Hot on the heels of Piers Lane’s complete Scriabin Preludes (type Q3283 in Search Reviews), the fifth volume of Gordon Fergus-Thompson’s Scriabin cycle for ASV resumes the Prelude chronology that commenced with Volume 3. Happily, Fergus-Thompson has emerged from the placid, disengaged mindset that prevailed throughout his Scriabin Mazurkas (Volume 4). The Preludes, in any case, are more interesting and inspired compositions. Generally speaking, Fergus-Thompson proves to be Lane’s antipode, stressing clarity over drama, reason over emotion, and transparent beauties over true grit. Compare Fergus-Thompson’s adherence to Op. 22 No. 3’s grazioso directive with Lane’s quicker, more dramatic reading. Conversely, Lane observes the following prelude’s rests and staccato markings, which Fergus-Thompson sidesteps in his faster treatment. In Op. 39 No. 3, Fergus-Thompson takes Scriabin’s “Languido” tempo indication on faith, and chiefly focuses attention on the steady left-hand quintuplet lines. Lane opts for a faster tempo and bathes the left hand in a tub of sustain pedal, freeing up the right hand phrases to float over the bar lines. If Lane’s dynamism ultimately seems more attuned to Scriabin’s hyper-romantic syntax, Fergus-Thompson’s softer-edged interpretations point up the Russian composer’s debt to Chopin. The verdict: my heart belongs to Lane, but my head appreciates Fergus-Thompson’s admirable work.
