Story Behind The Song

Prokofiev wrote some wonderful music for the 'Battle on Ice' scene in Sergei Eisenstein's classic film 'Alexander Nevsky'. Prokofiev's score captures a flavor of the heroic perseverance and desperation required in defending the homeland under in harsh conditions. I wouldn't change a note of his score, but he may have missed an opportunity for some humor. I'll bet that battle on ice was slippery! We often rely on pitches to keep our musical sense of balance. This piece creates a whimsical picture of slippery conditions by using carefully selected random patterns to vary pitches and chord structures, evoking a loss of balance and subsequent recovery. Just imagine adding a few skating penguins to one of Eisenstein's battle scenes.

Song Description

Carefully selected random patterns used to vary pitches, rhythms and chord structure