Scriabin's Symbolist Plot Archetype in The Late Piano Sonatas

Scriabin's Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas
Author(s): Susanna Garcia

Source: 19th-Century Music, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Spring, 2000), pp. 273-300
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/746881
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Scriabin's Symbolist Plot Archetype
in the Late Piano Sonatas
SUSANNA GARCIA
Russian pianist and composer Alexander rately from his music would prevail.' This ap-
Scriabin (1872-1915) has been both acclaimed proach avoids serious and fundamental ques-
and denigrated. Few composers have elicited tions. Did his philosophy affect the substance
such rapturous praise or have been subjected to of his music in any concrete way? Does the
such vicious diatribes. Scriabin, by merging an historical/cultural context support this possi-
eclectic set of mystical, erotic, satanic, and bility? Is a full understanding of Scriabin's mu-
messianic visions with his music, gained many sic even possible in strictly theoretical terms?
disciples, on the one hand, yet on the other,
left himself open to sharp condemnation by
many musicians, critics, and scholars through- 'Of the many studies of Scriabin's philosophy, none in-
out the present century. Scriabin's particular cludes serious musical analyses. Of the many purely theo-
retical studies of his music, virtually none admits the pos-
situation is complicated by other factors. In sibility that Scriabin's philosophical ideas affected the sub-
Russia, although the craftsmanship and origi- stance of his music. See George Perle, Serial Composition
nality of his harmonic language were recog- and Atonality (3rd edn. Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1972);
idem, "Scriabin's Self-Analyses," Music Analysis 3 (1984),
nized, the distaste for his mystical philosophy 101-22; Jay Reise, "Late Skriabin: Some Principles Behind
on the part of Soviet critics led them to recast the Style," this journal 6 (1983), 220-31; Claude H.
his music in terms that virtually ignored every- Herndon, "Skryabin's New Harmonic Vocabulary in His
Sixth Sonata," Journal of Musicological Research 4 (1983),
thing but the notes themselves. Ultimately, 353-68; and James Baker, in The Music of Alexander
the habit of viewing his life and ideas sepa- Scriabin (New Haven, 1986).
19th-Century Music, XXIII/3, pp. 273-300. ISSN: 0148-2076. ? 2000 by The Regents of the University of California. 273
All rights reserved. Send requests for permission to reprint to: Rights and Permissions, University of California Press,
Journals Division, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223.
19TH James Baker has asserted the idea Forthat an the crucial "points" of contact
Macdonald,
CENTURY
MUSIC understanding of Scriabin's music are can be di-elaborately poetic "performance
Scriabin's
vorced from both its philosophical indications"
underpin- that can be found in his late works
from 1911. Macdonald suggests that a direct
nings and its historical and cultural context:
comparison of such indications with particular
Alexander Scriabin will probably always be an enig-
moments in the music may provide important
matic figure in the history of music. As insights.
we become
The present study takes Macdonald's
more separated from the era in which he suggestion
flourished,
as the springboard for an investiga-
it is increasingly difficult to comprehend tion
his grandi-
of the late piano sonatas in terms of the
ose self-image as high priest of an art which would
verbal descriptions placed within the body of
bring about the end of the world, uniting all man-
the score, which allow for direct comparisons
kind in an ecstatic and all-consuming burst of en-
between music and words.
ergy. Although his visions were the primary motiva-
tion for his experimentation and innovation, what
RUSSIAN SYMBOLISM
remains today is his music. Scriabin's art survives
because he was a master of the craft of musical
composition. Much as he might have been disap- Scriabin lived and worked during the period of
tremendous
pointed, it is through the study of his musical struc- activity in art, poetry, and theater
tures that we can best know him today.2 in Russia known as the Silver Age (1898-1917)-
a time in which one of the most potent artistic
The separation between technical meansforcesand was symbolism. Although the aesthetic
poetic intention results in an incompleteprinciples
un- of symbolism were complex and by
derstanding of the music. Removed from nothe
means consistent, they gradually came to
proper context, Scriabin has been viewed asdominate
an literature, visual arts, theater, con-
individual given to completely irrationalversations
and in the salons, and the theoretical
idiosyncratic delusions. Yet we must under-writings published in an exceptionally large
stand that his visions were a reflection of hisnumber of literary journals.
times, his intentions, and of the general belief Symbolist philosophy, borrowing from many
system of Russia's Silver Age, particularly thenineteenth-century sources, was concerned with
artistic movement known as symbolism. Hughthe meaning and purpose of art, and with the
Macdonald has proposed, especially for role of the artist in society. From Nietzsche
Scriabin's late style, a middle ground between came the idea that the rituals of intoxication
a focus on the composer's mystical philosophy and ecstasy associated with the Greek worship
and a focus on only the structure of his music: of the god Dionysus were the appropriate mod-
els for art. However, the symbolists merged
What we need, then, ... is to examine Skryabin's
this pagan concept with a Christian mystical
ideas at the points where they touch his music
sensibility taken from Russian mystic philoso-
closely, and extract what relevance and meaning we
can. We need to take seriously not the meanings and pher Vladimir Solovyov, who provided the sym-
ideas which Skryabin attributed to his music, but bolists with their artistic purpose. He wrote
that the artist is the "instrument of God's rev-
the very fact that he thought in this way, and that he
constructed his music with such notions in his head. elation of his unified existence," whose role
An important distinction may be made between ideas lies in finding the link between the "visible
and words.3 world of sensual phenomena and the world of
extrasensory revelation," using the intuitive
power of symbols and myth as a link to these
2Baker, Music of Scriabin, p. 270. Baker seems to have
reconsidered this position. In a 1997 article, he attempts a worlds.4 More than a philosophy of art, sym-
"consideration of the impact of Scriabin's mysticism on bolism was regarded as a method of achieving
the structure of his music" (see James Baker, "Scriabin's change through collective transformation.
Music: Structure as Prism for Mystical Philosophy," in
Music Theory in Concept and Practice, ed. James M. Baker,
David W. Beach, and Jonathan W. Bernard [New York,
1997], pp. 53-96). 4James West, Russian Symbolism: A Study of Vyacheslav
3Hugh Macdonald, "Words and Music by A. Skryabin,"Ivanov and the Russian Symbolist Aesthetic (London,
Musical Times 113 (1972), 22. 1970), p. 39.
274
For some Russian artists, transformation George Kalbouss's study of symbolist theater
SUSANNA
GARCIA
meant social and political change. For others, it indicates that personal symbol systems Scriabin's
were
was a mystical transfiguration resulting in the rule: Symbolist Plo
union with the divine. This was a characteris-
tic of mystical anarchism, an offshoot of sym- The symbolists never agreed upon any single set of
bolism of which Vyacheslav Ivanov was an im- myth symbols for mystery-play writing; rather they
portant theorist.5 Ivanov defined the mystical created an intentionally artificial mythological lan-
guage,
essence of Dionysian religions as orgiastic, with using many favorite images from their po-
etry. Each poet wrote mystery play dialogue in his
drunken intoxication, ecstatic dancing, and
own way. Some used modem, private symbols while
sexual activity as its outward manifestations.
others stylized their works in terms from Greek
By participation in these rituals, one could sur-
mythology.7
pass individual existence and merge with a
higher consciousness. Thus, eroticism became Like the symbolists, Scriabin adopted con-
the subject of much symbolist literature and cepts of universal spiritual transformation
eventually led to its condemnation as decadent through the power of art, with ecstasy as the
by critics. basis of this art. And like them, he maintained
Ivanov exhorted the artist to use the lan-
an interest in Nietzsche and various other mys-
guage of myth and symbols, which had the tical/religious philosophies-especially theoso-
power to tap into the collective consciousness
phy-and an interest in myth and symbols in
by their universal recognition and therefore
general. His biographers Faubion Bowers and
their universal validity. Given this emphasis
Boris de Schloezer have extensively documented
on universality, it may seem surprising that
these mystical and philosophical concerns evi-
symbolist artists developed elaborate networks
dent in his notebooks, poetry, and personal li-
of symbols that were idiosyncratic and often
brary.8 These interests, as well as a similar
obscure. Yet the creation of such personal sym-
philosophical view, tend to ally Scriabin closely
bol systems was completely in keeping with
with the symbolist camp. Indeed, there is ex-
symbolist tenets. Ivanov had proposed that
tensive evidence showing that Scriabin was
myth can be newly created by the artist and
deeply involved with the artistic and social
that this personal myth has "unconditional pub-
circles in which symbolism was discussed.9
lic validity." In "Two Elements in Contempo- Scriabin developed close friendships with
rary Symbolism" he writes: symbolist theorists, poets, and publishers. His
relationship with Ivanov was especially influ-
A new myth is a new revelation of the same reali- ential. Scriabin met Ivanov in 1909 when he
ties; and just as any private realization of an uncon-
played a recital for the society about to under-
ditional truth must necessarily become general as
take publication of a new symbolist journal,
soon as it is proclaimed even to a few others, so any
adequate signification of an objective truth about
things, revealed to one person's cognitive faculty,
will of necessity be accepted by all as important,
7George Kalbouss, The Plays of the Russian Symbolists
true and inescapable, and will become a genuine
(Ann Arbor, Mich., 1982), p. 32.
myth in the sense of a generally accepted form 8Faubion
of Bowers, Scriabin: A Biography (2nd rev. edn. New
aesthetic and mystical perception of this new truth.6
York, 1996); Faubion Bowers, The New Scriabin: Enigma
and Answers (New York, 1973); and Boris de Schloezer,
Scriabin: Artist and Mystic (Berkeley and Los Angeles,
1987).
9Research of the past twenty years, notably that of Malcolm
Brown, Ralph Matlaw, and Patricia Mueller-Vollner, re-
veals a stronger mutual connection between Scriabin and
5Mystical anarchism was founded by Georgy Chulkovthe in Symbolists than has been previously noted. See Ralph
1906. According to West, the movement "laid more em- Matlaw, "Scriabin and Russian Symbolism," Comparative
phasis on the individual's participation in the 'spiritual-
Literature 31 (1979), 1-23; Malcolm Brown, "Skriabin and
Russian 'Mystic' Symbolism," this journal 3 (1979), 42-
ization' of the world, and on the special forms of under-
51; and Patricia Mueller-Vollner, "Ivanov on Skrjabin,"
standing this necessitated, than on the nature of the ulti-
mate religious goal" (ibid., p. 134). Cultura e Memoria I: Atti del terzo simposio internazionale
6Ivanov, quoted in West, Russian Symbolism, p. 55. dedicato a Vjaceslav Ivanov (Firenze, 1988), pp. 189-99.
275
19TH Apollon. In 1910 journalist Ellen von Tidebohl
and the ways of the Mysterium are not fused. That is
CENTURY
MUSIC
the testament
reported that Scriabin brought her Ivanov's Poof the genius who created the sketches
of thethat
zvezdam (All Above the Stars), saying "Preliminary
it Action" who has so suddenly
had as much influence on him as did Die Geburt been taken from us.15
der Trag6die by Nietzsche.1o The relationship

