Lieutenant Kijé (Prokofiev)
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Lieutenant Kijé[1] is the score composed by Sergei Prokofiev for the 1934 Soviet film Lieutenant Kijé directed by Aleksandr Faintsimmer based on the novel of the same title by Yury Tynyanov.
Suite from Lieutenant Kijé
Sergei Prokofiev composed music to the film Lieutenant Kijé in 1933, and compiled a suite from it as his Op. 60. It exists in two versions, one using a baritone voice and the other using a saxophone. With the help of Prokofiev’s friend Boris Gusman, the music was developed as the score for a ballet by the Bolshoi Ballet company.
The Troika movement is frequently used in films and documentaries for Christmas scenes and scenes involving snow. This motif from the suite was also used in the song “I Believe In Father Christmas” by the English rock musician Greg Lake (which was subsequently covered by U2), as well as Helen Love‘s Christmas single “Happiest Time of the Year”. The pop group The Free Design used the motif as the basis for the song “Kije’s Ouija”, which appears on their 1970 album Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love. Additionally, the troika motif is heard as the primary musical theme in Woody Allen‘s 1975 film Love and Death, which takes place in 19th century Russia.
Movements
The suite, in five movements broadly follows the plot of the movie:[2]
- Kijé’s Birth. A clerk, while writing out the morning orders for his Imperial majesty Tsar Paul, miscopies two words, creating a Lieutenant “Kijé”. The Tsar learns of his “existence”, and issues numerous orders concerning him. The palace administrators have no choice but to carry them out.
- Romance. The fictional lieutenant falls in love.
- Kijé’s Wedding. Since the Tsar prefers his heroic soldiers to be married, the administrators concoct a fake wedding.
- Troika.
- Kijé’s Burial. The administrators finally rid themselves of the non-existent lieutenant by saying he has died.
According to the score, the duration of the suite is 18 minutes.[3]
Instrumentation
Baritone voice (sometimes performed as tenor saxophone).
2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, tenor saxophone (sometimes performed on bassoon), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, cornet, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 percussionists (cymbals, little bells, triangle, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine), harp, piano or/and celeste, and strings.
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