Lieutenant Kije (Prokofiev)
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Sergei Prokofiev composed music to the film Lieutenant Kijé in 1933.
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[edit] Background
Lieutenant Kije (Подпоручик Киже) is a short story by the Soviet author Yury Tynyanov (1894-1943) published in 1927. The plot is a satire on the bureaucracy of Emperor Paul I of Russia. The lieutenant was "born" as a result of the typo in the beginning of a phrase in a military order: "Подпоручики же..." (And the lieutenants...), was married, got a child, made a career, and was buried general.
The story was made into a film, directed by Aleksandr Fajntsimmer, which is now remembered primarily for its music, which was the first instance of Prokofiev's new simplicity.
[edit] Suite from Lieutenant Kije
Prokofiev compiled a suite from the film music, in which form has found the most popularity. The suite exists in two versions, one using a voice and the other using a saxophone. The troika is by far the most popular movement, frequently appearing at Christmas time in documentaries involving snow.
[edit] Movements
The suite, in five movements and lastly 20-25 minutes, broadly follows the plot:
- Kijé's Birth: Emperor Paul, listening to a report, mishears a phrase and concludes that a lieutenant exists. He demands that "Kijé" be promoted to his elite guard. It is an offence to contradict the Tsar, so the palace administrators must invent someone of that name.
- Romance. The fictional lieutenant falls in love. The double bass has an appropriately ghostly quality.
- Kijé's Wedding. Since the Tsar prefers his heroic soldiers to be married, the administrators concoct a fake wedding. The vodka that the Tsar approves for this event is very real.
- Troika. The fairy-tale quality of the story is illustrated by a three-horse open sleigh.
- Kijé's Burial. The administrators finally rid themselves of the non-existent lieutenant by saying he has died. The Tsar expresses his sadness, and the civil servants heave a sigh of relief.
[edit] Premiere
1937, Paris (hence the French spelling of "Kije", instead of the Russian "kizhe".)
baritone voice
2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, tenor saxophone (sometimes performed on bassoon), 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, cornet, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 percussionists (cymbals, little bells, triangle, bass drum, snare drum, tambourine), harp, piano or celeste, and strings.
[edit] Analysis
[edit] Recordings
[edit] Trivia
The 1958 British movie The Horse's Mouth, directed by Ronald Neame from the novel by Joyce Cary, uses the suite for its soundtrack. It also appears during the opening and closing credits of the Woody Allen film Love and Death. A part of the Troika movement is used in the song I Believe in Father Christmas by Greg Lake. Sting used the melody from the Romance of Lieutenant Kijé in the chorus of his Cold War song "Russians". The Free Design jazzes up and adds lyrics to the Troika theme in their song Kijé's Ouija. Vladimir Cosma uses nearly untouched melody from The Birth of Kijé in the theme Remembering the Hills from his score to Yves Robert's 1990 film La Gloire de mon père.
Also Troika is used as a theme tune for Londons OlympiaInternational Horse Show each Christmas.
[edit] Parallel characters
The story of Kijé -- the conveniently invented fictitious war hero, who ultimately must die as a victim of his own success -- is frequently referenced and parodied in popular culture.
Poul Anderson's 1953 novelette "Sam Hall" features a disgruntled bureaucrat that creates fake records about a rebel named Sam Hall (after the song) that fights against the totalitarian government.
Lieutenant Kijé is parodied in the first season episode of M*A*S*H, "Tuttle", as well as in the war hero "Schumann" from Wag the Dog.
In her novel, Eclipse of the Century (1999), Jan Mark presents a deserter from the Russian army who renames himself Lieutenant Kijé, as a sign that he no longer exists.
In the eighth season episode of Seinfeld, "The Susie" (episode #149), Elaine Benes inadvertently creates an alter ego named "Susie," whom co-workers believe is actually real. To avoid conflict, Elaine and the fictional Susie attend a conflict resolution meeting with the company president. Ultimately, Elaine rids herself of the non-existent Susie by saying she has committed suicide; a large number of guests attend Susie's funeral.
