Contrapunctus

Compare performersNikolai Rimsky-⁠Korsakov

The Prophet, Op. 49 No. 2: Chaliapin, 1921 and 1927

The Prophet, Op. 49 No. 2

Chaliapin sings the song from the traveller’s quiet story to God’s final command, in 1921 and in 1927.

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Recordings in
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1921Reference recording

Fyodor Chaliapin, Percy Pitt

Fyodor Chaliapin, bass; orchestra conducted by Percy Pitt

Bass and orchestra recorded through an acoustic horn at Hayes, during Chaliapin’s first English visit since before the war.

3:51
1927Performance 02

Fyodor Chaliapin, Albert Coates

Fyodor Chaliapin, bass; orchestra conducted by Albert Coates

The microphone remake, recorded at London’s Small Queen’s Hall on 20 October 1927, with Coates conducting the orchestra.

4:24
Selected recordingFyodor Chaliapin, Percy Pitt
0:00 / 3:51

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The comparison

A traveller meets a six-winged seraph in the desert; the angel tears out his heart and puts a burning coal in its place. Rimsky-⁠Korsakov set Pushkin’s poem for bass voice; the song begins quietly and ends with God’s command to speak. Chaliapin recorded it with Percy Pitt in 1921 and again with Albert Coates in 1927.

Tempo

Tempo map

Time taken compared with Fyodor Chaliapin, Percy Pitt: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.

Time taken compared with the reference recordingEach gold line follows a performer. Above 1×, the recording takes longer over the same music. Numbered lines mark the passages below.0.25×0.5×0.75×1×1.25×1.5×1.75×2×0:001:002:003:001. Opening phrases and seraph’s appearance · 0:3512. Rising vocal line · 1:2023. Instrumental interlude · 1:5534. God’s command, con forza e maestoso · 3:204Fyodor Chaliapin, Percy Pitt (reference)Fyodor Chaliapin, Albert Coates
The reference recording’s clock runs left to right. Each line is smoothed over about eight seconds; pauses can create peaks. Numbers mark the passages below.
  • Fyodor Chaliapin, Percy Pitt · reference
  • Fyodor Chaliapin, Albert Coates
Passages

Passages compared

Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.

  1. 01

    Opening phrases and seraph’s appearance

    0:35 in the reference

    The bass sings in measured phrases. When the seraph appears, flowing notes in the accompaniment surround the voice.

  2. 02

    Rising vocal line

    1:20 in the reference

    The bass rises higher over a moving accompaniment, describing the sounds that fill the traveller’s newly opened ears.

  3. 03

    Instrumental interlude

    1:55 in the reference

    The accompaniment continues between the sung phrases, growing softer and slowing before the story resumes.

  4. 04

    God’s command, con forza e maestoso

    3:20 in the reference

    The bass sings God’s charge above chords. Rimsky-⁠Korsakov marked the passage con forza e maestoso (forcefully and majestically).

Durations

Length of each recording

  1. Fyodor Chaliapin, Percy Pitt3:51
  2. Fyodor Chaliapin, Albert Coates4:24

These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.

Performers and sessions

Recording notes

Sources & method

Further reading

How the recordings are matched

The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.

  • Fyodor Chaliapin, Albert Coates: match score 0.950. Matched passages available.

Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.