Shostakovich: Odna (Alone) [Silent Film Score]

Dmitry Shostakovich (Composer), Mark Fitz-Gerald (Conductor), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Irina Mataeva (Performer), Anna Kiknadze (Performer), Dmitry Voropaev (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Irina Mataeva, Anna Kiknadze, Dmitry Voropaev
• Orchestra: Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Mark Fitz-Gerald
• Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich
• Audio CD (January 29, 2008)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B000ZJVI5C
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,736 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Audiophile Audition, February 2008

Normally film scores would go into our occasional Soundtracks Feature (of which one is currently overdue), but this one seemed so unusual and important that I wanted to cover it immediately. This is the world premiere of the complete recording of the soundtrack by Shostakovich for the 1929-31 film which had been designed to be the first Soviet sound film. He had already created a complete score for the earlier film The New Babylon, but it was performed live at its premiere.

This one had many technical problems. Most of the first sound films had the music on discs which were laboriously synchronized with the silent footage on the screen. Results everywhere were very poor, but the Soviets - struggling to demonstrate that their technology was every bit the equal of the West - were the worst of all. Much of the dialog and the words of the songs included are unintelligible. Shostakovich himself said in l931 that despite the excellence of the orchestra and conductor, the horrible recording quality made it seem that all his work was for nothing.

Conductor Fitz-Gerald led a team that reconstructed the original score from published and unpublished sources plus the low-quality soundtrack of the original film. It includes some of the composer's music for the film which was not used. The CD is the result of co-production with the Hessian Radio of Frankfurt, Germany. The score is one of the best of the nearly 30 films Shostakovich eventually scored - full of dramatic impact and making use of such unexpected additions as a brass band, barrel-organ, a Tuvan throat-singer, and even a theremin (which had just been invented a few years earlier by Leon Theremin). There are also soprano and mezzo soloists plus a choir.

The story is about a just-qualified female teacher from Leningrad who is sent to a backward, superstitious community in Russian Mongolia where she faces great difficulties, alone and separated from her fiancé. The villagers insist their children tend the sheep rather than go to the school, and they leave the girl to ostensibly die in a snowdrift (but she is rescued by a Soviet airplane). There are a total of 48 music cues on this jam-packed disc, with descriptions of many of them. There is also an interesting analysis of exactly how overtone-singing works and all of the song texts are printed in the booklet. Kudos to all who contributed to this unique project!

- John Sunier

Product Description

Set in late 1920s Leningrad and then in the Altai Mountains in Russian Mongolia, Shostakovich's second film ODNA (ALONE) features a dazzling score for a huge orchestra including a banda (8 brass band instruments), theremin, (Shostakovich was one of the first composers to write for this new electronic instrument), barrel-organ, a soprano, mezzosoprano, tenor, an overtone singer and choir. It has been reconstructed from the official Russian version of the film by Mark Fitz- Gerald, with the official approval of Mrs Irina Shostakovich. The recording also restores a short Overture [track 1] and a beautiful, lyrical prelude [track 9] that were not used in the film. The booklet includes notes on the music by leading Shostakovich film music expert, John Riley, and on overtone singing by Mark van Tongeren who performs on the recording. There are also transliterations and translations of the vocal score.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Shostakovich Gem, January 29, 2008

By 

Dean R. Brierly (Studio City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shostakovich: Odna (Alone) [Silent Film Score] (Audio CD)

Known primarily for his symphonies and string quartets, Dmitri Shostakovich was also a prolific film composer, although the three-dozen soundtracks he wrote haven't received nearly as much attention as the rest of his output. Chandos has put out several CDs featuring excerpts from his various film scores, but to my knowledge, Naxos is the only label to release complete soundtracks. "Odna," a 1930 film about a young female teacher attempting to bring a remote village in line with Soviet orthodoxy, represents the composer's second score. It's a large-scale work for orchestra, choir and solo vocalists, and also features some unusual instrumentation in the form of barrel organ and theremin (the first use on film of this wonderful instrument). Shostakovich was beginning to find his compositional voice at this time, and his "Odna" score reflects his growing confidence and maturity. It also demonstrates his keen grasp of dramatics and ability to underline a wide variety of emotions. Early in the film his cues project naïve optimism and sentimentality, but as the onscreen mood darkens, his score assumes a more introspective and mournful character. At all times Shostakovich's score is inventive, passionate and committed. He effectively conveys in musical terms the contrast between the modern, forward-looking young teacher and the backward, superstitious villagers with whom she must contend. Although the original soundtrack was destroyed during World War II, it was painstakingly reconstructed by the conductor Mark Fitz-Gerald, who leads the Frankfurt Radio Symphony on this world premiere recording. Naxos is to be commended for making available this historically and artistically important chapter in the composer's career.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating..., July 14, 2008

By 

John Allie "PlantPerson" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shostakovich: Odna (Alone) [Silent Film Score] (Audio CD)

This disc represents a fascinating work by the incomparable Dmitry Shostakovich. The music was written to be played during one of the Soviet Union's first "sound" movies (but pre-"talkies"), which makes it an interesting historical artifact as well.
Shostakovich's score runs the gamut of variety and emotion. He makes use of a wide variety of instruments, including a barrel organ and theremin. The thermin is an electronic instrument made famous by movies like "The Day the Earth Stood Still," but in all likelihood you have not heard it played as it is here. Here Shostakovich writes "real" music for the instrument, lifting it miles beyond its seemingly-random wailing in old SF movies. Its two minutes in the spotlight are uniquely beautiful and over far too soon. Another extremely unusual touch is the inclusion of an "overtone singer," or "throat singer," a deep male voice singing from deep in the throat. Like the theremin, this part lasts only a brief time and is not heard again. There are a number of lyrical themes as well, including the recurring "Kakaya horoyasha budet zhizn'" which (I will attest) can run through your head even if you don't speak Russian.
In addition to his unique orchestra, Shostakovich is adept at playing the listener's emotions. There are extremely joyful passages; furious, terrified passages; and everything in between.
This NAXOS presentation (the only one existing, I'm fairly certain) is, like everything of theirs, very high quality. The disc includes an informative booklet with information on the original movie, a blow-by-blow description of the storyline for each track, and translations of the Russian lyrics. The recording also includes a few recovered tracks which were not used in the movie itself.
I've thoroughly enjoyed this disc. Though it's not Shostakovich's best, the music is at many points quite good, and his use of unusual instruments is fascinating. And you needn't have seen the movie: you probably couldn't anyway, as Reel Six no longer seems to exist. This recording is (in many ways) all that's left of "Odna," and in all likelihood it was the best part anyway.