Date of composition: 2005-2006
Duration: 6 minutes
When Simon Rattle was asked in 2006 by his record label to record Gustav Holst’s The Planets with the Berliner Philharmoniker, he decided not only to revisit this repertoire classic from his native England (which he had already recorded twice) but also to launch an “Ad Astra” project. Holst’s seven tone poems, each inspired by a planet – Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – were augmented by Colin Matthews’ Pluto, a planet unknown when Holst composed his score, and by four new commissions. A fresh quartet of asteroid-themed pieces was created for the Berliner Philharmoniker by Kaija Saariaho, Matthias Pintscher, Mark-Anthony Turnage, and Brett Dean.
Born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1961, Brett Dean played viola with the Berliner Philharmoniker from 1985 to 1999 before deciding to devote himself entirely to composition. For his contribution, Dean chose an asteroid named after a Soviet cosmonaut, Komarov. In 1967, Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov became the first casualty of the space race between the USA and the USSR: he died when the parachute system of his spacecraft, Soyuz 1, failed during re-entry.
Brett Dean modelled Komarov’s Fall on Holst’s traditional tone-poem style, narrating a story through music that audiences can follow. The piece begins with a vast emptiness, an acoustic darkness. Gradually, faint, distant signals emerge, as if from an unfathomable distance. Dean develops these into music of “dramatic urgency,” portraying, in his own words, “Komarov’s desperate discussion with ground control.”
Problems with Soyuz 1’s energy supply had become evident shortly after the spacecraft achieved orbit: one of its two solar panels failed to deploy, leaving the craft unable to orient itself towards the sun. The remaining panel provided insufficient power, and a shortwave transmitter malfunction further limited communication to VHF signals, usable only when the craft was over Soviet territory.
The cosmonaut’s anxiety and fear are expressed in the “fractured sixteenth-note rhythms, audible throughout” that dominate the score, according to Brett Dean. Midway through the piece, a brief lyrical section evokes the last conversation between Valentina Komarova and her husband, as a “fictional farewell”. This moment of tenderness is followed by a return to frantic activity, as the pressure in the orchestra builds to an unbearable intensity – culminating in an acoustic explosion. In the final minute, only the breathing of space can be heard.