Alexander Scriabin And The Invention Of Multimedia Art
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) was a synesthete, a person who experiences involuntary cross-sensory connections. For example, a synesthete may see colors in their mind when viewing written words or hearing a sound. Scriabin's synesthetic experiences directly affected his creative works.
One of Scriabin's most famous musical pieces, a composition called Prometheus, was scored for orchestra, piano, organ, chorus and a special instrument called the Clavier á Lumiéres. This instrument was designed to produce a scale of colored lights in direct relation with the modulations and variations of tones. In order to have the harmonies of this instrument appreciated by the audience, the composition had to be performed in the dark so that the colored lights could be projected on a screen.
Scriabin believed that his personal color-music associations should be shared by all. Scriabin associated particular colors with various musical keys, and also assigned a complete set of correlations between colors and exact musical notes.
An intriguing aspect of this system of color-tone associations is that those who invented other systems of color-tone equivalences most certainly did not agree with Scriabin's designations. Scriabin's strong spiritual leanings and his ardent devotion to Theosophy may also have prejudiced some of his less mystical contemporaries against his claims to a more refined understanding of the arts. In any case, Scriabin broke new ground with his bold public performance of what was the first musical score ever written to include a part for the color organ. Scriabin can be argued to be the first true multimedia artist.
Arts & Entertainment: Other Minds Performs New Music Seance - Berkeley Daily Planet
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Opera News (subscription) CURRENT ISSUE: FEATURE Opera News (subscription), NY - Scriabin's Poem of Fire was performed with the house lights out and a rainbow of colors projected on the ceiling. The front office advertised "Put a little ...