A little while ago I said that I wanted to compose a suite of pieces inspired by some of my favourite Fabergé eggs. I have now completed the first movement of this suite which is based on the Imperial Coronation Egg – arguably the most famous of these eggs, commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and made by Fabergé in 1897.
The Imperial Coronation Egg is one of the most sumptuous and unapologetically luxurious eggs made by Fabergé. The egg itself is made of gold and decorated with translucent lime-yellow enamel on a guilloché field of starbursts. The decoration is in reference to the cloth-of-gold robe worn by the Tsarina at her coronation. The egg is trellised with bands of greenish gold laurel leaves mounted at each intersection by a gold imperial double-headed eagle enamelled in opaque black and set with a rose diamond in its chest. This pattern is also drawn from the coronation robe worn by the empress. A large portrait diamond is set in the top of the egg within a cluster of smaller brilliant diamonds.
As we all know, the Fabergé eggs always contained an enchanting surprise within. The “surprise” in this case is an exact replica of the imperial coach which carried the Tsarina Alexandra to her coronation at Uspensky Cathedral. Made in gold, platinum and strawberry guilloché, it is crafted in intricate detail.
I am predominantly inspired by the visual qualities of this most beautiful work of art. The coalescence of a superlative quality of workmanship together with the use of the most expensive and luxurious materials of gold, platinum and diamonds make this, for me, both a feast for the visual sense as well as an inspiration in terms of musical texture and sound. I have attempted to replicate in sound and musical texture the resplendence of this egg and the surprise contained within it. I have enjoyed experimenting with sounds which are new to me with such evocative names as “Orbital Pad” and “Glacier Point”, often dovetailing the sounds as one would do the flutes and clarinets orchestrally. I have also experimented here, as I did in my last composition, “Gold I”, with a sort of micro-canon produced by layering a Sibelius audio file with a midi file placed into Cubase. The Sibelius audio file begins playback a split second later than the midi file, creating a sort of micro-canon which creates a texture I like somewhat. Central to the composition is the quotation of fragments of a melody from music that most is recognisably Russian – the opening bars of “Pictures at an Exhibition”, by Mussorgsky.
Although predominantly inspired by the visual beauty of this egg, one cannot cast totally from one’s mind the historical and political context in which these eggs were made and gifted. It is no accident that these eggs were made of the most expensive materials known to man and that so much expense was lavished in their creation. The Fabergé eggs have, for many people I think, come to symbolise the obscene wealth of the Romanovs and of the prevailing social inequality of the time. The opening music in this composition alludes to an impression in my mind of the coronation procession itself. In my mind’s eye I see the coronation coach and the crowds lining the streets (listen out for the sound of horses hooves, used incidentally as much for their rhythmic properties as their representational value). The music is suggestive of imperial power but also has an undercurrent of discontent and a hint of the eventual downfall of the tsar. Who could have foreseen that not twenty years after this coronation procession revolution would break out on the streets of Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) and Tsar Nicholas II would be forced to abdicate his throne? Further still that the entire Romanov family would be executed a year later, in 1918?
The Russian Revolution of 1917 is an example of what historians in this field refer to as a “bunt”. A Russian bunt is basically defined as social pressure not relived by peaceful actions, finally triggering a self-destructive revolution. It is said that Tsar Nicholas II missed opportunities to prevent his downfall because he allowed the tsarina to blind his judgement and paralyse his will. One timely gesture from the tsar might have saved Russia and changed the course of history. The time came when even the tsarina herself saw “the writing on the wall”, so to speak” – but it was too late. As Rodzianko, president of the Duma, said himself at the time, “It is too late to talk concessions; it is time to abdicate.”
The Russian revolution of 1917 has been the only opportunity in modern times for this kind of “bunt” – but one wonders about the eventual fate of President Putin. There is a history in Russia of high approval ratings for leaders until suddenly, without much warning, the leader is quickly brought down by revolution. There is a theory that the reason Putin has avoided this fate thus far is because he himself, in his actions on the world stage, has taken on the persona of the Russian rebel, with such moves as the annexation of the Crimea, thus subduing the rebel spirit of the people which might otherwise express itself in more self-destructive ways.
All these thoughts feed into this first movement of my Fabergé Suite, thus making it as much an expression of thought about the present as of the past. But I think it is also important to say that, despite the association the Fabergé eggs have with the extreme wealth of the Romanov dynasty and the inequality of the time, I think we can allow ourselves, in 2015, to enjoy their aesthetic beauty in abstract from their historical context.
My next challenge is the composition of the final movement (the inner movement will be composed last) inspired by the Trans-Siberian Railway Egg, and I am working on this now.
Simon Clark, Composer 