Catalogue Connection: 25164

(joint review with DDA 25176 and DDA 25184)

We find ourselves repeating the same things about Artyomov and with Divine Art releasing his work at regular intervals we thought we’d promote a bunch together. Artyomov is one of Russia’s greatest living composers. He writes music that’s galactically huge, by which we mean it gives the impression of space and endless time; the music of the spheres. The introduction of Sola Fide is only flute and piccolo (?), followed by strings, but within seconds he’s up there, floating in the vastness of space. This is clearly not just us; the sleeves all nod towards outer space.

It’s imposing in one way, with the feelings it evokes, but it’s not hard to listen to. We play it quite often, as it’s enervating and uplifting, a quick scrub to the brain with a pumice. True, he challenges the listener — Sola Fide’s second movement Separation has a slightly scary choral section — but he always backs away from being downright intimidating and by Revelation he’s surprisingly calm, given the title. Shock is unsettling, the film score for a spaceman whose tether snaps, and he frantically tries to grip onto his craft before … well, we’re not scriptwriters.

Star Wind (and other works) is slightly more grounded, in that it lacks something of the feel of eternity though it’s still a bit out there. The title track opens and it well represents a wind, leaves blowing around rapidly and stopping suddenly, violin and flute suggesting skittishness. “I meant not only the physical wind but rather inspirational while you are at night on the top of a mountain looking at the immense skyscape,” says the composer in the sleeve notes. Moonlight Dreams is in four movements, and based on 7th century Chinese texts and demands “synchronous breathing” from the performers. Bamboo Solitude’s text starts: “I sit alone in unfrequented grove / I pluck my lute and hum a song of love.” The other three pieces are Autumn Moon (“Fall moon bright, fall wind light / Rustling leaves disperse”), River Village (“My fishing done, the boat is left unmoored / The weary moon and village bring me sleep” and Quiet Night Thoughts (predictable: “I gaze awhile, then bow my head / Where thoughts race homeward bound.” A soprano adds atmosphere to these gentle pieces.

Elsewhere, Romantic Capriccio, for French horn, piano and string quartet was composed in 1976 and written in memory of Jean Sibelius. The sleeve notes the opening pages “have a character of extreme anger”, concentrating upon the relationship between horn and piano, followed by a more conciliatory stretch as the music warms. We’re not sure about the anger but it is forceful for Artyomov, and calming strings come in quite quickly; one of his more down to earth pieces. In Spe (In Hope) is the hardest of these three and “broke new ground in Artyomov’s writing in its use of polydynamic, everchanging textures while retaining his deep spirituality”. It is a massive work, in one movement but 21 sections playing continuously. It is more unsettling but there are some moments of calm and beauty. He’s worth listening to. Often melancholy in a Russian way, it also contains many moments of beauty.

There’s only one way to fully appreciate the genius of Vyacheslav Artyomov. You have to listen to everything he’s written.

Case in point: this third Divine Art release features Solo Fide: scenes from the ballet after Tolstoy’s “Road to Calvary.” But Solo Fide isn’t just a suite of ballet numbers. It’s parts three and four of a massive five-part ballet-requiem. And parts of that work are shared with Artyomov’s Requiem.

That’s not to say the suites don’t work as stand-alone compositions. They do. The forces assembled are the same as one might expect for a requiem mass — four soloists, choir, and orchestra.

Tolstoy’s story, as adapted for the ballet, centers on the death of the Poet. The Poet, a metaphor for culture, also strongly resembles Christ in his martyrdom. Although the story may be heavily cloaked in metaphor, the choir and soloists sing portions of the Latin requiem mass.

Mixed with the orchestral movements, these settings take on a different function. The Latin text brings historical weight to the grief it expresses, coloring the decidedly contemporary context of the music.

Artyomov masterfully uses bold swatches of orchestral color. The instrumental lines slowly diverge chromatically, presenting a smear of sound that makes the emotional content even more visceral.

The album also includes “Tempo costante” from 1970. Artyomov writes that it “plays with an idea of unchangeable, eternal Time.” Over an unrelenting pulse, Artyomov constructs a work that seems somehow fluid in its meter.

