Scriabin, Alexander : Canon d-moll
Work Overview
Instrumentation：Piano Solo
Genre：canon
Total Playing Time：2 min 00 sec
Copyright：Public Domain
Commentary (2)
Author : Yamamoto, Nao
Last Updated: July 10, 2023
[Open]
Author : Yamamoto, Nao
Composed by Scriabin in 1883 at the age of 11, this is his earliest surviving completed work. In 1882, he attended the Cadet Corps, and the following year, 1883, he began studying piano with Georgy Conus. Subsequently, Scriabin's talent grew remarkably; in 1884, he studied piano with Nikolai Zverev, in 1885, composition with Sergei Taneyev, and in 1888, he entered the Moscow Conservatory. Although this Canon in D minor is a short work for three voices, the inner voice maintains a continuous flow of eighth notes, while the melodies appearing in both outer voices form a canon, resulting in an overall polyrhythmic structure.
This piece reveals that this style, a technique frequently appearing in Scriabin's compositional approach, was already established during his early childhood.
Author : Yamamoto, Nao
Last Updated: July 10, 2023
[Open]
Author : Yamamoto, Nao
Performance Tips
The piece is written in three-voice polyphony. Both outer voices form a canon, while the inner voice provides accompaniment. The melody, characterized by triplets, is distinctive; however, remember to maintain legato so that the notes are not cut short, and be careful not to let the inner voice's third chords become too prominent. From measure 17, the piece modulates from D minor to its relative major, F major, but quickly returns to D minor. Particularly, changes in notes involved in the modulation, such as the left hand's D-flat in measure 22 and the right hand's C-sharp (enharmonically equivalent to D-flat) in measure 23, are frequently observed within the melody; therefore, try to play with an awareness of the shifting tonality.
