The Persian Hours delivers exactly what it promises: "Mystical Piano Music." It's perfect for those looking for something new and out of the ordinary to accompany their meditating. The pieces selected by
Tamara Anna Cislowska are far from the usual found on discs of quiet Classical music. Yes,
Satie's Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes are frequently on those other discs, but here they are mixed with
Alan Hovhaness,
Luciano Berio,
Arvo Pärt,
Joseph Schwanter,
Henryk Górecki,
David Chesworth, and excerpts from
Charles Koechlin's The Persian Hours (hence the disc's title). All of the selections are very similarly slow in tempo, quiet, contemplative, and abstract or even enigmatic in character. A few, such as
Hovhaness' Mystic Flute, and the
Satie, have the modal sound of music from exotic places. Others are not so tonally oriented or, like the
Koechlin, have more than one tonal center, but because these works are so still and calm and generally spare in density and smooth in texture, concurrences of notes that could otherwise be cringe-inducing dissonances are hardly noticed at all. The mood of the music is what matters above all. To some extent, the resonant sound of the recording adds to the atmospheric qualities.
Cislowska's interpretations of the pieces are generally neutral in humor, not necessarily being explicitly cheerful or melancholy, as much of the music tends toward an ambiguous or detached expression. The one exception is
Schwantner's Veiled Autumn, which is a threnody that, while not being depressive, is not comforting. The Persian Hours is the most programmatic of the music, although "Vision of a Starry Night" from
Hovhaness' Sonata Ananda and
Chesworth's Apparent Heavenly Movement both represent a view of the skies. There is enough of a difference between pieces and in
Cislowska's thoughtful performance of them that the whole disc does not just run together as one long, hour-and-a-quarter wave of sound. She doesn't allow herself to become enthralled in any one piece (in fact, some might find the pace of Gnossienne No. 1 too fast); instead she allows the individual listener to come to his/her own understanding of each one or of the whole program, taking it as a collection of lesser known, reflective piano pieces or as a soothing soundtrack for an introspective interlude.