And although it’s an effective composition, Tempo costante is part of a set. This work based on the concept of unchanging time prompted Artyomov to write acompanion work, The Symphony of Elegies, with evokes “the total disappearance of time.”

This is volume three of Divine Art’s reissue series from Melodiya. Collect them all.

Vyacheslav Petrovich Artyomov (born 29.06.1940) is a Russian composer who works chiefly in the fields of symphonic and chamber music. He regards himself to be an adherent of the Romantic tradition, although he has been influenced by a variety of composers including Berio, Honegger, Messiaen, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Stravinsky and Varèse as well as Russian folklore and traditional Eastern music. Nonetheless a brief exploration of Artyomov’s works shows that he has his own unique “voice”.

He has also written a well regarded Requiem and two ballet scores; Expectations, in one act, after paintings of Antoine Watteau, and Sola Fide (Only by Faith), a three-act work, comprised of 30 episodes based on Tolstoy’s novel The Road to Calvary.

The Sola Fide episodes have been worked into a total of five suites; two of which are performed on the recording under review. We are treated to Suite No. 3 “Katia” and Sola Fide Suite No. 4 “The Terrible Days”; two suites shared with the Requiem. These are performed by a group of soloists¹, the Kaunas State Choir, the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow State Philharmonic and are conducted by the Leningrad born Dmitri Kitayenko, who received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the International Classical Music Awards in March 2015. These two works are followed by a Concerto for Orchestra Tempo Costante performed by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra “Musica Viva” under the direction of Murad Annamamedov.

This is not a recording to brighten the soul; the suites are somewhat dark in character and much of the music is somewhat sombre but they do contain some beautifully reflective passages. The works are conceived on a massive scale and are essentially tonal with rich orchestration providing a depth of colour. The choir, under Piatras Bingialis, are fully committed to the performance and add a celestial and ghostly atmosphere to the piece; a feeling which is further enhanced by the addition of the four soloists in the finale of The Terrible Days. Dmitri Kitayenko keeps the music together most effectively. Although this recording dates back to the late 1980s the sound is surprisingly good and when listening on high quality headphones or a large stereo system one can fully appreciate Artyomov’s brilliant orchestration.

The concluding work is the 1970 piece Tempo Costante – A concerto for orchestra which plays with an idea of unchangeable, eternal Time. The composer points out that the same notion is expressed in the poems of Johann Mairhofer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Alfred Tennyson, which can be read during the performance of the work (though not in this recording).

This recording of the two suites, in particular, served as an excellent introduction to the work of Artyomov and encouraged me to seek out recordings of his Requiem and his symphony On the Threshold of a Bright World. Having heard these I shall certainly be on the lookout for further recordings of works by this composer who “is now is the only composer creating serious monumental compositions of tremendous strength and beauty. He is Bruckner of the 21st century.” (Teodor Currentzis, conductor).

It is always interesting to encounter works by composers with whom one is unfamiliar and on this occasion it was truly stimulating and has set me on the road to exploring further treasures by Artyomov. There seems to be a genuine spirituality and sense of dignity underlying his works and if you are prepared to listen attentively you will find this music communicates with you in a most direct manner. A revelation!

As the author, over 20 years ago now, of the first book ever to be published on the music of Vyacheslav Artyomov (born 1940), it has been a singular pleasure for me to have witnessed his slow but growing acceptance by many to become Russia’s greatest living composer. As Divine Art has rightly claimed, ‘after the fall of the Soviet regime his music has travelled the world to great acclaim. It is deep, ultimately spiritual and brilliantly crafted, with influences from the Russian symphonic tradition coloured by Mahler, Scriabin, Honegger and Messiaen to name a few — but melded into a unique voice!

It is within this Russian tradition — in serious danger of dying out after 1990 —that one feels Artyomov so naturally expresses himself in language towards which neither Tchaikovsky, nor — I suggest — Stravinsky, would have immediately warmed, but which speaks directly to the attentive listener today in a manner quite unique in the teeming world of modern music.

