Page 46 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #41

Родом из Поморья foreign cities. In the mid-20th century, Arkhangelsk
and its suburb Solombala still had dozens of single-
Иногда можно услышать мнение, что русский and double-storey houses with gracefully curved
модерн не оригинален, а его элементы – это адап- porch vestibules. No two were alike.
тированные к местным вкусам заимствования из The majority of porch vestibules were clapboard
европейского модерна. Однако крыльцо-рояль structures with the steps inside, their curved tops
свидетельствует об обратном. Многие жившие в covered with roofing iron. Their smooth curves
Архангельске иностранцы в начале прошлого века looked especially beautiful in winter, when the snow
строили себе особняки с архангельскими изогну- on the roofs contrasted sharply with the dark walls
тыми крылечками. of the old wooden buildings.
Одним из самых красивых из сохранивших- With double-storey houses, the porch vestibule
ся в Архангельске деревянных домов с крыль- would often have two doors – the front entry door
цом-роялем является особняк opening to steep steps leading to the upper floor,
архангелогородца норвежца and the side door leading to the lower floor.
Гендриксена. Уже несколько де- The two-leaved doors would often be decorat-
Нигде в мире нет крылечек в сятилетий этот дом имеет ста- ed with intricately carved lines and had brass han-
форме вертикального рояля. тус памятника культурного на- dles. The long railings would be polished to a per-
следия. Однако если сравнить
fect shine by countless touches of hand; the lighting
Нигде, кроме Архангельска. фото указанного особняка, сня- and ventilation windows had various shapes, size
Благодаря этому элементу тое в середине ХХ века, с его со- and quantity; there were doorbells, lanterns, pre-
можно безошибочно отличить временными фотографиями, то revolutionary electric buzzers, curved tin rainwa-
ter pipes, and beautiful canopies of every possible
можно заметить, что и ему, как
столицу Поморья от и многим снесенным уже дере- design.
любых других российских и вянным зданиям, осталось жить Inside, when climbing the steep staircase, each
зарубежных городов недолго. Дом ни разу не рестав- step would echo the heavy sound of the porch – it
рировался с момента своей по-
was easy enough to imagine yourself walking on
Entry vestibules aren’t rare in the стройки, а его облик полностью piano keys.
Russian and world architecture. испорчен. Every ‘piano porch’ had its own unique melo-
Парадокс, но Архангельск,
But the one with porch inside который в ХХ веке был круп- dy – a hymn to the house. The inhabitants could
know exactly by the sound of the footsteps who was
and shaped like vertical piano нейшим деревянным городом в coming – folk or stranger – and in what mood. The
can be found nowhere else but in мире и выстоял даже во время shape of the piano made any sound inside the porch
Arkhangelsk. It is that highlight массированных бомбардировок resonate in a way that communicated to the house
that distinguishes this place from и пожаров Великой Отечествен- a light, ringing aura.
ной войны, увы, не получил от
other Russian and foreign cities новых застройщиков ни малей- Grand piano as a source of inspiration
шего шанса сохранить этот ста-
тус в XXI веке. There are several versions as to when mass ur-
Историческим прообразом ban fashion for curved porch vestibule appeared in
архангельского крыльца-рояля, вне всякого со- Arkhangelsk. One story has it that the wing-shaped
мнения, является традиционное открытое вы- porch was borrowed by Arkhangelsk architects di-
сокое крыльцо, характерное для старинной се- rectly from concert halls’ most important instru- Russia, before St. Petersburg appeared, was via the
верорусской архитектуры. Сегодня уже мало кто ment – grand piano – at the end of the 19th centu-
знает, что крылечки во многих поморских дерев- ry. That time was marked by the emergence in the
нях нередко покрывались изогнутыми крыша- capital of Pomorland of a stunningly elegant archi-
ми в виде волны. Немало таких крылечек можно tectural style known as “Northern Modern”.
было встретить в старинных поселениях на реках At that same time, late 19th century, classical
Мезени, Пинеге и на Северной Двине. Например, pianos entered mass production phase in Europe
на эскизе известного ученого, архитектора Игоря and Russia. Arkhangelsk received quite a bunch of
Грабаря изображены основные типы поморских them at that time and started its music society. The
крылец, в том числе тамбурных, с изогнутыми enchanting melodies of Viennese waltz would float
крышами, которые являются фактически прооб- out on white summer nights from the open win-
разами городских крылечек. dows of the mansions in the German quarters. On
Примером прямого родства архангельских weekends, local music lovers gathered in the Com-
«роялей» и традиционных поморских крылечек mercial Assembly building to enjoyed the solemn
можно считать большой деревенский дом мезен- sound of its grand piano.
ского промышленника и купца Лимонникова с Could all that have inspired the Arkhangelsk ar-
высоким крыльцом, покрытым изогнутой кры- chitects to give porches the form of a grand piano?
