Alexander Nevsky () is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for Sergei Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky. The subject of the film is the 13th century incursion of the knights of the Livonian Order into the territory of the Novgorod Republic, their capture of the city of Pskov, the summoning of Prince Alexander Nevsky to the defense of Rus', and his subsequent victory over the crusaders in 1242. The majority of the score's song texts were written by the poet Vladimir Lugovskoy.
In 1939, Prokofiev arranged the music of the film score as the cantata Alexander Nevsky, Op. 78, for contralto (often sung by mezzo-sopranos but not in fact in that range), chorus and orchestra. It is one of the few examples (Lieutenant Kijé is another) of film music that has found a permanent place in the standard repertoire, and has also remained one of the most renowned cantatas of the 20th century.
Eisenstein, Prokofiev, and Lugovskoy later collaborated again on another historical epic, Ivan the Terrible Part 1 (1944) and Part 2 (1946, Eisenstein's last film).
Alexander Nevsky, film score (1938) Composition history
The score was Prokofiev's third for a film, following Lieutenant Kijé (1934) and The Queen of Spades (1936). 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.The score of Alexander Nevsky is published by Schirmer,
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 predominantly by folk-like instruments such as woodwind and strings, often playing quasi-folksong style music.
Publication history In 2003, German conductor Frank Strobel reconstructed the original score of Alexander Nevsky with the cooperation of the Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture and the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI). The score is published by Musikverlage Hans Sikorski, Hamburg.
Performance history The film Alexander Nevsky premiered on 23 November 1938 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.Prokofiev: Werkverzeichnis (2015: p. 28)
The concert premiere of the complete original film score, as reconstructed by Frank Strobel, took place on 16 October 2003, accompanied by a showing of the film at the Konzerthaus Berlin. Strobel conducted the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Ernst Senff Chor, with mezzo-soprano Marina Domashenko as soloist.
The Russian premiere of the restored film score took place on 27 November 2004 at the Bolshoi Theatre.
Instrumentation Strings: violins I & II, violas, cellos, double basses Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 3 oboes (including English horn), 3 clarinets (including E-flat clarinet), 2 bass clarinets, 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, 3 bassoons (including contrabassoon) Brass: 4 horns, 5 trumpets (including cornet), 3 trombones, bass trombone, 2 tubas Percussion: timpani, 2 snare drums, bass drum, cymbals, 2 tambourines, wood block, rattle, triangle, xylophone, tubular bells, tamtam, gong Other: 2 harps, piano Banda: 2 horns, tierhorn, 2 trumpets, tenor flügelhorn
Cues Film score cues are musical numbers, background music, music fragments (e.g., fanfares), musical soundscape (e.g., bells), or strings of these, forming continuous stretches of music with little or no intervening dialogue. The finished soundtrack of Alexander Nevsky contains 27 cues. The original working titles of the cues in Prokofiev's manuscripts are listed in the table below. The list appears to be incomplete, and the titles themselves are not particularly descriptive.
The first column represents the cue numbers to which the titles likely correspond. The original Russian titles are provided by Kevin Bartig in Composing for the Red Screen, where they are not numbered, but are grouped by thematic content.
The fourth and fifth columns give the German titles and their sequence as provided by Musikverlag Hans Sikorski , the publisher of the restored original film score. This order of the cues does not appear to represent the sequence used in the film.
The table can be sorted by clicking on the buttons in the title bar. The default sequence can be restored by refreshing the browser (press F5). OriginalEnglishGerman01Разоренная РусьRavaged Rus'Das zerstörte Russland010203«А, и было дело на Неве-реке»"It happened on the Neva River"05Псков 1-йPskov 1Pskow (Das erste)0306Псков 2-йPskov 2Pskow (Das zweite)0407«Вставайте, люди русские!»"Аrise, Russian People!"08ВечеVecheDas Wetsche0709ВечеVecheDas Wetsche0810МобилизацияMobilizationMobilisierung0912РассветDawnSonnenaufgang0213?Русские рожкиRussian HornsRussische Hörner1114СвиньяSwine (or The Wedge)Das Schwein1015Конная атакаCavalry AttackReiterattacke1916?Рога перед кареThe Horns before the SquareDas Horn vor dem Karree1316КареThe SquareDas Karree1517?Рог тонетThe Horn SoundsDas Horn geht unter1218ПоединокThe DuelDer Zweikampf1618?После поединкаAfter the DuelNach dem Zweikampf1719?Рога в преследованииThe Horns in the PursuitDas Horn in der Verfolgung1819ПреследованиеThe PursuitVerfolgung202021«Отзовитеся, ясны соколы»"Respond, bright falcons!"22Въезд во ПсковEntry into PskovEinzug in Pskow21?Псков 3-йPskov 3Pskow (Das dritte)05?Псков 4-йPskov 4Pskow (Das vierte)0626СопелиSopeliDas Prusten1427FinaleFinale22
Note: "Sopeli" (flutes or recorders) refers to two passages, one in 'The Battle on the Ice', cue 16, and one in the final scene in Pskov, cue 26, that depict a group of skomorokhi. The group appears to be composed of players of svireli (flutes), zhaleyki (hornpipes), rozhki (horns), bubnï (tambourines), and other folk or skomorokh instruments.
Structure The film is divided into 9 'scenes' by intertitles stating the location of the action, or, in the case of the 'Battle on the Ice', the date—'5 April 1242'. The table below shows the scenes and cues with the musical numbers (or accompanying action) they contain. The numbers were not named by Prokofiev (except those used in the cantata), but are merely descriptive tags used here to help identify musical themes that repeat in two or more cues.
