Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiev)

"Alexander Nevsky" is the score for the 1938 Sergei Eisenstein film "Alexander Nevsky", composed by Sergei Prokofiev. He later rearranged the music in the form of a cantata for mezzo-soprano, chorus, and orchestra. It has remained one of the most renowned cantatas of the 20th century.

Alexander Nevsky (film music)

The score was Prokofiev's third for a film, following "Lieutenant Kije" (1933) and "Pique Dame" (1936). It was composed of 21 sections, and Prokofiev was heavily involved not just with the composition, but with the recording as well. He experimented with different microphone distances in order to achieve the desired sound. Horns meant to represent the Teutonic Knights, for instance, were played close enough to the microphones to produce a crackling, distorted sound. The brass and choral groups were recorded in different studios and the separate pieces were later mixed.Fact|date=September 2008

Prokofiev employed different sections of the orchestra, as well as different compositional styles, to evoke the necessary imagery. For instance, the Teutonic Knights (seen as the adversary) are represented by heavy brass instruments, playing discordant notes in a martial style. The sympathetic Russian forces are represented by more folk-like arrangements, played with more consonance.

Alexander Nevsky (cantata)

The cantata for "Alexander Nevsky" (Op. 78) debuted in Moscow on May 17, 1939. It was performed under the direction of Prokofiev, and like the film score was well-received by the public.Fact|date=September 2008 The U.S. premiere was conducted by Leopold Stokowski. It is performed in seven movements, lasting approximately 40 minutes. It is sung in Russian, but Prokofiev utilized Latin for the third and fifth movements.

Movements

#"Russia under the Mongol Yoke" - The opening movement begins slowly, and in C minor. It is meant to evoke an image of destruction, as brought to Russia by the invading Mongols.
#"Song about Alexander Nevsky" - This movement (B flat) represents Prince Alexander Yaroslavich's victory over the Swedish army at the Battle of the Neva in 1240. Alexander received the name 'Nevsky' (a form of Neva) in tribute.
#"The Crusaders in Pskov" - For this movement (C-sharp minor), Prokofiev's initial intention was to use genuine 13th century church music, however the examples he found in the Moscow Conservatoire sounded so cold, dull and alien to the 20th century ear that he abandoned the idea and instead composed an original theme "better suited to our modern conception" to evoke the brutality of the Teutonic Knights. [Sergei Prokofiev, "Can There Be an End to Melody?", "Pioneer" magazine (1939), translation in Sergei Prokofiev, "Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences", compiled by S. Shlifstein, translated by Rose Prokofieva (Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2000, ISBN 0898751497), [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VOnVVbaYt28C&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=%22Teutonic+knights+sing+Catholic+psalms%22&source=web&ots=C-Xo9fS22X&sig=rOx8ukHFAud-AUu8gpnzP7AAJjo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result 115–17 ] ).]
#"Arise, ye Russian People" - This movement (E flat) represents a call to arms for the people of Russia. It is composed with folk overtones.
#"The Battle on the Ice" - The fifth (and longest) movement is arguably the climax of the cantata. It represents the final clash between Nevsky's forces and the Teutonic Knights on the frozen surface of Lake Peipus in 1242. The serene beginning (representing dawn on the day of battle) is contrasted by the jarring middle section, which is cacophonous in style.
#"The Field of the Dead" - Composed in C minor, the sixth movement is the lament of a girl seeking her lost lover, as well as kissing the eyelids of all the dead. The vocal solo is performed by a mezzo-soprano.
#"Alexander's Entry into Pskov" - The seventh and final movement (B flat) echoes the second movement in parts, and recalls Alexander's triumphant return to Pskov.

Orchestration

The work is scored for 2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, english horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, maracas, wood blocks, triangle, tubular bells, tamtam, glockenspiel, xylophone, harp, strings, and chorus.

Analysis

The Latin nonsense words chanted by the Teutonic knights—"Peregrinus, expectavi, pedes meos, in cymbalis"—seem at first sight to be meaningless. Attempts to translate the "phrase" are unhelpful. Prokofiev himself referred to the knights as "sing [ing] Catholic psalms, as they march into battle". [Sergei Prokofiev, "Can There Be an End to Melody?", "Pioneer" magazine (1939), translation in Sergei Prokofiev, "Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences", compiled by S. Shlifstein, translated by Rose Prokofieva (Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2000, ISBN 0898751497), [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VOnVVbaYt28C&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=%22Teutonic+knights+sing+Catholic+psalms%22&source=web&ots=C-Xo9fS22X&sig=rOx8ukHFAud-AUu8gpnzP7AAJjo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result 115–17 ] ).] The words are indeed from the Psalms, specifically from the Vulgate texts chosen by Igor Stravinsky for his 1930 Cantata "A Symphony of Psalms". An explanation for this choice may be found in the life-long rivalry between the two Russian composers, specifically in the younger man (Prokofiev's) dismissal of Stravinsky's idiom as backward-looking "pseudo-Bachism", [Sergei Prokofiev, "Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences", compiled by S. Shlifstein, translated by Rose Prokofieva (Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, 2000, ISBN 0898751497), [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=VOnVVbaYt28C&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=pseudo-Bachism&source=web&ots=C-Xo8dPY5Z&sig=g-DJwMZ_k--fHjdFWy8eM5k7ewo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result] 61)] and his disdain for Stravinsky's choice to remain in western Europe, in contrast to Prokofiev's own return to Stalinist Russia in 1935. He seems to have been unable to resist the temptation to put the words of his long-time rival into the mouths of the one-dimensional Teutonic baddies of Eisenstein's film. [Morag G. Kerr, "Prokofiev and His Cymbals", "Musical Times" 135 (1994), 608–609. Text also available at [http://www.b5-dark-mirror.demon.co.uk/nevsky.html Alexander Nevsky and the Symphony of Psalms] ]

Premiere

17-May-1939, Moscow. Valentina Gagrina (mezzo-soprano), Sergei Prokofiev (cond), Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

Recordings

There are many other recordings of the cantata, including a version in English conducted by Fritz Reiner, and a live stereo version once released on the Music & Arts label, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

References