Symphony of Sirens music module

2. Modernism and neo-classicism

One of the composers mentioned by Sabaneev as a member of the "moderate" school in the mid-1920s was Nikolai Miaskovskii (1881-1950). Though Sabaneev does not use the term, his choice of phrasing ("It was assumed that the art needed by the U.S.S.R. at the given moment must be fully equipped with the European technique, but at the same time must be ideologically compatible with the state of affairs in Russia") suggests that one could refer to this as the "Leninist" position on modern music. Miaskovskii had served in the Red Army from 1917 to 1921 before joining the Moscow Conservatory, where he wrote the Sixth Symphony between 1921 and 1923. Listen to the opening portion of the first movement: 

 

Ask yourself how much you agree with Sabaneev's claim that Miaskovskii and others became "more or less revolutionary" only in a completely anodyne sense that did not distinguish them from Western European composers. Then move to the final half of the fourth movement: 

  

It begins with a French revolutionary song that eventually gives way to a choir singing the Dies Irae of the Latin Requiem Mass, and then a traditional Russian chant on the parting of body and soul. What do you think of this juxtaposition of musical elements in historical terms? In this last movement you can also hear elements of the monumentality that later became central to Soviet musical style.

Sabaneev mentions the engineer Léon Theremin [Lev Sergeevich Termen], who invented the Thereminvox (now usually called simply the theremin) around 1919. It is one of the first fully electronic instruments, and makes use of an effect similar to the one you may have noticed with your television reception: a human body in the vicinity has a capacitance that interferes with the antenna, depending on relative position. The theremin uses the capacitance of the musician's hands to change a basic tone controlled by a radio antenna. Changes in tone are created through sheer movement, without any contact mechanism, and that is why it is so difficult to control the pitch. Theremin demonstrated the device to Lenin, who become an early fan. To understand the strange tuning properties of the theremin, listen to the brief clip. Now you know which instrument was being employed in all those old science fiction movies.

The only known recording of the Polyphonic Aetherphon (a later version of the Theremin) with an introduction, in Russian, by Lev Termen:  

  

Sample courtesy of Thereminvox.com.