Alexander Nevsky


Naxos (0747313272525)
Naxos (0747313571024)
Movie | Released: 2003 | Film release: 1938 | Format: CD, Download
 

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# Track   Duration
Alexander Nevsky
1.Russia Under the Mongolian Yoke3:57
2.Song about Alexander Nevsky2:45
3.The Crusaders in Pskov5:46
4.Arise, Ye Russian People1:59
5.The Battle on the Ice12:16
6.The Field of Death6:38
7.Alexander's Entry into Pskov3:37
 
Pushkiniana (Compiled by G Rozhdestvensky): Queen of Spades
8.Hermann5:30
9.Liza2:42
10.Ball (Polonaise)2:54
 
Eugene Onegin (The Larin's Ball)
11.Menuet1:38
12.Polka1:37
13.Mazurka1:31
 
Boris Godunov
14.Polonaise - Scene at the Fountain - Sambor's Castle4:11
 
Music to Shakespeare's Hamlet
15.Ghost of Hamlet's Father6:19
 
Ivan the Terrible
16.Dance of the Oprichniks2:15
 65:34
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Alexander Nevsky - 10/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at (English)
There are some films you never expect to actually see and such was the case with Alexander Nevsky. Despite its fame as a classic of early Russian cinema, it is isn't often screened on television. However, the BBC, in its attempt to invigorate its arts programming (which I applaud and only hope they succeed in the climate of shallow modern media) has started showing more unusual films on its digital arts channel. In fairness, much of Alexander Nevsky seems laughable today - the acting is hammy at best (save for Nevsky himself, who is portrayed with a degree of dignity), the pacing awkward and the attempt to mix comedy into an epic story doesn't really work. Plus any Monty Python fans will know that the German soldiers are in fact the bastard children of the Knights Who Say Ni. However, its famous Battle on Ice is undoubtedly brilliant (for its time, at least), which views the climactic showdown at both the human and epic level, with sweeping, icy vistas of outstanding, haunting beauty juxtaposed with those of brutality and carnage.

For a film of 1938 vintage, the original sound quality is unsurprisingly somewhat iffy and there is little in the way of sound effects, almost every scene being carried by either dialogue or music alone. Being quite familiar with the Cantata incarnation of Prokofiev's score, I was surprised to discover that the film contains very little beyond repeats of music already featured, plus a couple of unintentionally hilarious source music versions of one of the more sprightly tunes. Viewed today, some scenes are very potently scored, particularly the eerie opening and the tense build up during the first half of the Battle on the Ice, but many seem melodramatic and a touch heavy handed. The Crusaders in Pskov underscores a lengthy scene where the Russians are threatened and tortured by the German invaders, including one particularly disturbing scene where young children are apparently thrown into a bonfire. In this case, I'd suggest that the film isn't adequate to Prokofiev's score, the acting and directing are just a bit primitive compared to the vastly more sophisticated music.

There are many recordings of the Cantata, but this version from Naxos is apparently the first commercially available recording by an entirely Russian ensemble. I'm not sure it can quite go down as one of the best, however; the scene setting early movements are fine enough, but I think the Battle on the Ice makes or breaks any recording, usually the latter. The performance here isn't quite as uneven as some I've heard, but the sprightly opening tempo is suddenly cut during the grinding choral passage, so the heroic material that follows is just a touch slow. However, The Field of Death is beautifully sung by Irina Gelahova and the chorus do a predictably superb job with Alexander's Entry into Pskov.

The album is rounded out by a suite of outtakes from projects that Prokofiev abandoned, for various reasons. I was surprised at the titles as Boris Godunov is most famously known as an opera by Mussorgsky and both Eugene Onegin and Queen of Spades are operas by Tchaikovsky. However, the snippets here are all Prokofiev and in some ways more typical of his style than Alexander Nevsky being far more ironic and motoric, most obvious in the dances of Eugene Onegin. The album concludes with excerpts from incidental music to a version of Hamlet, which invites comparison with Shostakovich's equally haunting music, and the sprightly Dance of the Oprichniks from the unfinished third volume of Ivan the Terrible.

It seems unlikely that any recording will match Claudio Abbado's sublime Alexander Nevsky, which in terms of interpretation and recording is still the market leader. However, a Russian conductor and ensemble will clearly have an affinity for the music and the performance is still first rate, even if the pacing isn't quite as good, nor the sound quite the equal of the masterful Deutsche Grammophon engineers. Coupling the Cantata with pieces of Prokofiev miscellenia instead of yet another recording of Lt Kijé works well, even if none of it could really be rated as top rate Prokofiev, they are still interesting all the same. Being on Naxos, the album is obviously at a budget price and as such, an ideal introduction to one of the best film scores ever penned.

Other releases of Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938):

Alexander Nevsky (2000)
Alexander Nevsky (1996)
Alexander Nevsky (1994)
Alexander Nevsky (2003)
Alexander Nevsky / Lieutenant Kijé (1990)
Alexander Nevsky (1980)
Alexander Nevsky (1975)
Alexander Nevsky (2004)
Alexander Nevsky (1949)


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