The Great American Ninth - Roy Harris: Symphony No. 9 / Symphony No. 8
The symphonies of American composer Roy Harris (1898-1980) are really essays in the symphonic form rather than the traditionally structured vehicles we're so used to. This allows Harris's ideas to appear more as declarative statements (usually in the brasses), ideas that are subsequently buoyed (or molded) by strings underneath. Motion and mood govern Harris's works--as well as playfulness. The last three movements of Symphony 8 (1962) employ several delightful piano obbligato passages that reveal how much joy there is in his work. Perhaps the real surprise on this disc isMemories of a Child's Sunday, a three-movement work evoking the world of a child at play on a Midwestern Sunday afternoon. The Albany Symphony and conductor Alan Miller have grand feel for Harris's magic. Let's hope more Harris will follow soon.--Paul Cook