was significant also for Ivanov, who wrote: "My It is difficult to refute the symbolist influence
friendship with Skriabin during the final two on Scriabin's life and work, for the symbolist
years of his life was a profoundly significant content of his poetry and philosophical musings
and luminous event along the passages of my is evident everywhere. Indeed, his desire to
transform a mystical experience into art was at
spirit.""'' After Scriabin's death, Ivanov became
a Scriabin proselyte, presenting three lectures one with the mandates of the symbolist theo-
on Scriabin's philosophy of art, his artistic rists. Scriabin most fully realized this desire in
achievements, and his place in the history of the late piano sonatas written after 1911, dur-
music.12 He was also a founding member of aing the time of his most intense contact with
Scriabin society, and a collection of his poems, Ivanov and other symbolist artists. It is in these
Svet vechernyj (Evening Light), contains three sonatas that Scriabin developed a network of
devoted to Scriabin.13 symbols that functioned within a formalistic
Scriabin's grandiose apocalyptic vision, the plan to re-create an archetype of a mystical
unfinished Mysterium, earned him high regard experience.
in the symbolist theater community.14 His ef-
SCRIABIN'S SYMBOLIC VOCABULARY
fort to eliminate the barrier between art and
life was conceptually similar to symbolist mys-
When music possesses a text or a program, it is
tery plays. In reality, symbolist efforts at uni-
often possible to find correspondences between
versal transformation stayed, for the most part,
on a theoretical level. As with Mysterium, fewthe verbal imagery and the music. Except for
mystery plays were produced. Even so, director the finale of his First Symphony, however,
Scriabin never set a text to music. He wrote
Vsevelod Meyerhold's eulogy reveals Scriabin's
place in the lively intellectual discussions of independent prose poems that accompanied in-
symbolist theater: strumental works and texts to projected but
uncompleted dramatic works. None of these
The world of musicians and the world of poets haswas successfully set to music. In his composi-
donned mourning, but why do we not see banners oftions after 1911, these poetic accompaniments
no longer occur.
mourning on the so-called "Theater-Temples"? ...
Why did they not cry out that the one person who Even so, there is a connecting link between
held out so much for achievement in the realm of Scriabin's mystical intent and his compositions.
the Mysterium has died? ... The fact is that the Scriabin left clues to the meaning of his works
whole idea of two paths in the realm of scenic action in the unorthodox terms of expression that ap-
occurred to this unique person before it did to any- pear in his scores. Before the Fourth Sonata
one else. The dilemma "Theater or Mysterium" oc-
(1903), Scriabin used conventional Italian ter-
curred to Scriabin even in the early phase of his
minology. Between 1903 and 1907 Scriabin
creativity. ... A man devoted to the great deed of
creating a "Mysterium" could not and should not adopted a much more descriptive and precise
have served the Theater. The ways of the Theater Italian terminology. Marks like allegro
fantastico, presto tumultuoso esaltato,
impetuoso, and con stravaganza fill the Fifth
l0Mueller-Vollner, Cultura e Memoria I, p. 190. Sonata. In Le divin poTme, Le po-me de l'extase,
and Promrthie-Le podme du feu, Scriabin be-
1"Ivanov, quoted in Brown, "Skriabin and Russian 'Mystic'
Symbolism," p. 48. gan using French terminology, alternating this
12Mueller-Vollner, Cultura e Memoria I, p. 189.
13Ivanov's volume Svet vechernyi was written in 1915 and
first published in 1937. See Matlaw for a discussion of
these poems.
14Schloezer states that Scriabin began talking about this 15Meyerhold, quoted in Matlaw, "Scriabin and Russian
work around 1902 (Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, p. 177). Symbolism," p. 8.
276
with Italian markings. After 1911 beginning of the composer's harmonic vocabulary from SUSANNA
GARCIA
with the Sixth Sonata, the abandonment of key around Promfthde (1908-10) through his late Scriabin's
signatures and an almost exclusive use of French works.20 In Scriabin's tonal style (those works Symbolist Plot
indications mark his style. from 1903 to 1910), it mediates between the
Scriabin's interpretive indications allow us diatonic and the whole-tone realms, but the
to consider several important issues. For ex- harmony is an anomaly within a basically tonal
ample, to what extent does his philosophical environment. Baker has suggested that the chord
mission influence the technical aspects of the thus links the material and the spiritual
music? Macdonald poses this question: "Are realms.2' In the late works (1910-15), the "mys-
they directions for performance or clues to the tic" chord links the octatonic and the whole-
music's meaning?"'6 Macdonald's suggestion tone scales in a nontonal environment.22 And
to study the points of contact between the per- unlike in his earlier style, the chord's charac-
formance indications and the music has proven teristic sound may permeate the atmosphere of
fruitful. It has revealed that Scriabin repeatedly an entire work. In these works, it is this char-
conjoined certain types of expressive language acteristic structure, unfolding at the opening of
with specific musical gestures, thus creating a each sonata, that analogizes mystical unity, for
body of musical symbols consistent through- it is the source from which all melodic and
out these late works.17 A few other writers have harmonic structures derive.
commented on Scriabin's preference for certain In the group of late works under consider-
of these musical gestures, such as fanfares and ation, the "mystic" chord unfolds at the open-
trills. The literature, however, contains no at- ing of each sonata. Although these opening
tempt at a consistent accounting of them.'8 chords are not in so-called root position, my
Below I identify six musical ideas in the late listing of the notes of the fundamental "mys-
sonatas regarding which Scriabin's performance tic" chord above each example makes the deri-
indications give clues to their meaning.19 vation clear (exs. la-1d). Scriabin encourages a
view of the "mystic" chord as revelation in the
1. Notion of mystical unity-Scriabin's "mys- expressive terms that he uses in conjunction
tic" chord. The chord referred to by many writ- with this chord at the opening of each sonata.
ers as Scriabin's "mystic" or Promethean chord He imparts to it a hidden, mysterious, even
(C-F#-BM-E-A-D? or D) occurs frequently as part mythic significance: mysterieux, concentre
(Sixth Sonata); prophitique (Seventh Sonata);
and 14gendaire (Ninth Sonata).23 Scriabin even
16Macdonald, "Words and Music," p. 23. referred to a "six-tone 'secret harmony"' in the
17Bowers actually states that "Scriabin developed a series
Seventh Sonata.24 The opening of the Tenth
of mystico-musical symbols," although those that he then
Sonata,
discusses are not relevant to this survey of the association tres doux et pur, suggests an incorpo-
of words and music. He goes on to say, "The descending real stillness and an ethereal purity from which
leap of the minor ninth interval signified to him the 'de-
scent of spirit into matter.' The alternating whole tone
the rest of the sonata develops. The "mystic"
step up and down suggested the breathing in and out of chord functions as a generative force, a poten-
Brahma, the Creator of the World and the god who first tial energy, and an unrevealed mystery that
issued from the Brahman. A descending half-step embod-
directs the entire work.
ied human sorrow" (Bowers, New Scriabin, p. 111).
IsSee Martin Cooper, "Alexander Skriabin and the Russian
Renaissance," Slavonic and Western Music: Essays for
Gerald Abraham, ed. Malcolm H. Brown and R. John Wiley
(Ann Arbor, 1985), 219-39; Robert Craft, "Scriabin Cente-
20Baker identifies isolated occurrences in tonal contexts as
nary," Prejudices in Disguise (New York, 1974), p. 187;early as the Poime, op. 32, no. 1 (1903). Baker, Music of
Macdonald, "Words and Music," p. 23; Baker, "Structure Alexander Scriabin, pp. 99-103.
as Prism," pp.74-75; and Bowers, New Scriabin, pp. 172-21Baker, "Structure as Prism," p. 76.
82. 22Richard Taruskin, review of James Baker, The Music of
19The Eighth Sonata is alone among Scriabin's late sonatas
Alexander Scriabin and Boris de Schloezer, Scriabin: Art-
in its near absence of elaborate performance directions.
ist and Mystic, in Music Theory Spectrum 10 (1988), 160.
Although there are several examples of Scriabin's charac-
23Although left out of the published score, the manuscript
teristic musical symbolism in this sonata, I have concen-
of the Seventh Sonata shows the word "Prophltique" writ-
trated my efforts on the works with extensive explicative
ten over m. 1. See Bowers, Scriabin, II, 5.
directions. 24Bowers, New Scriabin, p. 180.
277
19TH a. Sixth Sonata (m. 1) [G, C#, F, B, (E), Ak, D].
CENTURY
MUSIC Moder&
mystdrieux, concentrd
b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 1-2) [C, F#, Bk, E, A, Db].

