‘Rite of Spring’ by Stravinsky is one of three works from a collection of ballets, each individually commissioned by a Sergei Diaghilev (p832 WH). These three works; ‘The Firebird’, Petrushka’ and ‘Rite of Spring,’ were characterised by their unique structure, that of which was very modern at the time cause by the implementation of many new techniques, such as the rhythmic developments in the ‘Rite of Spring’ ballet. There are several reasons that this piece was so widely recognised at the time; Stravinsky’s already established reputation from the previous two ballets; the obscurity of the choreography and costuming as well as the irregular metre and experimental nature of the rhythm throughout, all which have varying degrees of importance.
Igor Stravinsky was born in 1882 near St. Petersburg in Russia, but had moved to Paris by the time he finished the ‘Rite of Spring.’ Sergei Diaghilev, an impressiano, initially requested ‘The Firebird’ for a set of already devised scenes. This approach; composing music for something already devised, is interesting, as when it came to traditional ballet composition, it was usually carried out in reverse, with the music being in place before the stage direction and choreography. ‘The Firebird’ was a huge success and was said to be an overnight sensation, with Stravinsky becoming a ‘friend’ of celebrity artists in Parisian society. Other members of said society include the likes of Debussy, Claudel and SOMEONE ELSE to name a few. The fact that Stravinsky had little prior orchestral writing experience due to the piece being written in his early career is wildly intriguing due to it’s sheer success. The piece explores the composer’s Russia roots, specifically folk tales and traditions. ‘Pretushka’ again explores his roots, this time telling the story of a fairground puppet, with the portrayal of big brass bands and Turkish drums. This piece of writing was said to provide some of the first examples of Stravinsky’s characteristic traits that would follow him into his later work. Furthermore, the piece integrated a number of well known tunes, including popular urban songs as well as some rural folk music as well.
The story behind ‘Rite of Spring’ is one which is significantly interesting to many due to the completely bizarre nature behind it. In his autobiography, Stravinsky writes ““One day, when I was finishing the last pages of ‘L’Oiseau de Feu’ in St. Petersburg. I had a fleeting vision which came to me as a complete surprise, my mind at the moment being full of other things.” The plot of the story centres around a “pagan spring ritual” BBC in a Russia village — where a young girl is chosen to be sacrificed and thereby dances herself to death. This ballet out of the three is prominent in particular because it focused on a new approach to theatre in which dance was playing as important of a part as the music. The work in itself was compiled of Stravinsky’s composition as well as the German stage director George Fuchs who “wanted dance to reassert it’s fundamental role in primitive societies; that of a scared, ritualistic expression.” This means in turn that the dances were somewhat extravagant and out of taste in comparison to typical entertainment of that time, which is one of the factors that contributed towards the uproar caused.
With little orchestral writing experience behind him, Stravinsky carried out this composition with a total ‘trial and error’ method sitting at a piano sounding and resounding the parts. The final result made use of the rhythm in an extremely innovative way due to the lack of regular metre throughout. One example, which will be later examined, is the accented chord section at figure 13 – in which the accents were used in a completely random manner. This unfortunately lead to the dancers suffering from an extreme difficulty to master the choreography and get to the grips with the beat. It was said that the commissioner, Diaghilev, even had a certain distaste towards it and was quoted asking ‘will it last a very long time this way?’
The first part, ‘L’adoration de la Terre,’ introduces the piece and is in the key of C Major. The first note, a paused C on the bassoon is held before the first sequence begins. Said sequence, although repeated several times makes use of several different rhythmic patterns in writing, even the first bar implementing two examples of it with triplets, then a slight variation in the second bar and furthermore the use of quintuplets in the next example. The accompaniment brought on by the horn implements a G#, which subsequently clashes with the Bassoon’s C Major sequences. This is the first example of dissonance, so early in the score, which is a further factor that may have contributed towards the negative audience reaction, particularly because said techniques were only just coming into fashion. The majority of the first part is made up almost entirely by woodwind instruments, although as the piece approaches the second some upper string instruments join the mix. The absence of a regular pulse in this part is prominent, not only due to the variations of rhythm in repeated chromatic runs and dissonances, but also due to the lack of percussive parts. These gradually begin to crescendo, as more instruments are involved until figure twelve, where the piece returns to the initial format of the first few bars, with the original sequences returning, however having modulated to a different key this time. After this, Stravinsky writes a small interluding section, consisting of a series of pizzicato notes on the first violin, following a few more out-of-key chords from the woodwind section, and then the pizzicato once more. This leads immediately into the second part. From early on in the piece, it is clear to see that the unique nature of the rhythm in this part has significant importance.