шей. Сегодня этот дом находится в крупнейшем It sure could. At least it was at that time that they
в России музее деревянного зодчества под откры- received that form and, hence, started to be called
тым небом «Малые Корелы». ‘grand porches’.
Таким образом, архангельское крыльцо-рояль According to its definition, a grand piano is “a
не является плагиатом и не копирует архитектур- piano with one side shaped as a wave”. The classical
ные элементы, которые можно увидеть в других Archangelsk piano porch has a similar shape. If ar-
городах мира. Благодаря своей оригинальности chitecture is “frozen music”, it’s not surprising that
SOZVEZDYE #41 оно представляет реальную культурную ценность the local architects used musical theme in their de- This unusual symbiosis was created by the German
не только для российской, но и для мировой ар- signs, complementing “northern modern style” with
хитектуры. appropriate “melodic forms”.
история
history Nowhere else but in Arkhangelsk Vertical pianos
Entry vestibules aren’t rare in the Russian and A question may arise, however: Why did
world architecture. But the one with porch inside Arkhangelsk architects choose to use vertical, not
and shaped like vertical piano can be found no- horizontal grand pianos? The fact is that before the
where else but in Arkhangelsk. It is that highlight advent of classical modern grand pianos, right until
44 that distinguishes this place from other Russian and the 18th century their sounding boards weren’t hor- all the keyboard instruments existing at the time. but also global architecture.
izontal, as we know them today, but vertical. Verti-
cal arrangement saved room space. Vertical pianos
are exhibited in some of European, their prototypes
were keyboard instruments with vertical sounding
boards – harpsichords, clavicytheriums and the
17th–18th century Western European claviers.
Therefore, alongside with the version above,
there is reason to believe that Arkhangelsk, Rus- Originally from Pomorland
sia’s first sea port, was where the European claviers
appeared first. The fact is that in from the mid-16th Some people believe that Russian Art Nouveau is
century, after the British expedition led by Richard largely a copy of the European Art Nouveau adapted
Chancellor had discovered the sea route to Mus- to the local tastes. However, the piano porch sug-
covy, Arkhangelsk experienced a massive influx of gests the opposite. Many foreigners who lived in
foreigners – English, Dutch, German merchants, Arkhangelsk in early 20th century built themselves
artisans and even diplomats, whose only way to mansions with porches ‘in Archangelsk style’.
One surviving specimen with a piano porch is
White Sea. the mansion built here by Norwegian Hendriksen.
Assigned the status of a cultural heritage object,
Grand royal style the current state of this mansion looks completely
different from what it looked like in the mid-20th
Initially, foreigners were strictly forbidden to century. Like many wooden buildings here, it has
move freely within the territory of Muscovy. But, a short time left. The mansion has never been re-
this prohibition didn’t exist in the land of Pomors, stored since its construction and now looks com-
allowing foreign guests to live in Kholmogory and pletely ruined.
Arkhangelsk for as long as they wanted. Paradoxically, what survived the bombings of
It is known that foreigners would bring to Rus- World War 2 and was the planet’s largest wooden
sia Western keyboard instruments they used main- city, did not get the slightest chance from modern
ly in churches and for entertainment. One example developers to retain its historical look in the 21st
is classic clavecin vertical, which is a kind church century.
harpsichord with vertical arrangement of its sound- The historical prototype of the ‘piano porch’ de-
ing board and strings. By the way, there were seven sign is, without doubt, the high porch characteris-
non-Orthodox churches in the seaport of Arkhan- tic of the old North Russian architecture. Today,
gelsk before the revolution, including the wooden few people know that in many Pomor villages –
Anglican Kirche, Lutheran Kirche and catholic ca- those along the rivers of Mezen, Pinega and North-
thedral. ern Dvina – many porches had wave-shaped roofs.
Notably, the word “grand” (royal) started to be Many For example, the sketches of famous scientist
used in reference to pianos only in late 18th XVIII and architect Igor Grabar show the Pomor porches,
century – to denote an instrument that bore resem- with vestibules and curved roofs, which served ac-
blance to vertical harpsichord and vertical piano. tually as prototypes of urban porches.
The relation between ‘grand piano porches’ SOZVEZDYE #41
master Johann Gottlob Wagner (1741–1789), who and traditional Pomor porches is best seen in rural
actually gave it its name – clavecin royale. Look- house of Mezen-born merchant Limonnikov – his
ing at the old photographs of those first vertical porch was high and had curved roofing. Today, this история
wing-shaped claviers and grand pianos in the West- house stands in Russia’s largest open-air museum of history
ern European museums, the striking resemblance
wooden architecture “Malye Korely”.
to Archangelsk’s “grand porches” isn’t difficult to Thus, the ‘piano porch’ is not plagiarism or a
notice. copy of architectural elements to be found in oth-
It is possible that those unknown architects who er cities around the world. Its unique design repre-
designed the first ‘piano porches’ were inspired by sents a real cultural value not only for the Russian,
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