Seven, They are Seven

"Seven, They are Seven" is a cantata by Sergei Prokofiev composed in 1917 for large orchestra, chorus, and dramatic tenor soloist. It was composed in Yessentuki and Kislovodsk, and the words are taken from a poem by Konstantin Bal'montcite web |url=http://www.sfsymphony.org/templates/pgmnote.asp?nodeid=4242&callid=792 |title=Sergei Sergeievich Prokofiev |accessdate=2007-07-18 |author=San Francisco Symphony |authorlink=San Francisco Symphony |year= |month= |work=Program notes] . It was revised by Prokofiev in 1933.

The work was composed in the year that the Russian tsar, Nicholas II of Russia, was overthrown. This was followed by the Russian Civil War, and "Seven, They are Seven" was not performed until 1924 in Paris, and was directed by Serge Koussevitzkycite web |url=http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=4358 |title=LSO/Gergiev – The Rite of Spring |accessdate=2007-07-18 |last=Ball |first=Timothy |year= |month=] . It was first performed in Russia in 1956, after Prokofiev had died.

The poem that the work was composed to is a Russian translation of a cuneiform in a Mesopotamian temple from the third millennium BC. It describes seven demonic gods who have power over the elements, and also describes the power of these gods.

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