Nicolas Obouhow - Piano works (2010)

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Nicolas Obouhow - Piano works (2010)

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We know little about Nicolas Obouhow (1892-1954). The mystery surrounding the Livre de Vie, referred to as the Grand Oeuvre with the definitive manuscript stolen five years before his death, and the supposition that the composer may have used his own blood for certain pages have contributed to the legend.
Besides the works for piano, two orchestral scores, Préface du Livre de Vie and the Troisième Testament, are now available . They were premiered in the Netherlands in 2004, and June 2006 at the Holland Festival. In 2007, a series of concerts in Moscow, played by Jay Gottlieb and Nina Barkalaya, brought “the visionary” back to his homeland. Thus, began a posthumous career, similar to the situation of many others. In addition to the colossal orchestral project, constantly put-off by the profession, Obouhow wrote songs, works with choir, for two pianos… Sometimes incredible music entails the conception of an instrument. This was the case of his famous Croix Sonore played, along with his piano works, by his chosen performer Marie-Antoninette Aussenac de Broglie, and the sole copy of which, after having been deposited at the Paris Opera, seems to have disappeared
Having devised his compositional system in the early twentieth century, Obouhow provoked strong reactions: “We find ourselves, indisputably in the presence of an unusual dramatic temperament. One cannot deny that he is stupefying in an era when we are no longer astonished by anything”, (Auguste Mangeot, Le Monde Musical, February 5, 1920). “It is music written with such a particular objective, that it necessitated surpassing everything that has been attempted until now in the world of sound”, (André Schaeffner, June 1928). “Mr. Obouhow resurrects the spirit of the ancient Russian religious sects. His approach to setting a melodic line makes use of an astounding freedom”, (Paul Le Flem, February 26, 1928). “Is Obouhow really a precursor? Yes, in the same way that Varèse gave impetus to musique concrete, which is now considered experimental”, (Suzanne Demarquez, Guide du Concert, May 25, 1961). His singularity linking him to the impassioned figures of musical history, it is time to rediscover this “futurist” composer who was endorsed by Maurice Ravel: “I perceived the sonic brilliance, depth and dramatic strength of your oeuvre”, Arthur Honegger and André Jolivet, and who was revealed by composer Claude Ballif.