Chapter 20: The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism

1. Chapter 20:The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism Stravinsky: The Primacy of Rhythm

2. Ballet Fauve Ostinato Key Terms

3. Stravinsky: The Primacy of Rhythm • Stravinsky began as Russian nationalist • Influenced by his mentor, kuchka member Rimsky-Korsakov • Three famous early ballets for Paris • Steady progress from nationalism to a powerful, hard-edged avant-garde style • More & more abstract use of folk material • The Firebird – beautifully colored folk music • Petrushka – hard, satirical portrait of carnival barker & his puppets with folk & pop tunes • Rite of Spring – pagan rites brutally depicted

4. Igor Stravinsky(1882-1971) • Influence of mentor Rimsky-Korsakov • First success with Ballets Russes in Paris • The Firebird, Petrushka, & Rite of Spring • Wrote many ballets – Pulcinella, Agon, etc. • Leading Neoclassical composer after 1920 • Symphony of Psalms, Rake’s Progress, etc. • Moved to Los Angeles in the 1930s • Assisted by Robert Craft from 1950s to death • Remarkable group of late 12-tone works! • Requiem Canticles, Threni, etc.

5. Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring • Used a deliberately barbaric style • To depict primitive rites & ritual sacrifice • Crude use of folk-tune fragments • “Unemotional,” grindingly dissonant music • Draws remarkable colors from huge orchestra • Rhythm is the lifeblood of this work • Visceral, unpredictable rhythms • First performance caused a riot • Provocative, non-balletic choreography • Violent, brutal, dissonant sounds

6. The Rite of SpringIntroduction • “Fanfare” for bassoon in very high range • Extreme registers exploited for new tone colors • Many short melodic fragments • Fanfares for oboe, piccolo & bass clarinet • Frequently repeated, but never the same twice • Piled on top of each other to create dissonant climax of activity • Bassoon “fanfare” returns at the end

7. The Rite of SpringDance of the Adolescents (1) • Dancers entered with accented chords • 32 repetitions of dissonant chord with heavy, irregular accents played by 8 French horns • 12 3 412 3 4 5121 2 3 4 5 61 2 31 2 3 412 3 4 5… • Chords alternate with 4-note ostinato

8. The Rite of SpringDance of the Adolescents (2) • Folk song motives are laid over rhythm • Motives repeat, & new ones pile on top of old • Different length & rhythm for each repetition – an irregular ostinato • Creates climax by piling more & more motives, ostinatos, & rhythms on top of each other

9. The Rite of SpringThe Game of Abduction • Brutal, violent rhythms here • Asymmetric, with frequently changing meter • LOUD – heavy brass, sliding horn calls, & frantic pounding on the timpani • Alternation between scurrying figures & heavy booming ones

10. The Rite of SpringRound Dances of Spring (1) • Desolate, empty feeling in introduction • Piccolo clarinet & alto flute two octaves apart • Slow, dragging dance follows • Hypnotic meter created by heavy downbeat & added or skipped beats • Uses folk tune fragment from earlier section

11. The Rite of SpringRound Dances of Spring (2) • Relentless buildup to overpowering climax • Trombone glissandos with gong, cymbals, & bass drum • Sudden, fast coda with violent interjections • Brief return of p bassoon fanfare

12. Conclusions • New language based on rhythm • Exhilarating, irregular rhythms & meter • Complex textures pile up rhythms & motives • Strong reaction against Romanticism • Tough, precise, barbaric music with no Romantic sentiment or emotionalism • Melody reduced to motives & fragments • Frequent dissonance as motives pile up • Tonality anchored by ostinato & pedal tones, not by diatonic scales • Extraordinary ear for new colors