The World Exhibition of 1889 in Paris had a profound effect on artists and musicians in Paris. Seeds were sown that resulted in the appearance of a wide variety of non-Western influences in art and music throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and extending well into the twentieth.
An artistic style called primitivism developed. Primitivism meant not only the influence of a technologically undeveloped culture, but extended to artistic techniques such as lack of perspective and use of bright, primary colors. Gauguin’s and Rousseau’s works embody this style.
Igor Stravinsky, whose music encompassed a number of styles, developed an early style of primitivism in music. The primitive elements included active, shifting rhythms influenced by African and Caribbean polyrhythms.
Stravinsky was the son of a successful and highly acclaimed bass-baritone in the Imperial Opera. He studied the piano as a boy, but his parents treated his musical activity as a pastime rather than a vocation. He was sent to the University of St. Petersburg to study law. While there he became friends with the son of the great Russian composer Nicolaí Rimsky-Korsakov. Through this connection, he soon met the composer himself and began taking orchestration lessons. Rimsky-Korsakov and Stravinsky became close friends, establishing a strong father-son bond.
Stravinsky finished his university studies in 1905 and soon embarked on a career in music. In 1909 he met the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and was commissioned to compose for the Ballet Russes in Paris. The success of this commission, L’oiseau de feu (The Firebird) led to two others, Petrouchka, and Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring). These are still Stravinsky’s most celebrated works.
Stravinsky gave up his Russian citizenship in 1917 during the Russian Revolution. He lived for a while in Switzerland and then moved throughout Europe. At the outbreak of World War II, he emigrated to Hollywood. He died in 1971 at the age of eighty-eight.
QUESTIONS AND TOPICS
1. The public reaction to the first performance of “Le sacre” might seem strange today, when it is quite commonplace to hear and see outrageous behavior as well as extremely radical art and music. But in 1913 Paris, audiences weren’t ready to accept such music. You might want to lead a discussion about how your students react to experiences with unfamiliar subjects. Ask them what their reaction is to specific pieces of music. Perhaps you could prepare a survey (pre- and post-course).
2. Although Stravinsky approached rhythm differently than his predecessors, his ballets had to have a rhythmic vitality because they were ballets. Dancers had to have a steady beat to move to rhythmically. Debussy’s music floated, but Stravinsky’s music throbbed with a wild pulse that changed constantly. Students need to pay attention to the shifting accent patterns.
3. Stravinsky changed his style from era to era. His early ballets represent primitivism. In later years he explored neoclassicism using forms and procedures from the eighteenth century. He also explored atonal and twelve-tone music. His most-performed music, however, still tends to be his early ballets, especially The Rite of Spring.
FURTHER TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Listen for the bassoon in the opening of Le sacre. This is an unusually high range for the bassoon. It sounds more like an oboe or English horn. What effect does this have on the music?
2. Although Stravinsky was active as a composer well into the 1960s, his most significant works were composed in the first half of the century. His most successful works are the three ballets completed in 1909, 1911, and 1913 respectively. His later years were spent touring as a conductor and less as a composer. Robert Craft, who became a household member and confidant of Stravinsky, sheltered the composer from the public during his final years.
3. Stravinsky’s music is kaleidoscopic. Colors and rhythms are constantly shifting. In Le sacre, Stravinsky makes wonderful use of woodwinds and percussion to create new and exciting timbres. Listen throughout the excerpt for instances of ostinato and sequence patterns.