Alexander Scriabin (1872 1915): Prometheus: The Poem of Fire

Early in his career, Scriabins music is described as lyrical in a romantic tradition.

He

was strongly influenced by Frederic Chopin, making his musical output resemble that of Chopins. During this period, he mainly wrote in the same genres as Chopin,

including piano etudes, preludes, sonatas, and a few orchestral works including two symphonies and the Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor. Although his music was typical of a Russian composer in the Romantic era, his music transformed into something different and more complex as he became more interested in theosophy.

Towards the end of his life, Scriabin was working on a grand composition, Mysterium. Inspired by synesthesia (neurological phenomenon in which two or more senses are intertwined and a stimulus for one sense causes a reaction in another), Scriabin intended to exploit other senses as well as the sense of hearing. He intended the performance to be a week-long event that marked the end of the world, replacing the human race with nobler beings. With an unrealistic ambition, Scriabin was unable to complete this work before his death in 1915. However, the work featured today is the closest work to Mysterium.

First premiered in Moscow on March 2, 1911, it wasnt until after his death in March 21, 1915 that it was performed with coloured lighting. The score features the Clavier a lumieres, a keyboard with light, which is rarely featured in concerts. Although we are not featuring the coloured keyboard, we will have the whole hall flooded with coloured lighting, as indicated by the score. According to Scriabins Key-Colour Scheme, bright blue or violet represents Creativity which you will see when the final F-sharp major chord is sounded.

This work is loosely based on an ancient Greek legend in which Prometheus stole sparks from god and gave fire to man. It is a work about defiance and victory for mankind. Throughout the score of the work, Scriabin writes in indications as to how the chords and musical notes symbolize certain things. For example, towards the end of the piece, he marks in victorieux in the piece to indicate the climactic moment. This section is marked by the long sustained trills in the woodwind section. Finally, the first major chord throughout the whole work marks the end of the work. The sense of relief from this much more recognizable sonority really gives the piece a triumphant character that Scriabin had intended.