CHAN 10482 X CHAN 10482 X Booklet Cover.indd 1 Classics 11/6/08 19:24:03 Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev (1891–1953) Scythian Suite, Op. 20 20:01 From the ballet Ala et Lolly 1 1 The Adoration of Veless and Ala 6:12 2 2 The Enemy God and the Dance of the Spirits of Darkness 3:10 3 5:23 3 Night © Lebrecht Music & Arts Photo Library 4 4 The Glorious Departure of Lolly and the Sun’s Procession 5:07 Suite from ‘The Steel Dance’ (Le Pas d’acier), Op. 41a 13:19 ‘A ballet of construction’ 5 1 Entry of the People 2:21 6 2 The Officials 4:42 7 3 The Sailor and the Factory-Worker 3:13 8 4 The Factory 2:56 Prokofiev (l.), working on the score for the film ‘Alexander Nevsky’ with director Sergei Eisenstein, 1943 3 Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky and other works As a young man Prokofiev was regarded as for his homeland. Once he did return, he Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78* 40:02 something of an enfant terrible largely on was immediately drawn into the world of Cantata for mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra the strength of the First and Second Piano films: sound was then a novelty and the from the music to the film Concertos and the Scythian Suite. The latter, musical possibilities opened up by the scored for forces almost as large as those ‘talkies’ excited him. First came Lieutenant 9 3:03 I Russia under the Mongolian Yoke used in Le Sacre du Printemps, earned him Kijé (1933) and then later his celebrated 10 II Song about Alexander Nevsky 3:36 an altogether undeserved reputation as an collaboration with Eisenstein for whom he 11 III The Crusaders in Pskov 7:23 iconoclast. In fact, Prokofiev was far more composed scores for Alexander Nevsky of a ‘traditionalist’ at heart, and throughout (1938) and the first two parts of lvan the 12 2:17 IV Arise ye Russian People his career he was drawn towards traditional Terrible (1942 – 45). Alexander Nevsky was 13 V The Battle on the Ice 13:14 forms – the sonata, the concerto and the Eisenstein’s first feature film with sound and 14 VI The Field of the Dead 5:58 symphony – though his genius flowered his working relationship with Prokofiev was Linda Finnie contralto equally in the freer forms of the ballet and exceptionally close and harmonious. The the suite. The harmonic audacities of his story concerns the Grand Duke Alexander of 15 VII The Entry into Pskov 4:28 early works gave way to a new simplicity Novgorod (1220 –1263), known as ‘Nevsky’ TT 73:45 that was already to be discerned before his after his defeat of the Swedes in 1240 in a Scottish National Orchestra Chorus* return to the USSR in the early 1930s. The battle on the banks of the river Neva. The film Roger Bevan Williams chorus master ‘simplification’ of his style can be seen at its tells of the battle three years later between Olga Gordon Russian language coach most obvious in Lieutenant Kijé, Peter and the the Grand Duke’s army and the invading Wolf and, of course, Alexander Nevsky; the Teutonic Knights, which took place on the Scottish National Orchestra musical language of these works is direct, far frozen lake Chud near Pskov, south of the Edwin Paling leader removed from the more complex orchestral present-day St Petersburg, and resulted in a Neeme Järvi textures and vivid harmonic palette of the glorious victory for the Russians. In the work Scythian Suite or the Second and Third there were twenty-one separate sections and Symphonies. they occupied the composer throughout the Prokofiev’s stay in the West lasted some spring and summer of 1938. As the shooting fifteen years and his brief concert tours and editing of each scene was completed, in the Soviet Union fuelled his longing Prokofiev would view it and return the 4 5 following day with the required music. Its enemy god (probably modelled on Kastchei depiction of the factory at work. Diaghilev Its name having evolved since 1843, when strongly patriotic tenor ensured the success in Firebird). Generally speaking, the ballet bestowed the French title on the ballet, Le Pas it began life as the ‘Society for Performing of the film, for the danger from the latter-day took much inspiration from the primitivism of d’acier, best translated as ‘The Steel Dance’, the Oratorio Messiah’, the Royal Scottish ‘Teutonic Knights’ was growing more evident. Le Sacre. However Diaghilev did not care for and Leonid Massine created the choreography National Orchestra Chorus has emerged as After its first showing, Prokofiev was urged it and the ballet was never staged; Prokofiev for the production at Paris on 7 June 1927 in one of the UK’s leading symphonic choruses. to prepare a concert version of the music, turned it into a concert suite, conducting its which he also led the cast. Its main purpose is to perform large-scale as he had done with Lieutenant Kijé, and the first performance in Petrograd (St Petersburg) choral repertoire with