--3 -1
Allegro > 3
L 3 - L 3 - 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 f
c. Ninth Sonata (mm. 1-4) [G, C#, F, B].

Moderato quasi andante
legendaire
d. Tenth Sonata (mm. 1-4) [A6, D, F#, C, Ek, B6].

Moderato
tr&s doux et pur
6=
Example 1: The "mystic" chord at the openings of Scriabin's sonatas.

Alexander Scriabin, Ten Sonatas, ed. Harold Sheldon, copyright 1949 (renewed). Universal, MCA Music
Publishing, division of Universal Studios, Inc. Used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications.
2. The divine summons: fanfare motive. The acter and gestural shape rather than intervallic
fanfare, Scriabin's most prevalent motive,content.
ap- The centrality of the fanfare motive is
evident
pears as early as the Fourth Sonata (1903) and is in that the openings of all four sonatas
used almost obsessively throughout the late under consideration contain the motive. Indeed,
sonatas. The motive is typically a gestureany of individual sonata may include several dif-
one to three short notes anacrusic to a sus- ferent versions of this gesture.
tained tone (see motives marked a in ex. 2).
Scriabin's heavy reliance on this motive has
Frequently, the fanfare is in reverse dotted
inspired curiosity as to its meaning. Schloezer
claims that Scriabin called the fanfare in Le
rhythm. Fanfares share an annunciatory char-
278
SUSANNA
a. Sixth Sonata (m. 154).
GARCIA
poco pia vivo 6
Scriabin's
Symbolist Plo
appel mystdrieux
b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 102-05).
f impgrieux
c. Tenth Sonata (mm. 37-38).

lumineux vibrant
n [ ~~~~FW.. . . fR
.
_,-y
9 %F mi. -
Example 2: Fanfare motives in Scriabin's sonatas (marked a).
divin poeme "the Soul's protest against those port.'"27 In this work Scriabin also associates
sensuous images ruling him."25 Bowers states the fanfare with words suggesting light.
that these are "calls, summonings, or invoca- As we have seen, Scriabin places the fanfare
tions."26 The musical descriptions Scriabin con-motive in the privileged position of opening
joined with this motive suggest a summons statement
of and at structurally significant points.
a supernatural, powerful, or otherwise mysteri- In the Sixth Sonata, the fanfare, found at the
ous origin. In the Sixth Sonata, Scriabin refersopening, also heralds the climax of the devel-
to it as appel mysterieux. In the Seventh, opment
he (mm. 180-97). In the Seventh Sonata,
labels it impirieux, and avec une sombre it marks the beginnings of each of four main
majestd. In the Ninth, he terms it sombre sections (mm. 1-3, 89-91, 169-72, 237-40). In
mysterieux and mysterieusement murmure. In the Ninth Sonata (ex. 3), each section of the
the Tenth Sonata, Scriabin uses the term elan, sonata begins with the same musical material.
a word that Bowers says Scriabin associated The first phrase of the exposition, ten mea-
with "'inspiration' of profoundly spiritual im- sures in length, contains a rising melodic line
in fanfare rhythm concluding with a motive
marked mysterieusement murmure. At the de-
velopment, the phrase, now eight measures in
25Bowers, Scriabin, I, 341.

26Bowers, New Scriabin, p. 177. 27Bowers, Scriabin, II, 49.
279
19TH a. Exposition (mm. 1-10).
CENTURY
MUSIC Moderato quasi andante
legendaire
PP a
-7 1 N I
33
poco cresc.m3
poco
Ar cresc, mystreusement murmur .
PP
5P
5-"3 6 \ 1 i \ i
LL
\, T=- , J J
b. Development (mm. 69-76).

Tempo I
L-- poco cresc. 3 3 3 3

Temp I --------
L3
"P " " I ; '
Example 3: Evolution of the role of the fanfare motive in the Ninth Sonata.
length, is interrupted by a different fanfare mo- the significance of this arrival, as it is one pla-
tive. Toward the end of the development, the teau of the long crescendo beginning at m. 119.
new fanfare appears with increasing frequency, In a powerfully cathartic moment, the fanfare
culminating in a climactic assertion at the reappears with obsessive, triumphant promi-
capitulation. Scriabin's forte dynamic reinforces nence, its significance fully revealed.
280
c. Recapitulation (mm. 155-62). SUSANNA
GARCIA
Allegro molto Scriabin's
Symbolist Plot
dim.
m.g. m.g.
r--3- ;-- 3-
MEL 1-0-1w i "pwp
Example 3 (continu
3. The Eternal Feminine: Scriabin's representa-while the preponderance of unresolved domi-

tion of eroticism. Scriabin's preoccupation with nant harmonies creates a tonal realm unique to
erotic themes is well documented and is mani- passages concerned with the expression of the
fested in titles of compositions (Le poeme de erotic. A fluid, improvisatory rhythmic style,
l'extase) and in his graphic poetic attempts ac-exhibiting such devices as arpeggiated chords,
companying various works (Le poeme de ties that regularly obscure downbeats, and a
l'extase, Fourth Sonata). Scriabin confirms the rhythmic preference for triplets, encourages a
philosophical importance of ecstasy in copious mood of passivity and languor by negating a
notebook entries. The late sonatas contain nu- strong metrical and harmonic sense.28
merous verbal references to erotic longing inThese harmonic characteristics are reminis-
cent of the musical language of Wagner's Pre-
terms such as ardeur profonde et voilde, douceur
lude to act I of Tristan und Isolde, a work well
et pur (Sixth Sonata), cdleste voluptd (Seventh
Sonata), langueur naissante, voluptd doulour- known for its expression of erotic longing. The
euse (Ninth Sonata), joyeuse exaltation (Tenthpossibility that Scriabin may have been refer-
Sonata), and many others. encing Tristan as an associational symbol is
Musically, sections so marked are lyrical,strengthened when one compares the now ar-
with a yearning quality engendered by the ini-chetypal Tristan opening (confession of love/
theme of desire) with his own theme of desire
tiating semitone, upward reaching melody, and
intense chromaticism (see motives marked b
in ex. 4). The chromatic inflections of the
28Regarding
melody cause an oscillation between two chord the musical representation of gender and sexu-
ality, see Susan McClary, "Sexual Politics in Classical Mu-
types, a French sixth that preserves the "mys-
sic," in Feminine Endings: Music, Gender, and Sexuality
tic" chord sound, and a dominant seventh. In
(Minneapolis, 1991), pp. 53-79; and Lawrence Kramer;
the Tenth Sonata, a major seventh is added "Liszt,
to Goethe, and the Discourse of Gender" and "Musi-
the mix. The vacillation between these sonori- cal Form and Fin-de-Si6cle Sexuality," in Music as Cul-
tural Practice, 1800-1900 (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1990),
ties contributes to the sense of erotic longing
pp. 102-75.
281
19TH a. Sixth Sonata (mm. 39-46).
CENTURY
MUSIC le rave prend forme (clartt, douceur, pureta)
m.d.
dom.7 Fr.6 dom.13 Fr.6
b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 29-34
avec une clIeste voluptM b trs

TT
pur, avec une profonde douceur
dom.13 Fr.6 dom.13 Fr.6
c. Ninth Sonata (mm. 34-43).
avec une langueur naissante
iL- 3 LL--' r3 - 3 - L 3 3 3 - 3 3
3 3 33 3- 3-
poco cresc. , 3r 3
Example 4: Scriabin's representation of
282
d. Tenth Sonata (mm. 73-78). SUSANNA
GARCIA
Scriabin's
- = g avec une joyeuse exaltation Symbolist Plot
-- ~ ~ ~ r3 - -11 I () I "-= )-
SfE:: p Inf p, cresc.
Am_ bP
Fr.6 Maj.7 Fr.6 dom.7 Fr.6