Note: A gray background indicates numbers omitted in the cantata.
IntertitleCueNumbers and themesScoringRus' under the Mongol YokeOrchestraSong about Alexander NevskyChorus, orchestraChorus, orchestra The Bells of NovgorodBellsThe Crusaders in PskovOrchestra6He Who Died a Noble Death for Rus'OrchestraHorn Call of the CrusadersBrass"Peregrinus expectavi"Chorus, orchestra The Crusaders in PskovOrchestra Horn Call of the CrusadersBrassHe Who Died a Noble Death for Rus'Orchestra"Arise, Russian People!"Chorus, orchestraIn Our Native Rus'OrchestraOrchestra "Arise, Russian People!"Chorus, orchestraThe Crusaders' Camp("Peregrinus expectavi")Chorus, orchestraAlexander Nevsky's Camp(Rus' under the Mongol Yoke)OrchestraFanfaresBrass14SwineAwaiting the Enemy at Raven's RockOrchestraHorn Call of the CrusadersBrassCharge of the CrusadersChorus, orchestraThe Russian CounterattackOrchestra16The SquareThe SkomorokhiOrchestra Horn Call of the CrusadersBrass"Peregrinus expectavi"Chorus, orchestra Spears and ArrowsOrchestra FanfareBrassDuel between Alexanderand the Grand MasterOrchestra19The PursuitThe Crusaders RoutedOrchestraThe Ice BreaksPercussion, orchestraThe Field of the DeadSoloist, orchestraOrchestra22Entry into PskovThe Bells of PskovBellsThe FallenOrchestraThe PrisonersOrchestraSong about Alexander NevskyOrchestraIn Our Native Rus'Orchestra The PrisonersOrchestraSong about Alexander NevskyOrchestraThe PrisonersOrchestraThe FallenOrchestra"In Our Native Rus'"Chorus, orchestraThe SkomorokhiOrchestra Song about Alexander NevskyOrchestra The performance duration is approximately 55 minutes.
Repeating themes
The following themes occur in two or more cues. 'Ravaged Rus'': 1, 12 "It happened on the Neva River": 2, 3, 22, 27 'The Crusaders': 5, 6, 14, 16 'He Who Died a Noble Death for Rus'': 6, 20 'Horn Call of the Crusaders': 6, 14, 16, 19 "Peregrinus expectavi": 6, 11, 14, 16 "Arise, Russian people!": 7, 10 "To the living fighter esteem and honor": 7, 10, 15, 19 "In our native Rus'": 7, 8, 9, 10, 22, 25 "The enemy shall not occupy Rus'": 7, 10, 15, 19 'Cavalry Attack': 15, 19 'Skomorokhi': 16, 26 "I shall go over the white field": 20, 21, 22, 24 'The Prisoners': 22, 23
Alexander Nevsky, cantata, Op. 78 (1939)
Composition history The great popularity of Eisenstein's film, which was released on 1 December 1938, may have prompted Prokofiev to create a concert version of the music in the winter of 1938–39. He condensed the 27 film score cues into a seven-movement cantata for contralto, chorus and orchestra lasting approximately 40 minutes.Prokofiev: Werkverzeichnis (2015: p. 30) It is structured as follows:
No.TitleEnglishScoringРусь под игом монгольскимRus' under the Mongol YokeOrchestraПесня об Александре НевскомSong about Alexander NevskyChorus, orchestraКрестоносцы во ПсковеThe Crusaders in PskovChorus, orchestraВставайте, люди русские!Arise, Russian People!Chorus, orchestraЛедовое побоищеBattle on the IceChorus, orchestraМёртвое полеThe Field of the DeadContralto soloist, orchestraВъезд Александра во ПсковAlexander's Entry into PskovChorus, orchestra
There are many changes in the cantata. Prokofiev remarked to sound engineer Boris Volskiy: "Sometimes it is easier to write a whole new piece than solder one together."Kravetz (2010: p. 10)
Once the film made it to the screen I had the desire to rework the music for symphonic orchestra and chorus. To create a cantata out of the music wasn't easy; I ended up expending much more labor on it than the original film. I first needed to provide it with an exclusively musical foundation, arranged in accord with the logic of musical form, with purely symphonic development, and then completely reorchestrated—since scoring for orchestra is of an entirely different [order] than scoring for a film. Despite my effort this second time around to approach the music from an exclusively symphonic perspective, the pictorial element from Eisenstein's film obviously remained.Kravetz (2010: p. 6) (22 March 1942)
«После того, как фильм появился на экране, у меня возникло желание использовать музыку для симфонического произведения с хором. Это была нелегкая работа, и для того, чтобы сделать из этой музыки кантату, мне пришлось затратить гораздо более трудов, чем при первоначальном сочинении ее для фильма. Прежде всего требовалось подвести под нее чисто музыкальные основания, построить согласно музыкальной формы, развить ее чисто симфонически, затем все наново переоркестровать, ибо оркестровка симфоническая совсем другого порядка, чем оркестровка для фильма. Несмотря на мое старание подходить к музыке во время этой второй моей работы с чисто симфонической точки зрения, в ней остался известный элемент живописности, идущий от фильма и Эйзенштейна.»
Although some 15 minutes of music from the film score are omitted, the cuts mainly consist of repetitions, fragments and soundscape.