the Royal Scottish © Noël Goodwin following year he reshaped his score into in January 1916. It remains one of his most National Orchestra, with which it appears the seven-movement cantata we know today. richly imaginative, harmonically sophisticated regularly and also has recorded a wide range Naturally, many orchestral effects had to be and wonderfully atmospheric scores. Linda Finnie was born in Scotland and of works, including Paul Paray’s mass Joan re-thought, but Prokofiev retained the overall studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of of Arc and music from the filmsTitanic and © Robert Layton narrative shape. It is a score rich in melodic Music and Drama and the Royal Academy Star Wars. In a typical season the Chorus invention, much of it folk-inspired but of Music. Winner of the Kathleen Ferrier prepares around six different programmes, always stamped with Prokofiev’s personality. A few years later Diaghilev suggested a Memorial Award in Great Britain, she also with up to twenty performances in Glasgow, (Prokofiev never slavishly quoted folksong – ballet on a Soviet theme and Prokofiev was won the Kathleen Ferrier Prize in the Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. Often except in The Story of a Real Man.) The delighted: ‘It was as if a fresh breeze had ’s-Hertogenbosch International Competition. asked to appear with orchestras all over the cantata teems with inventive vitality; it can blown through my window.’ He worked out She has sung with all the major British world, during the past thirty years the Chorus almost be said to provide the colour missing a scenario with the Georgian artist Yakulov, opera companies and performed at venues has visited the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, in the black-and-white film. who had recently exhibited in Paris: in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, in Israel, Italy, Germany, France and Ireland, After his graduation in 1913, Prokofiev a ballet of construction… a creative Tokyo and Singapore, and at the Bayreuth and performed under legendary conductors had made his first visit to Paris and London upsurge with the dance groups operating Festival over five seasons, in roles such such as Carlo Maria Giulini, Riccardo Muti where the Ballets russes were appearing. He machines and showing their working as Eboli (Don Carlos), Amneris (Aida), and André Previn. In February 2005 Walter played his newly completed Second Piano choreographically. Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde) and Waltraute Weller invited the Chorus to Norway to Concerto to Diaghilev who even toyed with A railway-station scene was added as a (Götterdämmerung). As a concert artist she perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the idea of turning it into a ballet but instead prelude, representing social confusion before has worked with many of the world’s leading the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. commissioned a new ballet, Ala et Lolly. The the constructivist discipline was applied. orchestras. Linda Finnie’s recordings on scenario was by Sergei Gorodetsky and the Of the four movements here the first three Chandos include works by Bliss, Diepenbrock One of Europe’s leading symphony orchestras, setting was the nomadic Scythian Empire are from this preludial scene: people in a and Respighi, as well as song cycles by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was which reached its zenith in 400 BC (not in station market (1), officials trying to regulate Mahler, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Elgar’s Sea formed in 1891 as the Scottish Orchestra. the ninth century AD as Prokofiev himself matters (2), a carousing sailor persuaded by Pictures and The Light of Life, and Prokofiev’s Becoming the Scottish National Orchestra once said). Ala is the daughter of the sun god a woman worker to join the factory force (3). Ivan the Terrible (winner of the Deutsche in 1950, it was awarded Royal Patronage Veless; Lolly, a mortal, saves her from the The fourth movement is a graphic musical Schallplattenpreis). in 1991. Renowned conductors such as 6 7 Walter Susskind, Sir Alexander Gibson, of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Music Bryden Thomson, Neeme Järvi, Walter Weller Director Emeritus of the Detroit Symphony Prokofjew: Alexander Newski u. a. Werke and Alexander Lazarev have contributed to Orchestra, Principal Conductor Emeritus its success. In September 2005 Stéphane of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Denève became Music Director, and the new First Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Der junge Prokofjew galt bei seinen Sowjetunion verstärkten sein Heimweh. partnership has already enjoyed overwhelming Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor Laureate Zeitgenossen als “enfant terrible” der neueren Bald nach seiner Rückkehr fühlte er sich acclaim.