4-/
Cbrrs 3a
Fr.6 3 Ma.7 F.6do . F.
L cresc.-f
" II
Example 4 (continued)
from the Le po me de l'extase. The two pas-4. Motive of light. Scriabin uses trills, tremo-
sages show the same French sixth chord withlos, and other florituri to allude to light and, by
the same intervallic distribution (ex. 5).29 extension, to divine illumination. Bowers states,
"he uses trills incessantly for luminosity. Trills
a. Tristan reduction.
to Scriabin were 'palpitation ... trembling ...
the vibration in the atmosphere,' and a source
I L ]| L - of light."o30
-N.44 TI-" '' ALl
The Tenth Sonata makes the most exten-
sive use of trill and tremolo figures, their asso-
.,1 ciation with illumination clearly indicated.
Such passages are marked lumineux vibrant
b. Poeme de 1'extase-avec une intense desir.
(m. 37), de plus en plus radieux (m. 148), and
puissant, radieux. The imagery in ex. 6 is clear.
The erotic theme, human existence, is touched
O!a
through divine illumination. The use of the

extreme high register adds to the "blinding"
effect of such power and radiance.
Scriabin's linkage of the light motive to the
Example 5: Comparison of chord content erotic theme is also evident in the expressive
of Wagner's theme desire and
markings for passages involving both themes,
Scriabin's theme of desire.
possibly suggesting the association of divine
illumination with sexuality. In the Seventh So-
nata, such a linkage is seen in the passage
29Allen Forte refers to the multiple occurrences of the
Tristan chord in Scriabin's Fourth Sonata as allusions remarked avec une voluptd radieuse, extatique
flecting his interest in erotic symbols. See his "New Ap-
proaches to the Linear Analysis of Music," Journal of the
American Musicological Society 41 (1988), 345. 30Bowers, New Scriabin, p. 180.
283
19TH
Puissant, radieux 8----------------
CENTURY
MUSIC
l l -i Vw -19I w'Pi " I?M 1-Lt-l ?0 "0 TI " l - l0

, ' . .. . . b: bi 3 3
- 3f - TI
,"
33
Example 6: Tremolos as light in the Tenth Sonata (m
5. Motive of the
(mm. 253-64). In the Tenth Sonata, flight. themes
According to Bowers,
occur together at passages Scriabin
marked was obsessedavec une "From
with one principle:
joyeuse exaltation (mm. 73-83), avec the greatest delicacy (refinement), via active
ravissement et tendresse (mm. 89-100), avec efficacy (flight) to the greatest grandiosity."32
une volupte douloureuse (m. 122), avec une Scriabin's comment suggests that he sees flight
joie subite (mm. 128, 144), and avec une douce
as a link between two states, perhaps even the
ivresse (m. 192). two planes of existence-the material and the
In works Scriabin identified as satanic, spiritual.
di- If Scriabin invented a flight motive,
vine illumination takes the form of sorcerysurely
and it is the rapid, five-note arpeggios often
bewitchment. There is thus an absence of words associated with the word ail. The flight mo-
describing light or radiance in the Sixth and the tive, sometimes initiated by a quick upward
Ninth Sonatas; however, trill passages continue leap, is usually a rhythmically compressed frag-
to be associated with sexuality. In the development of the erotic theme and imparts a sense of
ment of the Sixth Sonata, Scriabin surroundsactivity and motion on material that earlier
the erotic theme with trills, tremolos, and trill- appeared in a static and languorous form33 (see
like ornaments while he indicates de plus en motives marked c in ex. 7; see also an example
plus entrainant, avec enchantement (mm. 158-from the Tenth Sonata, ex. 13b). In the Seventh
67).31 Sonata, the confluence of the flight motive (c)
with the erotic theme (b), marked vol joyeux,
serves, in conjunction with the impirieux fan-
31Scriabin's mysticism included a Satanic counterpart that
fare (a), to connote an evolving mystical state
appeared in his music from 1903. The Poeme satanique,
op. 36 (1903) preceded Ironies, op. 56, no. 2 (1908), (ex. 8).
Promethee, op. 60 (1908-10), the Sixth Sonata, op. 62 (1911-
12), Masque and Etrangete, op. 63 (1911-12), the Ninth
Sonata (Black Mass), op. 68 (1912-13), and Flammes
sombres, op. 73, no. 2 (1914). Initially, the Satanic side
may seem to represent an opposite expression to one of
mystical unity with the divine; however, symbolist theory 32Bowers, New Scriabin, pp. 55, 177.
admitted Satan as one form of highly individualistic cre- 33Aile appears in the Sixth Sonata in m. 4. However, an-
ative energy and represented the human struggle to achieve other motive, so similar to the flight motive of the Sev-
divine status. Sabaneev's authorized program notes for the enth Sonata in rhythm, gesture, and structural placement,
first performance of Promethde explained the symbolism is also found. This figure Scriabin labeled avec
of Satan as a creative force: "Prometheus, Satan, and Luci- entrainement rather than the expected aile (mm. 82-84).
fer all meet in ancient myth. They represent the active Although Scriabin did not use the same terminology, it
energy of the universe, its creative principle" (quoted in bears such a strong resemblance to the flight motive of the
Bowers, Scriabin, II, 207). Seventh Sonata that it must be considered as one.
284
a. Sixth Sonata (mm. 82-84). SUSANNA
GARCIA
avec entrainement Scriabin's
Symbolist Plot

animt, ailI
Example 7: Flight motives (marked c).
Smmg. m.d. m.g.
b vpteu
amimp rieux
Example 8: Flight, erotic, and fanfare motives in the Seventh Sonata (mm. 145-50).
6. Vertiginous dances. The achievement of ec-dancer's collapse in exhaustion and an enhanced

stasy through intoxicating spinning dances was susceptibility to divine influence. The loss of
believed by the symbolists to be part of the control was also aided by the intoxicating ef-
Dionysian cult ritual. The result was the fects of wine, also part of the ritual. Scriabin's
285
19TH a. Sixth Sonata (mm. 92-95).
CENTURY
MUSIC ai1, tourbillonnant

