long been a part of the international fabric, but has been waiting many decades for the extended recognition which is now coming to him. Certainly the symphonic sound stage that recording engineer John Eargle has established allows Hovhaness' music to be heard in a dimension never before available. Mr. Hovhaness was present for the recording sessions, as he was for the Mount St. Helens recording. His emotion at hearing his music realized by Schwarz, Seattle, and the Delos team was evident to all in the sessions for both discs.
Mountains are symbolic meeting places between the mundane and spiritual worlds.
To some, the Mysterious Mountain may be the phantom peak, unmeasured, thought to be higher than Everest, as seen from great distances by fliers in Tibet. To some, it may be the solitary mountain, the tower of strength over a countryside - Fujiyama, Ararat, Monadnock, Shasta, or Grand Teton. Free rhythmless vibrational passages, each string player playing independently, suggest waves in a vast ocean sky. Undersea mountains rise and fall in horns, trombones, and tuba. Music of whales also rises and falls like mountain ranges.