Overview
Introduction
Of the more than 60 works that Hovhaness has designated "symphonies," the Symphony No. 6 "Celestial Gate", scored for chamber orchestra, is one of the most concise, most thoroughly integrated, and most consistently inspired. Although it did not appear on recording until the early 1970s, it has gradually grown in popularity, benefiting from several fine recorded performances since the advent of the compact disc.
The Symphony No. 6 comprises one multi-sectional movement lasting approximately 20 minutes. Its tone is consistently reverent and beatific, with even fewer contrasts in mood than are found in the Symphony No. 2, "Mysterious Mountain." Like the Magnificat, Op. 157, the Sixth Symphony may be seen as a consummation of Hovhaness's preoccupation with the materials that concerned him during the 1950s: mysterious pizzicato murmurings in the strings, increasingly unrelated to the prevailing tonality; hymnlike string passages, now including seventh chords; deliberately chaotic episodes, in which groups of instruments play similar passages simultaneously without being coordinated rhythmically; chant-like incantations featuring trumpet and other instrumental solos; fervently celestial effects produced by dividing the string sections into sub-groupings; and dance-like passages in Armenian style. In addition the central thematic idea of the work is a modal melody of unusual poignancy, less obviously rooted in Armenian melos. This melody is subjected to considerable contrapuntal development, while remaining within a consonant, diatonic, modal framework. Hovhaness has indicated that the work was influenced by Korean traditional music as well as by his usual Armenian sources.
