Alexander Scriabin was deeply immersed in the theosophical teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavasky when he created his "mystic chord." Scriabin's composition, Vers La Flamme, was "considered to be influenced by Scriabin's theories of synesthesia; a condition wherein one experiences sensation in one sense in response to stimulus in another. It is doubted that Alexander Scriabin actually experienced this. His color system, unlike most, lines up with the circle of fifths: it was a thought-out system based on Sir Isaac Newton's Optics. Indeed, influenced also by his theosophical beliefs, he developed it towards what would have been a pioneering multimedia performance: his unrealized magnum opus Mysterium was to have been a grand week-long performance including music, scent, dance, and light in the foothills of the Himalayas that was to bring about the dissolution of the world in bliss."
Regardless of one's opinion of the psychic power of Vers La Flamme, it is an amazing, brilliant composition. The first time I heard it, I imagined "raspberry sherbert melting in the mind." Listen for yourself and decide what you think. Another pianist who has discussed synesthetic experience is Helene Grimaud and I am wondering if she has recorded, Scriabin's, Vers La Flamme and "opened the portal for listeners."
Posts
