How was Sergey Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky cantata connected to Sergei Eisenstein’s film?

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Portrait of composer Sergey Prokofiev, circa 1938, wearing round glasses, a suit, and a tie, looking slightly to the side. — Sergey Prokofiev Sergey Prokofiev.

Sergey Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky cantata is directly derived from the film score he composed for Sergey Eisenstein’s 1938 patriotic epic of the same name.12

Prokofiev applied technical knowledge of sound film, which he gained during a visit to Hollywood, to create the music for the movie. In 1939, he reworked this original film music into a seven-movement cantata for orchestra and chorus. The most famous section of the work, "The Battle on the Ice," was specifically composed to accompany the film’s pivotal scene depicting the clash between Russian forces and the Teutonic Knights.21