en dlire
c. 4
Example 9: Vertiginous d
programmatic ward
incorporation
blocked chords in short phrase units ofof th
two and four
clear. In the Fifth measures (ex. 9). Examples
Sonata, verbal 9b and des
intoxication and9c dancing
also demonstrate Scriabin's ability to con-
precede ref
divine illumination and
jure up a visual image result
of the vertiginous dance. in
of ecstasy or abundant joy:
The dancer's collapse in exhaustion can be con
seen u
fantastica, vertiginoso con furia, con as well as heard at the massive rolled chord, a
luminositai, and estatico. In the Seventh So- programmatic device used to end the Sixth and
nata, Scriabin's indications imperioso, en un Seventh Sonatas. In every case, progressively
vertige, fulgurant, avec une joie debordante, faster tempi characterize these sections.
and en delire describe the same program. In summary, a survey of Scriabin's late pi-
Vertiginous dance passages, identified by ano sonatas shows the association of specific
such words as vertige, delire, and tourbillon- musical characteristics with images or ideas
nant, are clearly articulated, as opposed to the that may be organized into six general types.
fluid and often ambiguous rhythmic patterns The frequency of occurrence of these figures
generally preferred by Scriabin. These passages, throughout the late sonatas provides a key to
in square meters of 8 or 4, involve straightfor- their meaning and, in turn, contributes to a
286
deeper understanding of the works. Writers of- register of the Tenth Sonata seem to be imitat-SUSANNA
GARCIA
ten have remarked on this stylistic unity. ing flashes of light. The flight motive not onlyScriabin's
Macdonald, in fact, sees a small vocabulary of sounds but looks as though it is "taking off"Symbolist Plo
musical ideas governing the composer's entire from the page. The vertiginous dance has pro-
ceuvre. grammatic implications realized by attempting
to mime the movements of the frenzied dancer.
We should also see each work as contributing inScriabin's
a symbolic creations are rich and per-
progressive process of growth towards some final
sonal, yet still intelligible within the cultural
achievement. ... Each work is a link in a chain, or astandards of his time.
brick in a wall. Early and late works illuminate each
other, and in addition the early works are fulfilled THE ETERNAL FEMININE
and perfected by what came after. All his music
shares idiom and gesture in a way that will strike
Did Scriabin further attempt to give meaning
many as repetitive. His musical vocabulary is nar-
row, but this enables us to grasp the nature andto his piano sonatas by construction of a plot
meaning of his musical utterance as though we could archetype, a system of symbols that interact
hold its entirety up for our inspection all at once.34with one another according to a set plan as in a
fairy tale, short story, or mystery novel? Since
there is no single piece of documentary evi-
It is the constant reiteration that secures a sym-
bolic meaning, for, in this way, a symbol be- dence that provides conclusive answers, the
question may be considered by proposing a
comes intelligible. It appears that Scriabin in-
tended to imbue his compositions with sym- likely archetype based on Scriabin's philosophi-
bolic material, crafted his musical gestures cal
as leanings, internal evidence in the music,
and the intersection of these ideas with those
such, and led us to their meaning by attaching
of the symbolist poets. Indeed, there is evi-
verbal messages to them. Finally, he attempted
dence that Scriabin constructed an archetypal
to guarantee their comprehension by repeated
use within a large body of compositions. plot based on Ivanov's theory of the Eternal
Even though Scriabin's symbolism is highly Feminine, which concerns the relationships and
tension between the Masculine (Divine) prin-
personal, his musical signifiers for each of these
ciple and the Feminine (Human) principle, a
poetic situations has roots in the familiar, draw-
ing on a commonly understood code. To usetheory
a well known to Scriabin as seen in his
writings, conversations, and poetry. James West
fanfare to call to attention, to invoke royalty
summarizes Ivanov's theory: "The female side
and the divine, or to express the heroic is to
access this code, one in which the fanfare draws
is it [the male side] towards the ecstatic
understood to have a particular meaning. In union in which it loses itself in becoming some-
thing greater than itself, while the male prin-
modeling his erotic theme after Tristan, he used
ciple is the conscious self, able to exercise its
an intertextual link to create an association
will and choose between resisting or following
between their shared musical characteristics,
thus expressing a more focused meaning. the
Soimpulse for union with the divine."35
linked, the particular combination of musical Ivanov's theory stated that mystical ecstasy
could
characteristics becomes a unit with a fixed sig- be achieved through sexual union, the
nification-erotic-for the whole of his late act of love being one of the primary ways for
musical style. mankind to link with God. The use of sex as a
Although these symbols have their basis in metaphor for union with the divine was central
stylistic codes, others, such as those for light to the concept of the Eternal Feminine. It was
the poet's role to intuit the nature of ecstasy
and flight, are more idiosyncratic. Yet they are
still connected to the phenomenal world and find artistic forms in which to capture its
through their basic aural and visual iconism. essence. Thus, the Eternal Feminine was the
The pounding tremolos in the extreme high basis for much symbolist art, which spawned
34Hugh Macdonald, Skryabin (London, 1978), pp. 7-8. 35West, Russian Symbolism, pp. 64-65.
287
19TH an unusually large number of eroticnata, and op.
sexu-
30 (1903), was published with a prose
CENTURY
MUSIC ally explicit works. poem in French that tells of the poet's search
Biographers Schloezer and Bowers make for the light of a distant star. This search is
fre-
quent reference to this theory of ecstasy expressed
and itsas an erotic desire that results in
importance to Scriabin, as did Scriabin liberation
himself. and ultimate identity with the god
Schloezer comments on Scriabin's familiarity that is light itself. This mysterious light that
with the theory of ecstasy and his use beckons
of it and
as the poet's "languorous desire" in-
an artistic model: dicate the mystic's acceptance of the summons.
Flight, dance, and intoxication follow, each serv-
Scriabin's doctrine of ecstasy combines elements of ing to further the goals of liberation, transfor-
both Christian and mystic teachings, forming a rathermation, and identification with the mysterious
curious synthesis whereby the state of blessedness force. Bowers refers to Scriabin's continued use
is included in dissolution and personal will is identi- of this scheme: "Scriabin will follow this struc-
fied with the divine command. Ecstasy, which is the
ture of gradually evolving moods in all future
crucial point of Scriabin's eschatology, inspired al-
sonatas, from languor, thirst, or longing
most all his major works-Le Poeme divin, Le Poeme
de 1'extase, Promethee, and the Acte prealable- ... through struggle, depths and heights, or
expressive of that final moment of blessed liberation battle ... through flight, dance, luminosity, or
inherent in the Dionysian cults.36 ecstasy. . . . The chain is a series of lifts, as-
cents and upsurges, finally bursting into frag-
Scriabin's notebooks also contain repeated ref-mentation, dematerialization, dissolution-a
erences to the philosophy of sex and ecstasy in last and final strengthening of freedom."40
terms that could have been lifted directly from Bowers is not referring to any written pro-
a symbolist polemic. From his 1908 notebook gram, for there are none after the Fourth So-
comes: "In thought-form, ecstasy is the highestnata. He is referring to what Anthony Newcomb
synthesis. In the guise of feeling, ecstasy is the calls an "evolving pattern of mental states."41
highest bliss. In the guise of space, ecstasy isThis scheme is repeated in Scriabin's Third
the highest development and destruction. Gen- Symphony, Le Divin Poeme, op. 43 (1902-04).
erally, ecstasy is the summit, the last moment, Although there is no accompanying poem, the
which comprehends the whole history of hu-titles of each of the three movements indicate
manity as a series of appearances."37 SchloezerScriabin's program: Luttes, Voluptis, and Jeu
too, recognized the influence of the theory of divin.
the Eternal Feminine on Scriabin, saying: "In The suggestion of this psychological program
his cosmogony the creator remained, at all alone does not suffice as an archetype. More
stages of the evolutionary process, the Eternal than a program, a plot archetype suggests a
Masculine and his creatures the Eternal Femi- structural procedure resulting in a predictable
outcome and implies a certain formalist ap-
nine."38 Scriabin acknowledges his belief that
proach
the presence of the Eternal Feminine is neces- to composition. Scriabin can be seen
sary to the achievement of a state of divinity:working out this procedure in his development
of the plot and characters for his planned stage
"It is death like the appearance of the Eternally
Feminine which leads to the Final Unity.... It work, Acte Prealable. Here the influence of the
is the highest reconciliation, a white radi-Eternal Feminine is clear. Scriabin defines his
ance. "39 characters as the Masculine or active principle
Scriabin began to think in terms of an erotic and the Feminine or passive principle. Bowers
formula as early as the period of the Le Divin summarizes the plot in this way: "The "Prefa-
Podme and the Fourth Sonata. The Fourth So- tory Action" [Acte Prialable] begins with a
36Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, p. 223. 40Bowers, Scriabin, I, 331.

