"Alone" was planned as the first Soviet sound film, but other documentaries with soundtracks were released earlier, and the recording quality for early Soviet sound films was often poor.
Recording & Production
This album is the first complete recording of Shostakovich's score for "Alone," as previous recordings were incomplete due to the score lying unedited for a long time.
Compositional Technique
Shostakovich scored "Alone" with a mosaic of smaller pieces, allowing for easier editing, repetition, or shuffling as the film progressed, a lesson learned from his previous film score, "New Babylon."
Recording & Production
The score for "Alone" was restored in 2003 by Mark Fitz-Gerald, with the encouragement of Irina Shostakovich, the composer's widow, and Krzysztof Meyer.
Composition History
Shostakovich's score for the film "Alone" was inspired by a newspaper report about a teacher's difficulties in Karelia, with the action moved to the Altai region.
Cultural Impact
The art of throat-singing, featured in the film, was strongly connected with the bardic tradition and possibly shamanic practices in the Altai region, but traditional performing arts were later repressed by Soviet authorities.
Instruments
The score for "Alone" features a theremin, an early electronic instrument, used to evoke the desolate landscape with its eerie wailing.