At figure thirteen begins ‘The Augurs of Spring/Dances of the Young Girls,’ which is the point in which the most distinguished pattern first appears. This is created by accenting a series of chords “not into any regular or predictable pattern, but into the highly irregular pattern of 9 2 6 3 4 5 and 3 counts”. (ED GREEN). The sudden bursts of these accented notes creates an almost syncopated rhythm with an unexpected number of twists and turns that would have been quite shocking to the audience at the time. These accented chords carry on for 8 bars but are paused for the following four as the cello plays a series of arpeggios, again out-with the key signature. This overplayed by a solo on the cor angles, which plays in homophony?? The bassoon parts then share a series of double time apreggios before the tremendous accented chords again resume. The quaver chords continue to reign throughout this section, varying between forte and pianissimo during other solo parts. Throughout this section, there is a gradual build up of more instruments that fade in and out which give off a far powerful sound. Many of the parts weave between each other of each other which in a way further prevents their being a steady rhythm throughout.
The next section begins at figure thirty seven with a tempo of presto and throughout, the brass is very heavy, and there is still the absence of a regular beat. There are several examples of percussive instruments playing on off beats which again adds to this effect. The strings mainly play little scale-like quaver sequences throughout. Alike the previous two sections there are many examples of dissonances, as well as the use of accents on off beats as seen in the second section. The following section is far more tranquil and peaceful, with the woodwind section opening it, specifically flutes, each holding on to a trilled note and the clarinets playing five crotchets per bar in homophony with each part. This section also sees not only a key change, but an ongoing time signature change with the use of 5/4, 7/4, 6/4 and 5/4 again within the first six bars. There is a further key change and time signature change, returning to 4/4 in the seventh bar, in which the string section is highly prominent. The rhythm in this section is again off beat and syncopated, which is caused by the cello playing four crotchets on the beat with the violin and viola playing half a beat ahead. This continuous throughout the section as the accompaniment, with some of the woodwind joining in the middle. Throughout this section as a whole, there are many rhythms which physically are off beat and complex, but the ongoing changing time signature also adds to this. Again this is something which is quite important and may have contributed to the negative reaction received.
Figure seventy two, ‘Dancing Out of the Earth,’ also provides examples of rhythmic differences. The tempo is marked ‘Pretissimo’ so it is very fast moving. In this part, the rhythm is strange between the timpani – playing three four-quaver-sequences and the Bass drum playing a series of triplets underneath. Furthermore, the other parts have no steady rhythm to them either, with most chords being on irregular off-beats. Figure one hundred and forty three, ‘The Chosen One (Sacrificial Dance),’ begins in the highly irregular time signature of 2/16, before changing to 3/16 in the next bar. These time signatures aren’t the only examples resulting in obscure rhythm, as throughout, there are many uses of the parts having accented chords on off beat, as already seen numerous times. Therefore, this shows that Stravinsky’s rhythmic development’s throughout are extremely important due to their reoccurring nature throughout.
On the 29th of May 1913, the ‘Rite of Spring’ was premiered in Paris, thus being received with an alleged uproar. There are a number of different accounts to suggest a varying level of outbursts, so it is unclear to what extent the likes of violence played in said uproar, but there was definitely a negative reaction! With the first movement opening with a series of dissonant chords, an audience who had just enjoyed Les Sylphides, a ballet featuring music by Chopin; and had been familiar with his previous work would have been somewhat shocked. Furthermore, the use of accented chords and irregular rhythmic patterns would keep the audience on edge, meaning they would not know what to expect.
The physical appearance is another factor which must be weighed against the rhythmic irregularities in terms of the audience reaction. Firstly; choreography, in which the director of the ballets aimed to create dances which reflected traditional and primitive styles – taking a strong presence alongside the music. The dances in themselves are very angry and robust, something in particular which was likely to be quite off putting to the audience. The rhythm irregularities however, are still distinguishable within the choreography, what with there being no ongoing regular pulse for the dances to hold on to. Furthermore the costuming – very bright and flamboyant may have also shocked the audience, sparking their reaction. Overall however, despite these factors being somewhat significant, if it wasn’t for the rhythmic development’s in the music, the dances may have not been as grasping towards the audience, meaning that it holds a higher importance.
In conclusion, from analysis of the various different sections throughout, it is clear to see that there was a mass amount of rhythmic experimentation throughout. One example of this is the famous accented chord sequence in the second section in which uses random series of accents to create a syncopated rhythm. This section overall is quite boisterous which would have drawn attention to the audience and somewhat contribute towards their negative reaction. The fourth section sees a continual change in time signatures throughout the piece as well as several examples of off-beat chord playing, and this also contributes towards the feeling of having a lack of pulse. Overall, it is clear to see that the rhythmic developments brought on by Stravinsky are really important when it comes to the ‘Rite of Spring’ because although there are a number of other factors which also contributed towards the negative reaction the audience had, such as the extravagant choreography and costuming, the overall irregular metre meant that the audience would not be able to quite grasp a beat, and at that time it would have been quite unusual, resulting in their reaction.