Background
The White Mass is closely related to its predecessor, the sixth sonata. Both works were written in 1911–12 and have structurally and stylistically more in common than any other pair of Scriabin sonatas. Scriabin reportedly feared the sixth sonata, considering the work to be corrupted by demonic forces and going so far as to refuse to play the work in public. Scriabin composed his seventh sonata as an exorcism against the darkness of the sixth sonata, subtitling the work White Mass in order to reflect its celestial nature. He intended the mood of the piece to be ecstatic, evoking images of winged flight, voluptuous rapture and overwhelming forces.
The composer was especially fond of the piece, likely due to its messianic context and perfected structure which features more contrast, rhythmic and dynamic, than most of his work. Like the second sonata however, the White Mass gave him a great deal of trouble during its composition.
The White Mass Sonata is not structurally directly related to Scriabin's ninth sonata, which was composed in 1912–13 and would later earn the nickname Black Mass Sonata. This name, "Black Mass," was not invented by Scriabin.
Read more about this topic: Piano Sonata No. 7 (Scriabin)
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