23 CLÉMENT LEFEBVRE Do the Deux Poèmes that follow take us into a new world? With them, I wanted to open a window onto Scriabin's second creative period. The Deux Poèmes, Op. 32, are the first of almost thirty he composed. With their highly concentrated writing and expressive power, they can be described as musical aphorisms. The grace, refinement and sensuality of the melodic contours found in the Impromptus are still there, but their harmonic treatment is quite different, with suspensions and harmonic shifts that make them evanescent. The first Poème brings an extreme sense of calm through its intangible sounds and its swaying rhythm: you don’t know where you’re heading, nor really where you are, but it doesn’t matter at all! In it, one experiences the present moment in a rather unique way. When I play it, it gives me the feeling of improvising. The second, almost disproportionate in relation to its length, is more disconcerting. One might be tempted to emphasise its bold and proud character, 'confident' (con fiducia) as Scriabin specifies, while overlooking the term 'elegant,' the first expressive marking he uses, which I believe holds paramount importance. There is a subtle balance to be struck between the two. With these Poèmes, we leave behind the romantic breath of the sonata and the Fantaisie, their way of speaking in the first person, to enter an inexpressibly bewitching world.
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