CINEMA
MUSIC
“Composing
for cinema was always a difficult task for me,
but also extremely interesting and deserving.”
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian has
created music for 25 films. During the 1930-40-s he
worked with enthusiasm on cinema music, introducing
an excellent perception of its specific rules and understanding
the role of music in revealing the idea.
Two remarkable films – G. Sundukian’s classic
play “Pepo” (1935) and a historical-revolutionary
film "Zangezur" (1938) were created as a result
of co-operation with a renowned director Amo Bek-Nazarov.
“Pepo” and “Zangezur” are the
first national music films.
The film “Pepo” is a debut of Khachaturian
in film; at the same time it also became a turning point
for the Armenian cinematography. The song of the hero
in “Pepo” gained special love in Caucasus,
and up till now, it has existed there as “own”
national song.
In “Zangezur”, Khachaturian introduced himself
as a master of symphonic cinema music. The “Zangezur
march” from music to the film has enjoyed wide
popularity. Some of the principles, included in the
music to the film “Zangezur”, have found
their reflection in the future in the String concert,
the ballet “Spartacus” and the music to
other films. In 1938, Khachaturian was awarded the title
of a renowned art worker of Armenia for his music to
the films “Pepo” and “Zangezur”.
However, the creative interests of the composer in the
cinema were not only limited by the national scope.
In 1938, he composed music to the first Tajik talking
picture “The Garden” (director N. Dostal)
and in 1940, to the historical-revolutionary film “Salavat
Iulayev” (director V. Protazanov).
In 1943, he had an occasion to meet and start working
with the scenarist
M. Romm, producing the film “Prisoner No.217”
about a Soviet girl, who worked at the fascist penal
servitude. Khachaturian, through musical means, brilliantly
expressed his feelings of indignation and protest in
this work. “Together with the dramatist and the
director, I was obliged to express my attitude to the
fact. The music was to bring the audience into a condition
of strong spiritual excitement and anger”, said
the composer.
After a while, M. Romm suggested that Khachaturian compose
music to “The Russian Question”. According
to the author, the most interesting trick was the replacing
of the hero’s words by music. The composer would
recall the scene, where the hero of the film (the journalist
Smith) had to make a decision on whether or not to write
the truth about the Soviet Union: “The face of
the actor is excited, but we listen not to his words,
but to the music expressing its emotions. And I think
that all the audience understood what Smith was speaking
about in his passionate speech”.
Romma’s last three films, in which Khachaturian
participated, are “Secret Mission”, “Admiral
Ushakov” and “Ships Storming the Bastions”.
Co-operation with the director Petrov in the film “The
Battle of Stalingrad” was of great importance.
Two parts of the film develop the complete picture of
an unprecedented battle in front of its audience. The
composer’s work, by his own acknowledgment, consisted
of the music composition, which is not too diluted by
other tons. There was no need of either the lyrics,
or a song – but only great tension. The author
recalled: “It was for the first time that the
material of such amplitude came up before me. Two hours
of battle music! All of the kind that I made before
can’t be compared with current task. By its scope,
the battle in itself exceeded all the previously known
ones in the history…”
Khachaturian did not always apply his principles to
the cinema music. It depended very much on the producing
director of the film. Often, the composer was not satisfied
and appeared in press with article-claims to cinematographers,
in which he argued against shrunk musical materials,
adding noise effects without receiving the consent from
the music’s author, etc. He also complained about
somebody’s negligence, which weakened the dramatic
effect of the music. Such an attitude first of all proves
the high responsibility that Khachaturian felt towards
cinema music.
The composer confessed: “I like theatre and films
very much. I like writing, when having a clear dramatic
plan, which comes from the content of the play and the
idea of the director. I attach great importance to this
work, as the scene, subject and live actor’s image
are all that help me to formulate musical thoughts,
specify creative work and enrich the form”.
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