The tradition Artyomov follows on much of the CD here is that of Russian ballet, and this new release contains two further suites drawn from his ballet ‘Sola Fide’ (‘Only by Faith’), based on Tolstoi’s novel The Road to Calvary, and therefore naturally sharing the ethos and music of Artyomov’s Requiem — the first Requiem (1985-8) to be written by a Russian, let alone a Soviet, composer (Kabalevsky’s ‘War Requiem’ of 1963 does not count in this instance).

The disc also includes Artyomov’s Concerto for Chamber Orchestra ‘Tempo Costante’, a brilliantly impressive work which, like the performances of the ballet suites, is played with notable commitment and technical aplomb. It is good news that Divine Art intend to release a further six CDs of Artyomov’s music. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting them.
[awarded five stars]

I read Rob Barnett’s review of the two previous releases by Divine Art of Vyacheslav Artyomov’s orchestral music with great interest when it appeared just over twelve months ago. I am more than happy to have the opportunity to review their latest release, which is hopefully a continuation of a more extended series.

Many consider Vyacheslav Artyomov Russia’s greatest living composer. He was born in Moscow in 1940, the son of a music teacher. He took to the piano at the age of six. At the wish of his parents, his formative years were geared towards physics and mathematics, since they had a scientific career in mind for him. Music won out in the end and eventually he ended up at the Moscow Conservatory, studying composition with Nikolai Sidelnikov. His music reflects diverse influences – neoclassical, Russian folk music and Eastern meditation. Composers who have provided inspiration for his work include Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Stockhausen, Messiaen, Berio, Honegger and Varèse.

Sola Fide underwent a lengthy gestation. It began in the early 1980s with a suggestion from Nikita Dolgushin, a Leningrad-based dancer and choreographer, that Artyomov compose a ballet based on Aleksey Tolstoy’s trilogy Road to Calvary. A libretto was initially mooted “after the novel” from Valeriya Lyubetskaya. This turned out not to be feasible. The composer thus adapted the subject, retaining the novel’s principal characters, especially that of the Poet, who symbolizes Culture – the creation and dissemination of which justifies humanity. The death of the Poet signifies the collapse of Humankind. Artyomov decided on a ballet-requiem, employing a full choir and soloists. Due to pressures of work the ballet was put on hold, but a Requiem emerged dedicated to the “Martyrs of long-suffering Russia”. It was premiered in 1988. It was not until 2016 that Sola Fide was finally completed. It consists of 30 episodes in 3 acts, 10 of which are shared with the Requiem. The episodes are forged into five suites: ‘Katia’, ‘Dasha’, ‘Poet’, ‘The Terrible Days’ and ‘Catastrophe’. This recording includes ‘Katia’ and ‘The Terrible Days’, two suites shared with the Requiem. Once again the composer dedicated the ballet to the “Martyrs of long-suffering Russia”.

The ballet suites are a dark and sombre affair, epic in proportions and impressively bold. Yet they have their more introverted moments of profound reflection. I hear a wealth of influences, of which Penderderecki seems prominent. The scores are also peppered with lashings of Boris Tchaikovsky and Schnittke. On the whole the music sounds quite tonal, with the orchestration scintillatingly etched in a panoply of colour. Haunting, ghostly and ethereal are adjectives I would use to describe the general tenor. The soloists and choir are raptly intense and Kitaenko directs a sure-footed account.

‘Tempo Costante’ is described as a Concerto for Orchestra. It dates from 1970. It’s certainly a more challenging proposition than the ballet suites. The composer describes it as playing “with an idea of unchangeable, eternal Time”, a theme expressed in the poems of Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Alfred Tennyson. Artyomov states that this poetry may be read during performance; it isn’t here. Atonal and dissonant, vacillating and volatile, its imaginative and colourful orchestration, drawing on a resourceful array of percussion, confers a kaleidoscopic sonic blend.

Although these are premiere recordings, they are not recent. The Sola Fide suites were taped in 1988, and seem to be extracted from the original premiere Requiem recording. Latin texts are included in the booklet. I hope that the complete ballet will be recorded at some point. ‘Tempo Costante’ was recorded in Moscow in 1994 and has been sourced from the composer’s own archive. Despite their age, the recordings sound fresh and vibrant, and choral and orchestral detail has been well-preserved.

This captivating release will no doubt stir me on to explore more of this composer’s strikingly potent music.