The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-25
New Works OF Soviet
Composers Published
In Musical Quarterly

( instrumental music is concerned.
For one cannot say with any degree
Of assurance that such and such
a chord progression, or rhythm, or
any other formal device, is bourgeois
or proletarian. One thing is Ger
tain: that the instrumental style
will eventually be determined BY
/ the cumulative contributions to the
/ musical literature Of the voice, the
theatre. the dance and the cinema.
In all these cases, but especially in
! vocal music, the composer is com
/ PEELED to be concrete. He must en-
ploy socialist realism; for it is the
text that determines the music. If
text, there is something wrong with
the music is at variance with the
the composers conception and exc
cuticn. One cannot hide behind a
mass Of accoustical rhetoric, as in
the purely instrumental piece.
THUS we can say with a fair de-
4 gree Of certainty, that Daviden-
kos Song Of a Shepherd Perish
ing in the Mountains" is not only
an excellent piece Of choral writing
but that it Is very true to the text.
This work is part Of a suite on
Chechen themes, for unsccompanied
chorus. 1t is within the range Of
fairly well trained chorus. At
times, especially during the middle
part Of the work, Davidenko falls
into somewhat lush harmonic pro-
gressions; but on the whole. the
work abounds in dramatic vitality.
It is easy to picture a workers au-
dience responding simultaneously
to Davidenko's piece.
Mossolovs "A Turkmenian Lul-
laby," for unaccompanied chorus, is
exceedingly well written. Unlike
Dayidenkos chorus, it is simpler in
texture and more direct in mood.
Mcssoloy's handling Of his unpre-
tentious material is beautifully bal
anced. Where. on account Of the
inherently lyrical nature OF the
piece, one feared the imminsnce
Of another Oriental" dish Of too.
too sweet "Baklava," the composer
vigorously offsets the traditional
cliches Both workers choruses and
audiences will find this piece ire
sistible in its appeal.
The last work in this collection
must be treated from a slightly diff
ferent angle Veprik, in his "Stal-
instan," for chorus and piano chose
theme of Socialist construction.
His plan is monumental. and it is
perhaps the grandeur of his theme
that caused his work to fall short
Of its intended purpose 1t isn't that
the conception is not on grand
enough scale, but that a more f.
nished technical equipment was
needed for the task. Veprik no
doubt sought new and more fitting
ways to express the great work of
Socialist construction. He indicates
that more daring and less academic
methods must be employed by the
many Soviet composers who still
insist on writing suspiciously bour-
geois music to texts that breathe
the new vigor of the Workers
Fatherland. 1t is for this reason
that Veprik's work is to be regarded
as a significant attempt to break
new paths in choral writing.
While the collection under review
is more than welcome in the popu-
larization OF Soviet music, it is dis
appointingly inadequate We feel
that Soviet composers have contrib
uted great deal of value-suf1cien
to have their works Systematically
presented by some organization es-
pecially devoted to this purpose.
What came Of recent rumors that
Society of the Friends of Soviet
Music has been formed in New
York?