TRACKS ON REPEAT

do you any stories about crazy people? do share, i love crazy people.

i'm currently obsessing over the story of Alexander Scriabin and his work Mysterium (also known as Preparation for the Final Mystery). Sciabin believed that this piece of music when played would bring about the end of the world. he would die of ecstasy when he finished playing it and the human race would be replaced by "nobler beings." he began planning the piece in 1903 and worked on it until his death in 1915. the work was never completed, for better or for worse, the world will never know.

Russian composer Alexander Nemtin spent almost three decades on completing Scriabin's work. Nemtin completed the masterpiece in 1996 and obviously, we are no nobler but this is merely Nemtin's realisation of the pieces left behind. Here are clips of the cd that was released in 1996. personally, i think it's quite pretty.

Scriabin's notoriety had little to do with his music. his music is actually little known outside of Russia as it was simply too bizarre for the time. he is best known for his eccentricity which seems a shame. According to Harold Schoenberg, it is possible that Scriabin had a rare genetic disorder called synesthesia, in which sound is translated into color.