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In Memory of Alfred Hitchcock I want to introduce you to "In Memory of Alfred Hitchcock" by Evgeni Kostitsyn, for mixed choir and large symphony orchestra. Lyrics were contributed by Ronald Reagan, John Kerry and Jesus Christ. There is not a single word by Alfred Hitchcock. The piece is dedicated to Hitchcock because his aesthetics inspired Mr. Kostitsyn to create this composition. A
time period of almost 2000 years, politics, religion, and
different musical styles: rap, classical, jazz, and Gregorian chants -
everything is mixed and compressed in the 12-minute musical
composition. Groups formed inside the orchestra and choir perform
in different styles and tempos, interacting with each other.
This simultaneous unfolding of contrasting musical material creates a
special feeling common to the Kostitsyn 'synchronous' style: a feeling
of space filled by different volumes of sound.
The path between these volumes is a plot of a composition,
and events on this path form a sequence of our
perception. After
I studied the score, I realized that there are problems. Compositions by Mr. Kostitsyn are out of the main stream of modern classical music (a paradox - at the same time, they are very opportune!). His works are different from anything else on the market. The most recent are "Three American Requiems", "Symphony #5", "Seventy Virgins", "Summer Night in Baghdad", "Military and Funeral Marches", and now - "In Memory of Alfred Hitchcock.” The works of Mr. Kostitsyn are in striking dissonance with the rosy image of America helping other countries to understand better the real meaning of freedom and democracy. Definitely, Kostitsyn’s "Summer Night in Baghdad" will not be listened to in Congress like the speeches of Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn. There are successful artists in the US who did not join in spreading American propaganda - Michael Moore and others, though there is no one else in the field of classical music but Evgeni Kostitsyn. I wonder what would have happened if Michael had been a former Soviet citizen? Would his documentaries have brought him hundreds of million dollars and fame, or would his films have been reviewed by CIA officers alone?
Mr. Kostitsyn is one of the most exciting classical composers
living in America today. It
is a big loss for American culture that our homegrown patriotism keeps
his compositions from being performed in the US. |
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In Memory of Alfred Hitchcock lyrics First Movement |
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President Ronald Reagan: "America is a shining city upon a hill |
Senator John Kerry: From a testimony of
over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans made
during an investigation in Detroit, 1971:
"We had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and ravaged the countryside." |
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Jesus, from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:14-16: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." |