37Bowers, New Scriabin, p. 118. 41Anthony Newcomb, "Once More 'Between Absolute and
38Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, p. 213. Program Music': Schumann's Second Symphony," this jour-
39Skryabin, quoted in Bowers, Scriabin, II, 265. nal 7 (1984), 234.
288
bass soloist intoning the plot of the work. Call- tent of particular stories, these two functions
SUSANNA
GARCIA
ing himself 'the Pre-Eternal,' that which was interact in accordance with a schema already Scriabin's
before the beginning, he announces that the established in advance-the masculine protago- Symbolist Plot
Infinite will descend into the Finite, Spirit will nist makes contact with but must eventually
infuse Matter, and that the ecstasy of love will subjugate (domesticate or purge) the designated
be enacted."42 In this mystical re-enactment, [feminine] Other in order for identity to be
the Feminine represents earthly existence, and consolidated, for the sake of satisfactory narra-
the Masculine represents the potential for and tive closure."44 From a symbolist perspective, a
the will to divine unity. Through the interac- sonata exhibiting these gendered characteris-
tion of the Masculine and the Feminine, the tics could be viewed as one manifestation of
state of ecstasy will be achieved, leading to the Ivanov's Eternal Feminine. The archetype of
reintegration of the manifest world into its origi- the Eternal Feminine contains several polari-
nal divine identity. Although the Acte Prealable ties, each resolved under the fundamental con-
was never realized, this archetype became the struction of masculine/feminine: male-female,
underlying basis or mythic foundation of his creator-created, active-passive, subject-object.
late piano sonatas. It is not unlike A. B. Marx's The sonata, with its complementary polarity,
concept of the Idee, the ruling spiritual prin- proved to be a natural vehicle for the statement
ciple of a work guaranteeing its unity as well as of these mystical dualities and their resolution
its individuality and the single concept under and synthesis.45 Scriabin was able to use the-
which all the individual moments in the work matic and harmonic polarity, the sense of de-
form a rational whole. In Scriabin's case, this velopmental motion, and the Romantic con-
Idee informs the entire body of late sonatas, cept of thematic transformation inherent in
creating a thematic network that defines and the sonata to suggest and resolve these ten-
clarifies his attempt at myth making. Each work sions. The sonata's dialectical features, as well
is a musical realization of the same myth. Taken as Romantic narrative and dramatic expecta-
as a whole, the late sonatas establish a chain oftions, complemented Scriabin's Idee and com-
functions that constitute a musical paradigm bined with his system of symbols to produce
of a mystical experience. an archetype that would be recognized and un-
derstood.
Scriabin's sexual metaphor found a ready-
made complement in the gendered descriptions
of sonata-allegro form that took hold after SCRIABIN'S PLOT ARCHETYPE
Marx's notorious and oft-quoted remark of 1845
and in the many musical models that exhibitedThe functioning of Scriabin's archetype is evi-
these gendered narratives.43 Indeed, Susan dent in his piano sonatas composed after 1911.
McClary's reading of the latent narratological In addition to providing clues to the meanings
meaning of the sonata process is resonant withof his musical symbols, Scriabin's idiosyncratic
Scriabin's plot: "Regardless of the manifest con-
French performance indications can also be seen
as expressive of the mythical content employ-
ing this sign system. In each work, the stan-
dard sections of exposition, development, and
42Bowers, New Scriabin, p. 97.
43"The Hauptsatz [main theme] is the first to be deter- recapitulation are clearly delineated. Within
mined, thus partaking of an initial freshness and energy, each section, certain expectations such as con-
and as such is the more energetic, pithy, and uncondi-
tional formation, that which leads and determines. The
Seitensatz [subsidiary theme], on the other hand, is cre-
ated after the first energetic confirmation and, by contrast, 44McClary, "Introduction: A Material Girl in Bluebeard's
is that which serves. It is conditioned and determined by Castle," Feminine Endings, p. 14. For further discussion of
the preceding theme, and as such its essence is necessarily the issues surrounding the gendering of themes in the
milder, its formation one of pliancy rather than pith a sonata, see ibid.; Marcia J. Citron, Gender and the Musi-
feminine counterpart, as it were, to its masculine prece- cal Canon (Cambridge, 1993), pp. 120-64; and James
dent" (Marx, quoted in Scott Burnham, "A. B. Marx and Hepokoski, "Masculine-Feminine," Musical Times 135
the Gendering of Sonata Form," in Music Theory in the (August 1994), 494-99.
Age of Romanticism, ed. Ian Bent [Cambridge, 1996], p. 45The term "complementary polarity" is one used by
163). Burnham, "Gendering," p. 210.
289
19TH for reintegration with the divine. It too is a
trasting themes in the exposition, harmonically
CENTURY
MUSIC unstable developments, and resolutiondramatic
of ten- character, but it functions more as an
sion in the recapitulation are met. Although
object to be manipulated, reflecting its passive
traditional harmonic functions no longernature. As such, its themes will be the object of
exist,
Scriabin replaces them with a complicated
change
har-and transformation.
monic system from which are derived the Development.
vari- Scriabin exposes his charac-
ous melodies, harmonies, and progressions. This remarkable consistency, characteriz-
ters with
ing each theme group in virtually the same
is not to say that these works are structurally
identical. Each is a unique musical and way in each sonata. In development sections,
poetic
world. Each shows conformity with composi- his performance cues seem to describe the act
tional norms of the sonata style, but of each also transformation. Scriabin's directions
mystical
shows deviation from the norm. Yet there is a suggest unease and confusion: avec trouble,
thread that links them, surpassing structural enduleux, insinuant, menagant, perfide, and
differences and establishing them as a singleavec une douceur de plus en plus caressante et
body of compositions expressing a unified mean-empoissonnee. He plays on traditional expecta-
ing. This thread is the plot shared by each worktions of instability and change to create this
in the group and the interaction of Scriabin's feeling of unrest and uncertainty. Musically he
musical symbols within it. The discussion that achieves this expressive goal through conven-
follows will focus on those features that are tional compositional procedures: juxtaposition
consistent and that contribute to the formation in rapid succession of motivic fragments, un-
of the mythical chain of functions of the entire even phrase lengths, stretto, extreme and fre-
group, rather than on the features that create quent tempo changes, and rapid transpositions.
difference in the individual sonatas. It is, however, the consistent function of
Exposition. The functions observed in fanfare motives to threaten, influence, or oth-
Scriabin's expositions are the unfolding of the erwise act on the erotic themes, thus destabi-
"mystic" chord and the introduction of his lizing the human realm and asserting the power
"characters"-the masculine principle as di- and eventual triumph of divine will. The asser-
vine summons (fanfare) in the initial position tion of the divine is accomplished by punctua-
and the Eternal Feminine (the erotic theme) in tions, repetitions, and interruptions by the fan-
secondary position. The third theme, when fare motive, domination of the texture by the
present, contains the flight motive (aild). fanfare motive, or subtle corruption of a melody
Each sonata opens with the expression of by the fanfare.
the absolute-the "mystic" chord. It is the mu- In the Sixth Sonata, the fanfare motive is
sical and poetic source for all plot functions stated at the beginning of each phrase of the
and as such creates a setting for the dramatic exposition with the enigmatic tag mystdrieux,
action. The first theme group contains Scriabin's concentrd (m. 1, m. 15). Well into the develop-
fanfare motive, once described by Bowers as ment, the fanfare reappears, disguised through
"heaven's autocratic call." As a fanfare, asser- augmentation as half notes (mm. 137-38).
tive and rhythmically well defined, it is Scriabin here labels it appel mysterieux, re-
semiotically linked with divine force and mas- vealing its mystical identity as a summons,
culine action. The function of the divine sum- satanic in this case. From this point (mm. 182-
mons is the will or call to action and represents 91), there is an increase in the frequency of the
the principal protagonist in the plot that fol- occurrence of the fanfare motive until the cli-
lows. The Eternal Feminine, passive and lan- max of the development marked epanouisse-
guorous, is embodied in the second theme ment de forces mystdrieuses. At this point, the
group, as indicated by the sensual language of fanfare saturates the texture. In mystical terms,
Scriabin's themes of the erotic. In contrast with
this event represents the revelation of the "om-
his masculine themes, the musical characteris- nipresent unknown"-the previously hidden
tics of Scriabin's feminine are rhythmic vague- signification of the fanfare motive. After this
ness, chromaticism, and shifting harmonies.climactic section, there are no further verbal
As manifest reality, the Eternal Feminine yearns suggestions of hidden meanings. Such state-
290
ments are now unnecessary. Indeed, at the re- tive, the phrases successively modulating
SUSANNA
GARCIA
capitulation, the fanfare motive-Scriabin's through the pitches of the "mystic" chord un-
Scriabin's
"call to action"-is now absent from the initial folded at the opening of the work (F#, B6, D, A6).Symbolist Plot
gesture (m. 207). The mystic's yearning for enlightenment is evi-
In the development of the Ninth Sonata (ex. dent in Scriabin's annotations avec une volupte
10), the erotic theme (motive b-pur, limpide)douloureuse, avec une joie subite, and de plus
is continually interrupted by a motive consist- en plus radieux, each corresponding with an
ing of a series of repeated notes terminating inarrival on the various tonal centers. There is
a fanfare rhythm (motive a-sombre, also a significant increase in the frequency of
mysterieux) in a fashion that results in fore-
fanfare/trills as the passage progresses. In part 2
shortening of each successive appearance. The
(mm. 158-83), the two fanfare motives join in
following ten measures of the development, accompanying and interrupting the course of a
marked perfide, proceed as follows: false recapitulation of the first agitato theme.
A comparison of the analogous section in the
mm. 87-90 b (4 mm.)
exposition (mm. 39-42) shows no such inter-
mm. 91-92 b (2 mm.)
ference. In part 3 (mm. 184-221), the fanfare
mm. 93-94 a (2 mm.)
and trills are expanded into a powerful out-
m. 95 b (1 mm.)
burst of pounding tremolos (puissant, radieux),
m. 96 a (1 mm.)
which finally overpower the erotic second
Scriabin's expressive indication avec une theme (ex. 6).
douceur de plus en plus caressante et Recapitulation. Scriabin uses the recapitula-
empoisonnee (m. 97) is musically expressedtion and coda to complete the mystical pro-
when the sinister a motive no longer interrupts
cess. It is here that Scriabin's protagonists, the
but gradually incorporates itself into the Masculine
b and Feminine principles, fulfill their
theme (mm. 97-104). The extension of the peak
plot destinies: the triumph of the divine, signi-
of the b theme's arch by syncopated repetition
fied by the increasing dominance of the fanfare
of the pitch A (mm. 99-101) alludes to the motive, and the transformation and reintegra-
syncopated repeated note of a. Any doubttion of of the human, signified by continuing ma-
this relationship is dispelled by the following
nipulation of the erotic theme.
three measures, in which it is made explicit, a Some see recapitulation as problematic to
having fully "corrupted" both the texture andScriabin's mystical ends, questioning whether
the melody of b. completion of his general narrative scheme is
The Tenth Sonata contains two distinct fan- possible in the presence of tonal and thematic
fare motives. The sonata opens with a slowrepetition. Macdonald remarks on this point in
introduction containing the first fanfare mo-reference to the Le divin poeme:
tive (ex.1d), uncharacteristically and enigmati-
cally marked tres doux et pur. The expositionThe problem is, as so often in symphonic structures,
proper begins with two successive statementsthe recapitulation. We learn that the human spirit
of an assertive gesture consisting of two as-has "freed itself from the legends and mysteries of
cending grace notes terminating in a trill (ex.the past, which it has surmounted and overthrown."
2c). The fanfare/trill, marked lumineux vibrant, Thus the passage marked "mysterieux, romantique,
l6gendaire" is followed by a build up of tension "fier,
combines two of Scriabin's musical symbols,
the divine summons and divine illumination.
de plus en plus triomphant," culminating in a cli-
max, "divin, grandiose." If the programme had any
The development is concerned with the pro- real force this would be sufficient, but the whole
gression from longing to radiant ecstasy, which
passage is later recapitulated; the markings reap-
Scriabin achieves through repetition and ex-pear, reasonably enough, but the programme becomes
pansion of the two fanfare gestures. The sec-
irrelevant.46
tion consists of three parts that mirror the form
of the work thus far-introduction, first theme
group, and second theme group. Part 1 (mm.
115-57) is dominated by the fanfare/trill mo-
46Macdonald, "Words and Music," p. 23.
291
Molto meno vivo
19TH pur, limpide
CENTURY 87 b--3
MUSIC &b
q 2- )21w I ,WL ".fdww: t
89
3 3 3>..ombr myst--i--.
so3I I 43
!. l--...mpoco cresc 3 strieux
avec une douceur de plus en plus

