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Kay-Mar Trader, v. 2, issue 4, June-July 1947
Page 6
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CELESTIAL MUSIC By R. H. Ramsay The other day, while I was listening to one of my favorite fantasy music albums (see below), the thought occurred to me: why not a music column for fans? We have writers covering everything else of fan# interest, but no musical writers that I have ever heard of. And yet which of you does not have a few favorite records, valued for their weird connotations? Here follows the result of my idea. Sythian Suite, by Serge Prokofiev; Victor Red Seal; recorded by Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Desire Defauw conducting; 6 sides; $4.04. Serge Prokofiev, recently mentioned by Time as one of the five greatest living composers (the others: Shostakovich, Stravinski, Sibelius, Richard Strauss), is one of the less extreme of the modern school of composers; he uses dissonances and occasional atonal effects (so be warned, if you prefer the classical style) but unlike such modernists as Schonberg, he does not attempt to express# himself in such idioms. The Scythian Suite, his first important work, was composed in 1914, originally as a ballet, but at the suggestion of Diaghilev it was never presented as such, instead being reworked into a symphony. Prokofiev's choice of the long-extinct Scythian legendry as his theme afforded abundant room for imagination, since probably no more is known of the real beliefs of the Scythians than of the Druids. The plot, if it may be called such, deals with the sun-maiden Ala and her torment all night long by seven demons of inner earth inadvertedly released by a strange ritual. The Syth hero Lolly ventures forth to her rescue, does battle with the fiends, and is almost overwhelmed when the new day arrives, and the sun-god puts the dark spirits to flight. The first part, the "Adoration of Veless and Ala" (Veless being the sun-god), portrays the ritual. The music at the outset is wild and tumultuous, drawing the listener into the wild, savage ecstasy of the scene. Gradually this subsides into silence, which is broken after a moment or so by a weird string melody with a strange note of expectancy. Part Two, "The Hostile God and the Dance of the Dark Spirits," is all than any weird fan could ask. Starting with a thunderous note, it proceeds with a hoarse, half-dissonant notes and jagged, ungainly, but nonetheless effective, rhythms, matching the distorted forms and unholy movements of the subterranean monsters. Part Three, "The Night," in which the demons visit Ala, moves slowly, replete with weird notes---some subtle, some shreiking--- and the sense of impending evil is strong till near the end. Part Four, "Glorious Departure of Lolly and Cortege of the Sun," in which Lolly battles the monsters, is one of the most glorious depictions of combat in all music. The rhythm is irregular, following the movement of battle, constantly breaking and changing; there are bars which scale two octaves, and beneath the main melody is heard a constant underlying effect of clashing steel. Finally the mood changes; a high, clear, rising effect is heard; and with pizzicato strings and a mighty organ note the tribesmen---and the orchestra---hail the conquering sunrise.
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CELESTIAL MUSIC By R. H. Ramsay The other day, while I was listening to one of my favorite fantasy music albums (see below), the thought occurred to me: why not a music column for fans? We have writers covering everything else of fan# interest, but no musical writers that I have ever heard of. And yet which of you does not have a few favorite records, valued for their weird connotations? Here follows the result of my idea. Sythian Suite, by Serge Prokofiev; Victor Red Seal; recorded by Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Desire Defauw conducting; 6 sides; $4.04. Serge Prokofiev, recently mentioned by Time as one of the five greatest living composers (the others: Shostakovich, Stravinski, Sibelius, Richard Strauss), is one of the less extreme of the modern school of composers; he uses dissonances and occasional atonal effects (so be warned, if you prefer the classical style) but unlike such modernists as Schonberg, he does not attempt to express# himself in such idioms. The Scythian Suite, his first important work, was composed in 1914, originally as a ballet, but at the suggestion of Diaghilev it was never presented as such, instead being reworked into a symphony. Prokofiev's choice of the long-extinct Scythian legendry as his theme afforded abundant room for imagination, since probably no more is known of the real beliefs of the Scythians than of the Druids. The plot, if it may be called such, deals with the sun-maiden Ala and her torment all night long by seven demons of inner earth inadvertedly released by a strange ritual. The Syth hero Lolly ventures forth to her rescue, does battle with the fiends, and is almost overwhelmed when the new day arrives, and the sun-god puts the dark spirits to flight. The first part, the "Adoration of Veless and Ala" (Veless being the sun-god), portrays the ritual. The music at the outset is wild and tumultuous, drawing the listener into the wild, savage ecstasy of the scene. Gradually this subsides into silence, which is broken after a moment or so by a weird string melody with a strange note of expectancy. Part Two, "The Hostile God and the Dance of the Dark Spirits," is all than any weird fan could ask. Starting with a thunderous note, it proceeds with a hoarse, half-dissonant notes and jagged, ungainly, but nonetheless effective, rhythms, matching the distorted forms and unholy movements of the subterranean monsters. Part Three, "The Night," in which the demons visit Ala, moves slowly, replete with weird notes---some subtle, some shreiking--- and the sense of impending evil is strong till near the end. Part Four, "Glorious Departure of Lolly and Cortege of the Sun," in which Lolly battles the monsters, is one of the most glorious depictions of combat in all music. The rhythm is irregular, following the movement of battle, constantly breaking and changing; there are bars which scale two octaves, and beneath the main melody is heard a constant underlying effect of clashing steel. Finally the mood changes; a high, clear, rising effect is heard; and with pizzicato strings and a mighty organ note the tribesmen---and the orchestra---hail the conquering sunrise.
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