What is the Divine Play? Alexander Scriabin searches for an answer in his Symphony No. 3, Op. 43 (1904), entitled Le divin poème (The Divine Poem). When he was working at this masterpiece, the composer was no longer interested in “pure music”. He had to abandon the very traditional musical glossary as not meeting his pursuit criteria. Instead, the score of the symphony is replete with figurative definitions: “sublime”, “suffocating”, “mysterious”, “sparkling”, “legendary”, “ecstatically”. Once again, Scriabin eschews the traditional square symphonic four-movement cycle. There are three parts played “attaca”, that is, without a break. Each gets a name as expressive as the music itself: Struggles, Delights, Divine Play.
In this symphony, Scriabin philosophically expresses the development of the human spirit, from overcoming the past, through dissolution in nature, to delightful liberation and unity with the Universe. The pattern of each section of the symphony changes according to the literary program (the composer described it in detail before the premiere performance). In the first section, the protagonist wins the fiercest battles. In one of the episodes, the music even almost visibly paints a picture of a dramatic collapse, a sharp breakdown (“a formidable collapse,” the composer notes in the musical score). The slow section immerses the listener in the feeling of enthusiastic contemplation of the world around. Quiet sweet melodies gradually develop into an expression of unbridled sensuality. Unpredictable mood swings characterize the Divine Play of the third section, and the core motif is joyful radiance. The innovative construction of the symphony could become chaotic but for the common thread sewing together all the tribulations. It is first heard in the Introduction to the symphony: the instruments loudly chant the seven notes, as if proclaiming “I am”. With this majestic statement, Scriabin completes the entire fantasy cycle.
Natalia Rogudeeva
The time of Alexander Scriabin’s creative upsurge and his formation as one of the most interesting young Russian composers and pianists fell on the late 1890s. He was invited to teach at the Moscow Conservatory; conductor Sergei Koussevitzky gave a cycle of concerts made up of Scriabin’s works; finally, the composer became best friends with music publisher and philanthropist Mitrofan Belyaev. Scriabin mentions the little Andante for strings in a letter to Belyaev in February 1899: he promises to send the music scores and complains that classes prevent him from concentrating on his music. This piece is one of the composer’s first attempts at addressing a small orchestra. Looking at his own writings with an extra degree of criticism, Scriabin did not publish it and did not appropriate the opus. It was only in 1987 that Andante was reconstructed and saw the light of day in tandem with another early piece, The Scherzo, presumably created a year earlier.
Alexander Scriabin remained true to his love for piano and orchestra throughout his career. Very rarely he turned to other instruments and chamber ensemble genres. However, several works of this type have survived, although they were published after the composer’s death.
Scriabin began to compose the Romance in A minor in 1894, for solo piano. Three years later, in Odessa, at the premiere of his Piano Concerto, the composer met the outstanding horn player Louis Savard. The performance of this Moravian Austrian virtuoso impressed Scriabin so much that he revised his Romance for horn and piano and dedicated the piece to the musician. Nowadays, the composition has become popular not only among horn players. The very first edition of the piece also included a version for cello, an instrument perfectly fit for the melody of this romance in terms of tessitura and character.
Alexander Scriabin wrote a romance for voice only once. The composer was inspired by the first serious love feeling. In the autumn of 1891, he met a charming schoolgirl, Natalia Sekerina. The romance I Wish I could Become a Beautiful Dream (1891) was composed by Scriabin to his own lyrics, which many researchers considered naive and banal. However each line of the poem describes the most sincere feelings experienced by a 19-year-old boy. Four years later, the lovers’ relationship ended and the romance remained unfinished. The composer’s family restored it after many years, and the famous singer Nina Koshyts gladly included it in her concert programs.
Chopin and the piano were the two main passions of the young Alexander Scriabin. He himself began his manifestation as a composer with piano miniatures. Amazingly, at the age of 15 he created his first masterpiece, a lyrical Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2 No. 1. Its melancholic melody became popular immediately after its first publication in 1893. Many outstanding pianists included the etude in their repertoire. In this particular case, Scriabin himself agreed with the opinion of the public and played the musical piece with pleasure until the end of his days.
Natalia Rogudeeva
I shall go to tell people that they are strong and powerful!
Alexander Scriabin
Le Poème de l’extase, unlike any other work by Alexander Scriabin, reflected the composer’s philosophical concept of art with incredible power and detail. The brevity and laconic nature of the piece (the poem lasts less than twenty minutes) and the crystalline clarity of the musical form (unlike the vague and mystical literary programme) won Le Poème de l’extase great popularity among audiences.
The abundance of brief musical formulae named by the composer – at times somewhat grandiloquently as motifs of “languor”, “freedom”, “enjoyment” and “artistic heights” – does not result in a kaleidoscopic whole. All of the themes are woven together by the focussed emergence of the main idea and the steady advance towards its fulfilment. It is as if the musical development occurs in circles – waves of rising interspersed with instances of meditation, of contemplation. All this variety of inner conditions and moods is cemented by the steady ascent to the general culmination of the work. The theme of “freedom” (given to the solo trumpet) and the theme of “self-assertion” are paramount in this ascent.
The dazzlingly bright epilogue of Le Poème de l’extase staggers with its hitherto unknown breadth and titanic power. The orchestra rings out, it sparks, it flows – it would appear – with every colour of the aural spectrum; the jubilant brass, the eight horns bells-in-air, and the trumpet – supported by the organ pedal and a bell ringing out – lead the theme of “self-assertion” which resounds with truly superhuman energy.
The first performance of Le Poème de l’extase took place on 10 December 1908 in New York and was conducted by Modest Altschuler. The St Petersburg premiere of the poem soon followed (31 January 1909 under the baton of Felix Blumenfeld).
Iosif Raiskin