94 a b'
-- 3 3" a, -- *hL
TrT
98
I I I'J s 3
3_. -i' *33
rbI_
j I caressan ~+ '-------,
-- a-
~him It I 1 1 3 3 fI-r+A
--
3 33c 3 3 3
bb
Example 10: Ninth Sonata, development (mm. 87-104).
292
Scriabin biographer Eaglefield Hull displays formal design but also superimposes a large-
SUSANNA
GARCIA
the same attitude about the Fifth Sonata: "So- scale tension between its implied tonality of Ab
Scriabin's
nata lines of development and recapitulation and the implied tonality of the exposition, F
Symbolist Plo
are still closely followed, the latter, I think,
(m. 37).48 Because of the tonal and formal ambi-
being quite uncalled for with such a subject. guities, including a false recapitulation in Ab
Herein I think Scriabin carries reverence for (m. 158), the articulation of the recapitulation
Line and Design . . . too far. . . . Clearness,(m. 222) is a moment of revelation and clarity.
intelligibility, and beauty can be secured with-
The fanfare/trill appears affirmingly, framed by
silence, at its original pitch level (F), signaling
out a recapitulation at variance with the evolu-
tion of the subject."47 the beginning of the resolution of the tonal
Yet, Beethoven's sonatas provided a model conflict. It is much later, however, during the
for the continuous development of ideas and coda, that resolution is completely achieved.
resolution of large-scale tensions. These works Another difference between the exposition
expressed a concluding orientation that tran-
and the recapitulation is Scriabin's treatment
scended the repetition inherent in the recapitu-of the return of the second theme. Tradition-
lation. So, too, with Scriabin's sonatas. In these
ally, the tension created by the tonic-dominant
works, Scriabin's goals of ecstasy and transfor-polarity of the exposition is resolved in the
mation, the foundations of his archetype, moti- recapitulation by the return of the second theme
vate his compositional choices. Contraryin tothe tonic key. This function is generally
Macdonald's statement that the whole passage maintained by Scriabin, although the concept
is later recapitulated, markings intact, literal
of key must be understood within his own har-
monic system. Scriabin uses this expectation
repetition of either by Scriabin is rare in these
late works. In fact, the rather obvious differ-to resolve the polarities of his mystical plot,
ences between exposition and recapitulation either by reintegration of the human element
serve to advance Scriabin's mystical program. into its divine origins or by its transformation.
As mentioned earlier, Scriabin omits the open-Thus, the erotic theme, representing the Eter-
ing "mystic" chord as well as the repeated nal oc- Feminine, must undergo constant manipu-
tave fanfare, which had been his announce- lation and is continually subject to transforma-
ment of a hidden mystery (m. 207) in the Sixth tion. With the assumption that the Eternal
Sonata. After the identity of the fanfare as the
Feminine is the world of earthly manifestation,
appel mysterieuse has been revealed during the as the symbolists assumed, then its transfor-
development, restatement here would serve no mation into a state of divinity is the necessary
purpose. mark of a mystical experience. Scriabin's treat-
In the structurally less conventional Seventh
ment of the erotic theme during the recapitula-
Sonata, Scriabin delineates each formal sectiontion suggests that this too is the ultimate goal
by repetition of the sonata's opening fanfare. of his archetypal model.
Each appearance is varied musically and char- In the recapitulation of the Sixth Sonata, the
erotic second theme (motive b in ex. 11),
acterized by different performance designations.
The cumulative intensification achieved by thisthrough an additive process, becomes gradually
varied repetition at significant structural points
reintegrated with the "mystic" chord (compare
allegorizes the increasing domination of with the ex. 4a). Here, marked tout devient charme
divine will (Prophitique [mm. 1-3], foudroyant et douceur (m. 244), motive b is shown as hav-
[mm. 169-71], avec eclat [mm. 237-40]). ing evolved from the semitone grace notes of
Among the recapitulations in the late sona-
the opening chord. This is particularly evident
tas, that of the Tenth Sonata is the most literal.
in Scriabin's development of the material writ-
In this sonata, however, Scriabin's lengthyten in-on the middle stave. The initiating semitone
troduction (mm. 1-36) not only obscures the
48The tonality of A? derives from the mystic chord built on

47A. Eaglefield Hull, A Great Russian Tone-Poet: Scriabin
F#: F#, C, E, Bb, D-E6, G-Ak. The tonality of F derives from
(London, 1916), p. 235. the mystic chord built on Ek:E6, A, C#, G, B-C, E-F.
293
19TH 244 tout devient charme et douceur b
CENTURY
MUSIC
3A 3 3 -I3
r -- 3 --3 3 33--
246
poco cresc"
248 -------------------------
250
POP3
251
---- 3 --J L -- 3
Vh 1 4
Example
294
SUSANNA
252 3 GARCIA
Scriabin's
Symbolist Plot
3.
L. 3 - J , - 3
254 b
2ss
cresc.
64 op p3
258
:'"~~~~~~~~~~--- _--" L.F--.r-FIF YIFI l lI
Example 11 (continued)
295
19TH
CENTURY
MUSIC 260
dim.
26 5 aenn
.1 ir --- r--9
264 i. b --13
266 v avec entrainement
Example 1
296
Alla marcia ( =J) SUSANNA
b GARCIA
Scriabin's
Symbolist Plo
rT TIT-,c ,, ,, , , b. , ~
fpesante
t - e I' - a
Example 12: Transformation of the erotic theme in the Ninth Sonata (mm. 179-82).
gradually expands to a full statement of b by formation for the coda in a skittish version that
m. 261 and a rhythmically intensified occur- one writer calls "the fallout of the energy of the
rence at mm. 262-65. By m. 267 it has been apotheosis" (ex. 13b).49
transformed into a flight motive, c. The arrival Coda. Each of the sonatas under consider-
at the "tonic" is suggested first at m. 254; how- ation concludes with a coda. These codas con-
ever, the root of the "mystic" set, G, is with-tain Scriabin's vertiginous dances and/or an ac-
held until m. 256. It is not until m. 258 that the celerating tempo scheme suggestive of frenzy
b theme is transposed to G with five successive or delirium. The performance directions are
entrances on that pitch. It is through this pro- strongly programmatic. In the satanic Sixth So-
cess that the Eternal Feminine, the object of nata, Scriabin depicts, both aurally and pictori-
mystical transformation, is reassimilated into ally, the dancer's spinning frenzy through the
its divine source-the "mystic" chord. constellation flight motive (c), trill, and chord
If, in the Sixth Sonata, Scriabin concentrates (mm. 308-09). In a passage marked l'dpouvante
on reintegration of the Eternal Feminine into surgit, elle se mdle ' la danse dlirante, he
its divine source, in the Ninth and Tenth Sona- effects a dramatic struggle through the dizzy-
tas he achieves a total metamorphosis. In the ing interchange of motives depicting the terri-
Ninth, the "Black Mass," the metamorphosis fying power of Satan (fanfare, a) and the spin-
is a demonic one. In spite of the absence of ning of the dancer (c) (ex. 14). In the final eight
verbal indications, there is no question of the measures of the sonata, an accelerando is indi-
transformation of the erotic theme into a gro- cated, and the spinning dancer, now firmly in
tesque march (ex. 12; see ex. 4c for its appear- the correct transposition, dissolves into the
ance in the exposition). Notice the triumphant "mystic" chord. Thus, the human element has
domination of the fanfare motive accompani- been absorbed into its mystical source (ex. 9c).
ment on left-hand downbeats. The Seventh Sonata also exhibits the disso-
In the Tenth Sonata, the erotic motive (seelution of the independent identity of human
ex. 4d for its appearance in the exposition), existence and the merging with its divine ori-
having served as a representative of the Eternal gin. During the coda, marked avec une joie
Feminine, is manipulated several times: at theddbordante and en dMlire, a climactic arrival
climax of the development, at its expected po- on a massive chord (m. 331) highlights its im-
sition during the recapitulation, and during theportance (ex. 9b). A comparison of the chord's
coda. In the development, the theme is over-intervallic content (minor thirds surrounding
whelmed by radiant, powerful tremolos, an augmented third) with final four notes of
Scriabin's symbol of divine light (see ex. 6). In the erotic theme (mm. 32-33) and with the
the recapitulation, the theme is illuminated by
trills and tremolos marked avec 1lan, lumineux
vibrant (ex. 13a). Scriabin saves the final trans- 49Baker, Music of Scriabin, p. 210.
297
19TH a. b theme, recapitulation (mm. 259-63)
CENTURY
MUSIC avec glan lumineux vibrant a
A 'to --T---
yg n?2!? I R- ---
33
De_?? P~ii
33
b. b theme, coda (mm. 306-13)
P it v iv o 8 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- - - . . . . . . ..
1
Ip . bLre aiL_ L_ L_ o
93, [ . I.., -" OE, o., , 9- ,- I r . 19-- Mr"-
pp i rernissant, 1 I a ,lg 5 5I I D
Example 13: Thematic transformation in the Tenth Sonata.

