Henry Lee 9CWhat are the musical features of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring'?

Written in 1913, Stravinskys Rite of Spring presented a revolutionary score that redefined music. The 20th century was the time when drastic changes in music style arose The Rite of Spring was one of those redefining pieces. It is well known for shocking the audience at the night of its premiere, thus causing a massive uproar among the audience in the ThtredesChamps-lyses. Inspired by his teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov, and tradition russian folk songs that he would hear during his stays at the royal gardens, Stravinsky composed a rousing, earthy and powerful score that would change the course of music history.

The first movement begins with a bassoon solo played in its highest register, thus producing an eerie, resonant tone that many of the clientele in the audience hadnt heard before it is said that even the famous Saint-Sans was baffled by this new and strange sound. By adding grace notes to the bassoon solo, the sound produced is a tribal, vocal quality that was incredibly rare in the music of that time. Other woodwind solos come in one by one to add to the spectrum. One such example is the E clarinet; its solo is written to symbolise the sound of a shamans voice. Another example is the bass clarinet, which jumps in at a random place in the score. The choice in instrumentation here is an example of how Stravinsky used his instrument choice to manipulate the listener. A section of dissonant strings being violently tugged (staccato) joins this series of solos. By producing this clashing, sharp noise, Stravinsky mirrors the erratic choreography that can be seen on stage. Seemingly random glissandos on the first violins and passages on the trumpets then rise over the already tense music, making it hard to distinguish the notes of any particular instrument of section a musical scene that is wild and dark. Ostinatos in the brass and string sections provide an underlying, unnatural rhythm that pushes the piece along. Clever use of rhythm is also employed by Stravinsky he uses a strong erratic rhythm to keep the music on its feet.

By this time, it seems like there is a whirlwind of notes and passages being thrown around. The music bears a bit of resemblance to minimalistic music in this movement, as layering and cells are key to the piece. Repeated polyphonic passages weave their way in and out of the music mirroring the usage of cells in minimalistic music. The orchestral sections are also not written to compliment each other; they are written to battle each other. Stravinsky doesnt hesitate to make a section the star of the show. Every instrument is written to shout. After a strong battle, a slow section begins. Two woodwind instruments, namely the E clarinet and the bass clarinet an abnormal pairing at the time, play the same notes one octave apart, causing a sound never heard before. The strings then come in with a driving rhythmic ostinato joined by trills among the flutes. A dissonant legato section played in teams comes directly after, reflecting the choreography, which was also done in teams. These teams then continue to battle each other, throwing everything into the soundscape, making a crazy hurricane of notes and rhythms. After a few moments of silence, a bass drum then pushes the orchestra to the last part of the movement. The brass section then play an erratic series of notes in a crazy repeated rhythm that add to the madness. The previously mentioned teams then come in the violas and the horns play triplets, the violins and trumpets play quadruplets. The layers then pile up, coming to a high where the strings and flutes whoop. The movement proceeds to come to an abrupt stop.

The second movement starts with a hypnotic mood, which consists of a repeated melody of going up and down a tone. Put together with a strange harmony and the D minor harmony of the horns, this section provides an unsettling sound that depicts the choice of the sacrificed maiden. Stravinsky then introduces another folkloric melody. He first uses the strings to play a bar of this melody. When the passage comes back again, more is added to it. The solo violin and alto flute then join in to add more to the previous section of the melody. This is used to depict a primitive man playing a violin-like instrument and tribesmen dressed like stags dancing slowly. When the chosen one is revealed, the brass section plays out an exclamation. This is then proceeded by repetition of the first section of the movement. 11 notes are played out in the percussion section, implying death. Ostinato is present once more as some of the strings play a repetitive series of two notes while the rest of the orchestra throws in both small squeaky glissandos played by the woodwinds and the strings and grand sweeping glissandos played by the brass. The music then takes on a joyful approach. 5 bassoons represent 5 elders enchanting the last prayers before the sacrifice of the chosen one. The bass clarinet burst through again, playing an elaborate passage right before the sacrificial dance. The sacrificial dance starts with an upbeat played by the cellos and downbeat played by the timpani. Rhythm really comes in here with the strange uneven section that plays here. Layering then comes back and cuts and pastes the passages all over the place. The timpani then plays an erratic rhythm which pushes the music along. This is the climax of the piece. The piece then ends by a shriek of instruments and a loud crash of all the instruments on the final note.

Through the means of ostinato, rhythm, instrumentation, glissando and also some elements of what we would call minimalistic music today, Stravinsky composed a one-of-a-kind piece that combines the modern orchestra with the tribal, primal qualities of traditional folk music from Russia a piece that would transform the music scene forever.