Scriabin’s 7th Piano Sonata

Scriabin, the composer with synesthesia (who could see colors with hearing pitches) comes back with a triumphant but dark (I mean, really dark) piano sonata that is contrasty named “The White Mass.” There is a certain heir about the piece between dark and light (sin and righteousness). At least that’s what some spectators go for. The sonata’s predecessor was feared for having strong demonic influences and the composer did not want the work to be played. It was played anyway, much to his chagrin. He outright composed the Seventh Sonata as a followup and an exorcism of all the supposed demons that were in the sixth sonata. The harmonic structure is almost atonal, it’s so chromatic! It features notes most up in the high register to counteract the darkness of the previous work. The work is a high rollercoaster of complex tensions and consonances, however the latter proves to be slight. The cool thing about this piece is throughout the single movement structure, Scriabin has many different contrasting sections, each one marked with a different character marking at the top of a section’s starting measure. From really dark to a heavenly voluptuousness, and sparkling tones in the last movement, this piece really captures going from darkness into light, and though many may not understand it, if one listens to it, knowing the context, they could be moved by its character and the artist’s intent.