Like
Xenakis and Ligeti, French composer Maurice Ohana was a post-modernist who valued sound and sonority over melody and counterpoint. His unusual and uncompromising aesthetic preference may have something to do with the dearth of Ohana recordings in the catalog. This 2008 reissue of a 1997 Timpani release of performances by
Arturo Tamayo and the
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxumbourg features three Ohana works: T'Haran-ngo from 1973, the Piano Concerto from 1981, and the Second Cello Concerto from 1990. After hearing the disc, some listeners may understand better why Ohana recordings are scare: this is bloody difficult music to keep track of. It seems simple in some ways because his structures are usually fairly straightforward. But without melodies and counterpoint, some listeners may find it hard to remember where they are, much less have any idea where the music is going. There is no doubt that Ohana's music makes its presence felt. If T'Haran-ngo's mysterious colors and the luminous textures of its opening invocation or the brutal rhythms and breakneck tempos of its closing ritual dance fail to do it for you, perhaps you should stick with the intellectual intricacies of Carter and the emotional austerities of
Boulez. But if T'Haran-ngo thrills you -- and with
Tamayo and the
Luxumbourg musicians giving it their all, T'Haran-ngo stands as good as chance as it ever will of thrilling anyone -- this disc should be of interest. Timpani's sound is clean enough, but quite distant and nowhere near as dynamic and colorful as it ought to be, considering the music.