Peter Boyer: Balance of Power: Orchestral Works
Naxos American Classics

It is ironic that an album featuring music so totally emblematic of America and by a celebrated American composer should be performed by … the London Symphony Orchestra and recorded at London's Henry Wood Hall. Yet while no doubt a great American orchestra would have performed Peter Boyer's pieces splendidly, there's no disputing the exceptional calibre of the LSO's playing on this thoroughly appealing hour-long release. Boyer's description of it as “one of the world's greatest orchestras” isn't hyperbolic but rather accurate. It shouldn't be overlooked either that as conductor he was directly responsible for coaxing from the ensemble the inspired performances the recording features.

The fourth album by Boyer (b. 1970) and his third in the Naxos American Classics Series presents eight works, six of them world premiere recordings. The tone is often celebratory, even triumphant, as exemplified by the stately Fanfare for Tomorrow, commissioned for President Biden's January 2021 inauguration; but melancholy is also present in affecting settings such as Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”) and, naturally, Elegy. As performed by the LSO, the material packs a visceral punch that ensures no listener's attention will drift as the music plays. The orchestral sweep one hears in John Williams' music finds its place in Boyer's too. To that end, it hardly surprises that he's made a mark in the film and television music industries, with orchestrations having been contributed to more than thirty-five film scores.

All of the material on Balance of Power is of recent vintage, the earliest work dating back to 2014 but most from the last two to three years. It opens rousingly with the aptly titled Curtain Raiser, as ear-catching and exuberant an overture as one could ask for. Boyer's gift for orchestration is immediately apparent, as is the effervescence of the LSO's execution. Strings, percussion, and horns combine for a dynamic, five-minute exercise in uplift, the result a thrilling start to the album. Balance of Power follows, a commissioned work written in honour of the ninety-fifth birthday of Henry Kissinger. When Boyer had a chance to meet the one-time US Secretary of State, Kissinger made two requests: that the work not be too abstract and that it be a “humorous symphony.” After delving into Kissinger research via biographies and the man's own writings, Boyer settled on the work's three-part structure and thematic content dealing with contrasting balance-related perspectives. “A Sense of History” initiates the work with solemnity and grandeur, Boyer here alluding to how profoundly events, conflicts, and struggles shape the course of history and a country's destiny. In contrast to the sober first part, “A Sense of Humor (Scherzo politico)” honours one of Kissinger's requests with mischievous writing that cheekily alludes to his low speaking voice in a bluesy, jazz-tinged to-and-fro between contrabassoon and bass clarinet. While the tone is playful, there's also an undercurrent of foreboding in insistent percussion patterns and devilish string figures that carry with them a whiff of Shostakovich. “A Sense of Direction” concludes the nineteen-minute piece with an uplifting setting animated by John Adams-like mallet instrument patterns and radiant melodic expressions, the optimistic mood emblematic of a view heralding hope for the future.

Other pieces emphasize Boyer's sensitive side, including Rolling River (Sketches on “Shenandoah”). When he was commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for the Cincinnati Pops to create a new orchestral treatment of the American classic, Boyer smartly chose to keep its magnificent folk melodies front and centre and complement them with rich symphonic textures to amplify the song's beauty. Originally written as incidental music for a play based on war letters, Elegy addresses grief directly and movingly, its arrangement for English horn, harp, and string orchestra compatible with the music's delicate character. In similar manner, In the Cause of the Free, commissioned as a reflection on Veterans Day and the Armistice signing that ended WWI, honours the memory of fallen soldiers, Boyer's eloquent expression reinforced by a stately English horn solo and powerful trumpet cadenza. The sole non-commissioned work presented is Radiance, a peaceful string orchestra evocation Boyer included to create a better balance between lyrical and boisterous material. Balance is likewise achieved when Fanfare, Hymn and Finale ends the recording with a piece as celebratory as its opener, Curtain Raiser. The concluding work is more elaborate, however, progressing as it does from its robust, horns-driven intro to a gently rapturous hymn episode and exultant climax.

The evidence at hand suggests Boyer's name might be mentioned in the same breath as those of Barber, Bernstein, Ives, Adams, and especially Copland. Like them, he writes works that have popular appeal and engage with immediacy. They're also, however, impeccably crafted and in no way lacking in integrity. Boyer isn't calculating: while he's one of the most frequently performed American orchestral composers of our time (his Grammy-nominated Ellis Island: The Dream of America is now one of the most-performed American orchestral pieces), his writing is sincere, honest, and authentic; that it connects so readily with listeners is surely no knock against it.

September 2022