Alexander
SCRIABIN (1872-1915)
Preparation for Final Mystery (realised by Alexander
Nemtin):-
(1) Universe [41.50]
(2) Mankind [52.03]
(3) Transfiguration [65.51]
Nuances (ballet based on late piano works, orch Alexander Nemtin)
[30.21]
Alexei Lubimov (piano) Alexander
Ghindin (piano) Thomas Trotter (organ)
Anna-Kristiina Kaappola (sop) Ernst Senff Chor St Petersburg Chamber Choir
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester/Vladimir Ashkenazy
DECCA 466 329-2 3CDs
[72.11+52.03+65.51]
Crotchet £25
Amazon
UK £40.99
Amazon
USA $48.42
Scriabin's death at the age of 43 frustrated the production of a work of
boundless ambition. Fuelled by the hothouse atmosphere in which he was brought
up and by his delvings into the writings of Nietzsche, Alexandr Blok, Vyacheslav
Ivanov and of Helena Blavatsky's Russian Theosophical Society, Scriabin set
his heart and soul on writing the Mysterium. This was to be for a
large orchestra, mixed choir, visual effects (light keyboard as in Bantock's
Atalanta in Calydon), dancers, incense, processions and spoken text.
The work was to be performed in a cathedral whose form was to be continually
'manipulated' by mists and lights. It was to pave the way for mankind attaining
a higher consciousness.
Scriabin did not even start the Mysterium. Instead he produced a work
which was to prepare the way for it. This he called Preparation.
It too was never completed - barely started. Of it all that remained
at his death was a thousand line poem and 53 pages of jumbled sketches. He
worked at the Preparation in 1912-13 and planned a trip to India in
the winter of 1914 as part of his research for the project. He played sections
of the work to friends and their reported impressions helped colour the present
realisation.
Alexander Nemtin (1936-1999) devoted most of his life to realising Scriabin's
Preparation. He was a composer with two symphonies to his name but
he deliberately neglected that side of his creativity in the service of Scriabin.
Preparation is in three parts. Nemtin completed Universe in
1973, Mankind in 1976 and Transfiguration in 1996. He lived
to hear the work played complete by the present forces.
Universe alone has been recorded previously. This was by the forces who premiered
that section on 16 March 1973 conducted by Kiril Kondrashin. The recording
is still available from BMG-Melodiya (74321 59477). The pianist was the same
Alexandr Lubimov who appears on this disc.
Nemtin clearly had the Scriabin style under his skin. That style is remarkably
sustained across the complete work. Lasting 20 or so minutes short of three
hours, the music flows and recedes in a mélange of Debussy (Images
and La Mer), Szymanowski (Third Symphony and King Roger),
Stravinsky (Rite of Spring), Bax Symphony No. 2 and Spring Fire,
Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe, Griffes' Kubla Khan and Delius's
Mass of Life and Requiem. The 'cake' is rich, fragrant and
highly spiced. There are some mild atonal elements but for the most part
if you imagine Poem of Ecstasy and Prometheus - especially
the latter - you get some reasonable impression of the sound of the music
especially in Parts I and II. The piano role is prominent but certainly not
like a concerto - at times shadowing Bax's Symphonic Variations which
is of similar vintage and mystical inclination. The trumpet takes a hieratic
line calling out in acidic heroism above the orchestra. The soprano's pp
stabbing staccato vocalisation in the très dansant section
of Mankind is memorable and wild in the same way as Percy Grainger's
Warriors ballet. In Infernale (Part III track 5) I was conscious
of the similarity in choral style with the apocalyptic choral writing in
Franz Schmidt's Book of the Seven Seals.
Universe depicts the creation process from nothingness up to the point of
the creation of Man. Mankind charts the ascent of Man and the entry
of Superman (absolute evil) and the horrors of war (Scriabin died in the
second year of the Great War). The Transfiguration: Superman, the
author of the horrors of Mankind, is exiled to the desert (shades of Martinu's
Epic of Gilgamesh) where gradually an awareness of his sins grows.
Death then comes to Superman in the shape of the White Sister. Realising
he must now share with Mankind his knowledge he returns to find Man still
riven with warfare. The death of Superman is taken to be the rising of mankind
into a new and more exalted form.
The three parts are each sub-banded: I: 8; II: 6; III: 11. For sampling
try track 6 on CD2 and track 5 on CD3.
Similar 'realisations' are not unheard of. There is Larry Austin's Charles
Ives Universe Symphony (recorded on Centaur), Anthony Payne's Elgar
Symphony No. 3, Mahler Symphony No. 10 (Cooke), Bruckner Symphony No. 9
(Carragan).
The set is filled out Nuances a ballet comprising Nemtin's orchestration
of 14 solo piano pieces by Scriabin. They all date from late in his career.
The work was commissioned by Scriabin expert Faubion Bowers.
The design of the booklet and liner is, quite simply, hideous. The liner
notes are very thorough including Hugh Macdonald's typically lucid essay
and a substantial sequence by Julia Makarova (Nemtin's widow) and Konstantin
Portugalov explaining the reconstruction process. The recording and performances
are superb.
Scriabin collectors will need no second bidding. The work should appeal to
pursuers of the eccentric and of the late romantic. This is a massive work
and one of great ambition both on the part of Scriabin as well as of Nemtin.
The music is unconventional, imaginative and unfashionable - a potent cocktail
for many collectors.
Rob Barnett
