PRESS CLIPS
Performer
Splendid…a succession of listening pleasures…multiplicity of talents
-The New York Times
Harold Stover has come up with a fascinating CD [An American Album]. When you see the cover of this CD, graced by a
postcard scene of Portland's Congress Street from yesteryear, you suspect that the contents will include some nostalgia
and, indeed, they do. Highly recommended.
-The Tracker (Organ Historical Society)
[An American Album is] a very eclectic and unusual program of music by American composers…Harold Stover’s playing is
excellent throughout.
–The Diapason
Textural transparency and an unerring approach to color have long been hallmarks of Stover’s style.
–Portland Press Herald
If you had attended [Stover’s] recital you would have come to the conclusion that instrument, organist, and what was played
intersected extraordinarily.
–The Boston Musical Intelligencer
Composer
Harold Stover’s music is intentionally eclectic as he draws from all angles and aspects of musical styles and periods. The
vision and skill with which these diverse ingredients are mixed together create an impression of delightful juxtaposition
and creative innovation. This music, brimming with vitality, is to be delighted in and chuckled at…savored and
internalized. Harold Stover’s compositions paint vivid pictures for listeners to conjure up their own visions of musical
storytelling.
-The Diapason
Harold Stover's 2003 suite, Mountain Music, is distinctly American. Its quiet nocturne, comedic scherzo and final variations
are based on Shaker melodies dating back as far as 1808. The central Quick Dance—a hoedown, no less—[is]
especially attractive, as [is] the solemnly striding ground-bass underpinning the finale.
–The Washington Post
[Siciliana and Arioso] is quite original…well-crafted and carefully thought out.
–The American Organist
[Carillon is] a completely original take on nine hymn tunes.
–The American Organist
Conductor of Renaissance Voices
They sing as one person, their intonation is as constant as their rhythm is good…it is all marvelously musical. Harold
Stover obviously knows and loves the music he is conducting.
–Biddeford Journal Tribune
Throughout the program, the group’s 21 singers, perfectly tuned and performing without accompaniment, produced [a] consistently
seamless, velvety tone and rich blend.
–Portland Press Herald