..
opening chord of the work wil reveal Scriabin's ably transformed into a perverse dance
use of a single generative chord. This climactic (fremissant, aild), prolongs the transposition on
chord precedes a short passage that restates the AL [AL, D, GQ, C] reestablished during the reca-
erotic theme, gradually fragmented and dissolv- pitulation. Finally, beginning in m. 314, the
ing into a tril (mm. 332-43). The restatement second theme appears three times, transposed
of the erotic theme at this time emphasizes its to F [E#, B, D#, A]. Scriabin is not quite ready to
role as object transformed. The last sound heard stabilize the harmony at that point. In a
is the fading away of this tril , a fragment of the dancelike presto (mm. 300-59), he alternates
erotic theme in a passage that Bowers calls fragments in the two opposing tonalities de-
dematerialization.50 All the late sonatas end in picting clearly the struggle between the two.
this way, quietly dissolving into the "mystic" Final resolution of this conflict is delayed until
chord of the opening, the hidden meaning of the arrival of the epilogue at m. 360.
this chord as generative force (creator) revealed Epilogue. The Ninth and Tenth Sonatas con-
and its unity with the theme of the "Eternal clude with references to their openings, thus
Feminine" (created) achieved. making explicit the symbolist concept that
In the Tenth Sonata (ex. 13), Scriabin savesthrough mystical experience one returns to the
the final transformation of the second theme original state of divinity from which earthly
for the coda, where the large-scale tension be- existence has caused a separation. In the Ninth
tween the tonalities of AL and F is finally re-Sonata, after the demonic march and a frenzied
solved. The second theme, almost unrecogniz-coda, the legendaire opening is restated as an
epilogue, emphasizing in the last three mea-
sures the pitches of the opening "mystic" chord.
SoBowers, New Scriabin, p. 180. The epilogue of the Tenth Sonata beauti-
298
1'gpouvante surgit, elle se m~le a la danse d~lirante SUSANNA
a
GARCIA
298 > >, -- - --' Scriabin's
Symbolist Plot
4w 1
306 ' 0. 01 do
if
-i,? , ?
313 m cu
p 1 L N LY ( ~f I -- - ITI
Example 14: Sixth Sonata, coda (mm. 298-319).
fully portrays the subsiding of sensual longing early in the sonata. But that would fail to ex-
by restating the materials of the introduction plain why, in most of these works, Scriabin
in reverse order (Avec une douce langueur de continues to mark ailk while omitting all other
plus en plus 6teinte). The epilogue reaffirms indications presented during the analogous por-
the triumph of the tonality of F by transposingtion of the exposition. This suggests another
the sonata's opening four measures, originally possibility regarding advancement of the mys-
in Ab, into this, the key of divine assertion. tical program. In the Sixth Sonata, Scriabin's
commentary is present until the recapitulation
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS (m. 207), where expressive markings appear only
when material is highly varied, as in the sec-
Mention should be made of Scriabin's handling ond theme, or is new, as in the coda. Most
of descriptive language in the recapitulation omitted descriptions are those linked to mo-
and coda. There is far less of it, and material tives whose meanings are now revealed. The
that was associated with particular descriptionsfact that ail6 remains may reflect the unfin-
during the exposition now appears without ished it. business of the program, for it is not until
One possible interpretation is that the linguis-the coda that the vertiginous dance and final
tic meaning of these events has been supplied resolution of the mystical plot occur.
299
19TH verse is based
In the Tenth Sonata, a similar situation ex- on the simple division: before/
CENTURY
MUSIC ists. Expressions of restlessness in after."s51
the exposi-
tion "emotion, inquiet, haletant, and Identification
exalta- of those objective musical
qualities
tion" are missing in the recapitulation, yethelps
ex-us to understand that his sym-
bols are not so idiosyncratic as we may think.
pressions of radiance and rapture-e-lan
lumineux vibrant and ravissement-remain. As Scriabin's signifiers of the Divine and the Eter-
in the Sixth Sonata, ailk continues to appear in nal Feminine have their roots in familiar musi-
the coda only until the final transformation ofcal symbolism. The positions of these symbols
the second theme. Scriabin's words at the pointin relation to the formal elements of the so-
of tonal resolution, douce langueur de plus ennata, itself a gendered paradigm, give dramatic
plus eteinte, seem to confirm that the ailk some-direction to the composition. The repetition of
how drives transformation, and only after it has this pattern of musical realization within the
been achieved can mystical longing subside. body of his late works reveals the structure of
In the Ninth Sonata, Scriabin discontinues his myth.
the use of text at the midpoint of the develop- In this study I have attempted to follow
ment. The amount of text in the first portion ofMarx's exhortation that the critic must "fol-
the sonata is small, and Scriabin relies heavilylow in step by step fashion the life-process
on conventional musical processes, his usualwhich takes place in the music and then must
plot archetype, and his symbolic musical vo-extract the single concept under which all the
cabulary to communicate his intent. The now individual moments in the work form a ratio-
familiar archetype and symbolism of the Sixthnal whole."52 This single concept is the striv-
and Seventh Sonatas perhaps rendered contin-ing for union with the divine through the Eter-
ued descriptive language superfluous. nal Feminine, which provides a metalanguage
What is the relevance of Scriabin's musical
allowing for an understanding of the work dif-
symbols and plot archetype to the greater un- ferent from traditional analysis. By studying
derstanding of these works? Many writers have Scriabin's late works within this conceptual
commented on the obscurity of Scriabin's mu- framework, one is led to insights about the
sical language and of the mystical ideas behind composer's characteristic symbols and mythi-
it. One cause of such obscurity may be his use cal meaning. Scriabin's sonatas, long acknowl-
edged
of a culture-specific myth as an organizing prin- as masterpieces of power, originality, and
ciple. Scriabin's particular concept of mysticalcraftsmanship, deserve this richer and
experience and the specific metaphor of the more complete consideration.
Eternal Feminine are not part of our modem
sensibility. Yet understanding the content of
Scriabin's mystical vision may be necessary to
51Eero Tarasti, Myth and Music: A Semiotic Approach to
grasp the whole of Scriabin's meaning. Scriabin's
the Aesthetics of Myth in Music, Especially that of Wagner,
works should be understood as myth because
Sibelius and Stravinsky (The Hague, 1970), p. 68. Interest-
ingly, Tarasti questions the success of Scriabin's work as
they fulfill the conditions of what Tarasti calls
myth. He seems to overlook what once was a commonly
the mythical style in music. According to Eerounderstood Symbolist myth as well as Scriabin's particu-
Tarasti: "The musical sign experienced as lar form of symbolization: "In the last piano sonatas and
mythical acquires its mythical quality from itsthe short fragments of the great mystery this mystical
style has already grown into so individual a form of ex-
objective musical properties as well as from itspression, or 'idiolect' as it is linguistically called, that even
special dual position in the composition as athe communicability of music becomes questionable" (pp.
113-14).
whole. Myth always alludes to something ear-
52Marx, quoted in Scott G. Burnham, Aesthetics, Theory
lier, in the distant past, to which the mythical
and History in the Works of Adolph Bernhard Marx (Ph.D.
message must be related. The mythical uni-
diss., Brandeis University, 1988), p. 216.
300

Scriabin's Symbolist Plot Archetype in The Late Piano Sonatas

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Scriabin's Symbolist Plot Archetype in The Late Piano Sonatas

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Scriabin's Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas

Author(s): Susanna Garcia

der Trag6die by Nietzsche.1o The relationship

b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 1-2) [C, F#, Bk, E, A, Db].

c. Ninth Sonata (mm. 1-4) [G, C#, F, B].

d. Tenth Sonata (mm. 1-4) [A6, D, F#, C, Ek, B6].

Example 1: The "mystic" chord at the openings of Scriabin's sonatas.

b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 102-05).

c. Tenth Sonata (mm. 37-38).

Example 2: Fanfare motives in Scriabin's sonatas (marked a).

25Bowers, Scriabin, I, 341.

b. Development (mm. 69-76).

L-- poco cresc. 3 3 3 3

MEL 1-0-1w i "pwp

3. The Eternal Feminine: Scriabin's representa-while the preponderance of unresolved domi-

dom.7 Fr.6 dom.13 Fr.6

b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 29-34

avec une clIeste voluptM b trs

pur, avec une profonde douceur

dom.13 Fr.6 dom.13 Fr.6

c. Ninth Sonata (mm. 34-43).

avec une langueur naissante

Example 4: Scriabin's representation of

Fr.6 Maj.7 Fr.6 dom.7 Fr.6

through divine illumination. The use of the

l l -i Vw -19I w'Pi " I?M 1-Lt-l ?0 "0 TI " l - l0

Example 6: Tremolos as light in the Tenth Sonata (m

b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 60-61).

Example 7: Flight motives (marked c).

Smmg. m.d. m.g.

6. Vertiginous dances. The achievement of ec-dancer's collapse in exhaustion and an enhanced

b. Seventh Sonata (mm. 327-31).

36Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, p. 223. 40Bowers, Scriabin, I, 331.

q 2- )21w I ,WL ".fdww: t

!. l--...mpoco cresc 3 strieux

avec une douceur de plus en plus

Example 10: Ninth Sonata, development (mm. 87-104).

48The tonality of A? derives from the mystic chord built on

266 v avec entrainement

b. b theme, coda (mm. 306-13)

Example 13: Thematic transformation in the Tenth Sonata.

Example 14: Sixth Sonata, coda (mm. 298-319).

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