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RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
New Babylon- Music for the film (1929).
Reel 1: General Sale. ‘War - Death to the Prussians’ [9:02]
Reel 2: Head over Heels. ‘Paris’ [10:01]
Reel 3: The Siege of Paris. [10:51]
Reel 4: 18th March 1871. ‘On the morning of 18th
March the workers still guarded their guns’ [13:21]
Reel 5: Versailles against Paris. ‘Paris has stood for centuries’
[10:21]
Reel 6: The Barricade. ‘The 49th day of defence’ [14:51]
Reel 7: To the firing squad. ‘There is peace and order in Paris’
[10:39]
Reel 8: Death. ‘The trial’ [8:11] Original ending [4:07]
Basel Sinfonietta/Mark Fitz-Gerald
rec. Volkshaus, Basel, Switzerland, 1-3 May 2011
World Première Recording of the complete score
NAXOS 8.572824-25 [43:15 + 48:08]
It is always an exciting event when a previously unrecorded complete score receives
its première and in this case especially so since it is by one the 20th
century’s greatest composers. The wonderfully copious notes accompanying
this 2 CD set give a comprehensive history of the background to the events portrayed
in the film as well as the making of it and the creation of the music for it.
The Paris Commune which existed from 18 March to 28 May 1871 was an attempt
at revolution by large numbers of Parisians, mainly workers. It followed the
defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian war, launched the previous year by Napoleon
III. It resulted in huge loss of life and the ceding of 4700 square miles of
territory to the newly established Germany. However, the French government,
obviously fearful of German reaction, used the French regular army to quell
the uprising themselves. This resulted in a second siege of Paris that was infinitely
more ferocious than the first one by the Germans. Thousands of ‘communards’
and their families were force-marched to Versailles, where the government and
bourgeoisie had decamped for safety. There they were tried and thousands were
executed or transported to New Caledonia. Despite its defeat the Paris Commune
was seen by revolutionaries around the world and down the ages as an example
of workers’ power in action. Things were far from perfect as criticism
was levelled at the leaders of the commune for their conduct, including vacillation
in not taking over the banks and not seeking to topple the government in Versailles.
These events were an obvious choice for the young film makers Grigori Kozintsev
and his friend Leonid Trauberg in the heady days in which artistic freedom flourished
in the years following Russia’s own revolution. That state of affairs
was already on the wane when the film was made and would shortly come to an
abrupt end. The country would then experience a clampdown in which such freedom
was stifled and those involved in the arts were made to conform to the diktats
of committees and the “needs of the State”. The two young Ukrainian
Jewish friends met when they enrolled in Meyerhold’s theatre school in
Petrograd. They went on to found the “Factory of the Eccentric Actor”
(FEKS) and gathered around them various people, some of whom would later be
involved in the making of New Babylon.
During this period they met the 20 year old Shostakovich then handling the music
for the FEKS’ production of The Devil’s Wheel (1926). The
two would-be film directors commissioned him to write the music for New Babylon
giving him a mere 9 weeks to come up with the score. After Kozintsev and Trauberg
dramatically rewrote the screenplay Shostakovich who’d already worked
day and night producing the original had only 6 days to rewrite the symphonic
sections and three to prepare the musicians’ parts! In the event the score
was too complex for a small pit band to perform and the film itself was projected
too fast. This meant the music became out of synch so in general the film was
not a success and both it and its music were more or less forgotten for half
a century. We are indeed fortunate that both survived so we can hear what is
certainly an outstandingly brilliant, witty, poignant and altogether wonderfully
inventive score. It is immediately obvious that Shostakovich was already a creative
genius whose abilities and style were already formed by that early age.
