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Visions fugitives
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Visions fugitives
Visions fugitives, Op. 22, is a cycle of twenty piano miniatures by Sergei Prokofiev. The seventh piece was also published for harp. They were written between 1915 and 1917, individually, many for specific friends of the composer, and premiered by him as a cycle on April 15, 1918, in Petrograd. Gutheil published both the piano set and the one piece for harp in 1917 in Moscow.
The cycle brings dissonant harmonies akin to music by Prokofiev contemporaries Schoenberg and Scriabin but retains original concepts of tonality and rhythm. The miniatures are vignette-like, whimsical, effervescent and bright. The overall effect is in the Impressionist style, not unlike work by Debussy. Because of the almost uniformly mellow style, performers must be willing to work on the relatively difficult technique required to capture its essence.
In 1935 Prokofiev made recordings of ten pieces from the set, and his playing is notable for its wistfulness, subtle shadings and — in places — rhythmic freedom. Even the clowning of the Ridicolosamente is rather shy in Prokofiev’s hands, and the delicacy he brings to the following piece brings out its affinities with Debussy’s Préludes
— David Fanning, [1]
In August 1917, Prokofiev played them for Russian poet Konstantin Balmont, among others, at the home of a mutual friend. Balmont was inspired to compose a sonnet on the spot, called "a magnificent improvisation" by Prokofiev who named the pieces Mimolyotnosti from these lines in Balmont's poem: "In every fleeting vision I see worlds, Filled with the fickle play of rainbows". A French-speaking friend at the house, Kira Nikolayevna, immediately provided a French translation for the pieces: Visions fugitives. Prokofiev often performed only a couple of them at a time as encores at the end of his performances.
This short movement, a minute in duration, begins quietly and hesitantly, as if wandering, as the melody does not seem to resolve. The gentle floating chords are like spots of dappled sunshine through a canopy of leaves overhead, ever-changing in the wind, played softly but clearly. However, like the patterns of light, this movement lasts for just a moment. The Lentamente makes certain references to impressionism due to the use of planing.
Like the first movement, this movement is also quiet and hesitant. However, unlike the first movement, the harmonic and melodic structures of this piece are based on diminished harmony, octatonic scales and dissonant intervals of 7ths, making it rather modern. Performance time lasts about a minute and a half.
This movement is in ternary form, with the middle section being rather more modern than the outer sections. The chords of the right hand in the beginning constitute a fauxbourdon texture, in contrast to the left hand's chromatic passage. The middle section is based on the octatonic scale, with the oscillation of note clusters in the left hand creating a tritone. Performances are approximately forty-five seconds in duration.
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Visions fugitives
Visions fugitives, Op. 22, is a cycle of twenty piano miniatures by Sergei Prokofiev. The seventh piece was also published for harp. They were written between 1915 and 1917, individually, many for specific friends of the composer, and premiered by him as a cycle on April 15, 1918, in Petrograd. Gutheil published both the piano set and the one piece for harp in 1917 in Moscow.
The cycle brings dissonant harmonies akin to music by Prokofiev contemporaries Schoenberg and Scriabin but retains original concepts of tonality and rhythm. The miniatures are vignette-like, whimsical, effervescent and bright. The overall effect is in the Impressionist style, not unlike work by Debussy. Because of the almost uniformly mellow style, performers must be willing to work on the relatively difficult technique required to capture its essence.
In 1935 Prokofiev made recordings of ten pieces from the set, and his playing is notable for its wistfulness, subtle shadings and — in places — rhythmic freedom. Even the clowning of the Ridicolosamente is rather shy in Prokofiev’s hands, and the delicacy he brings to the following piece brings out its affinities with Debussy’s Préludes
— David Fanning, [1]
In August 1917, Prokofiev played them for Russian poet Konstantin Balmont, among others, at the home of a mutual friend. Balmont was inspired to compose a sonnet on the spot, called "a magnificent improvisation" by Prokofiev who named the pieces Mimolyotnosti from these lines in Balmont's poem: "In every fleeting vision I see worlds, Filled with the fickle play of rainbows". A French-speaking friend at the house, Kira Nikolayevna, immediately provided a French translation for the pieces: Visions fugitives. Prokofiev often performed only a couple of them at a time as encores at the end of his performances.
This short movement, a minute in duration, begins quietly and hesitantly, as if wandering, as the melody does not seem to resolve. The gentle floating chords are like spots of dappled sunshine through a canopy of leaves overhead, ever-changing in the wind, played softly but clearly. However, like the patterns of light, this movement lasts for just a moment. The Lentamente makes certain references to impressionism due to the use of planing.
Like the first movement, this movement is also quiet and hesitant. However, unlike the first movement, the harmonic and melodic structures of this piece are based on diminished harmony, octatonic scales and dissonant intervals of 7ths, making it rather modern. Performance time lasts about a minute and a half.
This movement is in ternary form, with the middle section being rather more modern than the outer sections. The chords of the right hand in the beginning constitute a fauxbourdon texture, in contrast to the left hand's chromatic passage. The middle section is based on the octatonic scale, with the oscillation of note clusters in the left hand creating a tritone. Performances are approximately forty-five seconds in duration.