Rachmaninoff’s “Arion” is a setting of Alexander Pushkin’s poem, which is in turn a retelling of the Greek myth of Arion cast as an allegory of the 1825 Decembrist Revolt. Though he was in favor of the liberal ideals for which the Decembrists were fighting, Pushkin was not directly involved in this uprising against the new Tsar. He was, however, closely associated with many of those who were killed or imprisoned as a result. The initial publication of “Arion,” in which the storyline of the Decembrist revolt is very thinly veiled, was anonymous because Pushkin was scared of the potential consequences of his alliances. The plot of the poem maps perfectly onto his experience: Pushkin is the singer, the sole survivor of a disaster that took the lives of others who paid the ultimate price for their devotion to the cause.

In the opening to Rachmaninoff’s song, the rumbling piano accompaniment with its ominous D-minor octaves foreshadows the shipwreck of the second stanza, which plays out in a dissonant, fortissimo (very loud) climax. Rachmaninoff inserts a true calm before the storm, with a softer approach to the lines that discuss the pensive, quiet helmsman. The energy of the storm dissipates as the bassline trudges down to a low D, reinforcing the sorrow and isolation of the singer-narrator.

Program Notes by Jack Slavin.
Slavin is a pianist, music educator, and arts professional based in New York City.