There is much from the first note that any Shostakovich fan will recognise from
any amount of his later music. In reel one he immediately manages to create
the atmosphere of chaos in The New Babylon department store, that is
holding a sale with bargains aplenty, with the clever use of a xylophone. Later
on the plight of workers in the sweatshop of a textile factory with its incessant
sewing machines is suggested by employing violas and side drum. We also hear
the flexatone. This is an extremely rarely heard percussion instrument - also
known as a vibraslap, which you can check out on YouTube. It consists of a flat
piece of metal with two suspended pieces either side with small balls attached
which hit the flat piece when the handle is shaken. The tone is altered by pushing
yet another piece of metal attached to the top of the flat section with a thumb
thus bending it. There is ample evidence here of Shostakovich’s love of
slapstick and music-hall adding to the descriptive nature of the music. It perfectly
brings the events to mind, whether or not you are watching the film at the same
time. He manages to embody the spirit and sounds of Paris with clever use of
the can-can and burlesque-sounding tunes. This carries on to the second reel
until more ominous sounds signal the approach of Prussian troops towards the
capital.
Reel three describes the guarding of Paris by the French army. The sound of
fatalism and resignation accompanies the calm before the storm. The music becomes
more and more agitated as the Prussians get ever closer. Around nine minutes
into this section listen out for what must surely have been the inspiration
for John Williams’ music for the film “Jaws” with the two
repeated notes on the strings. Reel four tells of the establishment of the barricades
and with them the commune itself. The music shares the telling of this with
a description of a rehearsal for an Offenbach operetta. In amongst it all one
can easily identify ideas later put to use in Shostakovich’s fifth symphony.
With the second CD we arrive at reel five which describes the proletariat working
for the commune. The bourgeoisie have decamped to Versailles to ensure they
are safe. Shostakovich has the cabaret artists performing the Marseillaise,
counter-posing this with strains of the Can-can from Orpheus in the
Underworld. Reel six and the leaders of the commune stare defeat in the
face though the workers continue to fight. This is against a background of revolutionary
songs whilst the bourgeoisie in Versailles await the commune’s defeat
as if it were an entertainment put on for their benefit. A waltz tune parodying
the Marseillaise underlines this sentiment. Louise, the film’s
heroine loots the New Babylon store for anything useful. Her lover Jean contemplates
the commune’s betrayal by the powers-that-be who would clearly prefer
a German victory over a proletarian one and who applaud as the fighters are
being crushed. A tender interlude in a lull in the fighting is shown through
a rendering on piano of Old French Song by Tchaikovsky by one of the
Communard Councillors. He is shot by a sniper and the fighting resumes. Shostakovich
manages to describe these entire goings-on in under 15 minutes of music. It
contrasts mounting tension with the frivolous behaviour of the ruling class.
Reel six ends with another waltz. Reel seven with its title To the firing
squad and its ironic subtitle ‘There is peace and order in Paris’
tells of the final crushing of the Commune. This is followed by the return of
the opening scene’s light-hearted mood. Reel eight has the Communards
being forced to dig their own graves while the rain lashes down. Jean has to
dig Louise’s who mocks him for being weak then forgives him. The censored
version ends with a final defiant note from the Communards. The music includes
strains of the Internationale before ending in what seems to be an abrupt
unresolved chord. Then we are treated to the first ever recording of the original
ending. It’s four minutes of music in which that chord is completed and
which has Jean being photographed for the “Album of Heroes”. It
makes for an ironically bitter twist. A sergeant tells a totally demoralised
Jean not to worry as he’ll get used to such setbacks. Was this a hint
by the film-makers and Shostakovich at a feeling of betrayal of the Russian
revolution by its leaders at this juncture when the new found artistic freedom
was already under threat? The unresolved chord had suggested that the setback
was merely a temporary one whereas the actual ending is much more pessimistic.
Whilst the music is perfect as a way of describing the film’s story I
still feel that it is a wonderfully atmospheric work in its own right away from
the screen. As I said at the outset it shows how incredibly mature and developed
Shostakovich’s music was even as early in his career as this. I am sure
he was as satisfied with his music years later as he was at the time of writing
it. It is a great addition to any collector of his music and is superbly played
on this disc. The booklet is very informative and has helped me no end in writing
this review since I’ve never seen the film. I’ll be looking out
for any showing of it now if it ever gets an outing. One strange thing however
is what sounds at times like a murmuring in the background - could it have been
the conductor doing a Glenn Gould I wonder ... answers on a postcard please.
Steve Arloff
see also review by Nick
Barnard (November 2011 Recording of the Month)
It is a great addition to any collector of his music and is superbly played
on this disc.