Download I was guided by no system whatever in Le Sacre du

Paul Ayick
Survey In Historical Styles MUH 6688
1/24/2007
Le Sacre du Printemps
“I was guided by no system whatever in Le
Sacre du Printemps. When I think of the music of the
other composers of that time who interest me ----Berg’s music, which is synthetic (in the best sense),
and Webern’s, which is analytic — how much more
theoretical it seems then Le Sacre. And these
composers belong to and were supported by a great
tradition. Very little immediate tradition lies behind
Le Sacre du Printemps, however, and no theory. I had
only my ear to help me; I heard and I wrote what I
heard. I am the vessel through which Le Sacre
passed.” (Stravinsky.1961.)
How lucky we are to have so much of Stravinsky; his words, thoughts, and
even his conducting as a matter of record. The mystery that surrounds many
earlier composers, those of the 18th century and earlier, simply does not exist with
him, we know the Maestro through both his words and his recordings. Stravinsky
says that the idea for the Rite of Spring came to him in a dream.
"I saw in imagination, he recalled, "a solemn pagan
rite: sage elders, seated in a circle, watched a young girl
dance herself to death. They were sacrificing her to
propitiate the gods of spring” (Jay. 2004)
Nicholas Roerich who had designed the sets and costumes for the original
production of the ballet in 1913 made this same claim of authorship. The musical
techniques used by Stravinsky were necessary, he wasn’t merely employing such
unusual techniques as polytonality, constantly shifting time signatures, and
extended chords to satisfy some whim, some system or to be “modern.” His sole
goal was to illustrate this rather macabre story in sound and this he accomplished
magnificently indeed. Admittedly this work doesn’t sound quite so “new” to my
somewhat jaded, 59 year old ear as it did when I was 19 nevertheless the power of
the piece still effects me. I am including with this paper a sound recording of
Stravinsky conducting the introduction to the second part of Le Sacre. It depicts the
night before the human sacrifice and leads directly into a section called “Mysterious
Circle of Adolescents.” (bars 56-63; see attached score reduction) Throughout this
entire 63 measure we see Stravinsky’s use of dissonance and irregular rhythm to
establish this mood of impending doom. This is not music composed by some
system of numbers; this is music that is clearly tonal and I think therein lay the
formula for its success. Stravinsky was motivated to properly illustrate with sound
this story of human sacrifice and he approaches the task almost in the way a film
score composer might.
Although I had conceived the subject of the le
Sacre du Printemps without any plot, some plan had to be
designed for the sacrificial action For this it was necessary
that I should see Roerich. He was staying at the moment at
Talachkino, the estate of Princess Tenicheva, a great patron
of Russian art. I joined him, and it was there that we settled
the visual embodiment of the Sacre and the definite sequence
of its different episodes. I began the score on returning to
Oustiloug, and worked at it through the winter a Clarens.
(Stravinsky. 1962. 36)
The irregular meters of Le Sacre proved problematic for Nijinsky the
choreographer. Stravinsky in recalling the rehearsals leading up to the premier in
1913 refers to Nijinsky’s
“ignorance of the most elementary notions of music”
and went on to explain;
“it was exasperating and we advanced at a snail’s
pace.” (Stravinsky. 1962. 40,41)
All of this angst is attributable to the unconventional way in which this complex
piece of music was structured and notated rhythmically. Stravinsky recalls the
premier performance in the spring of 1913 in this way:
“during the whole performance I was at Nijinsky’s
side in the wings. He was standing on a chair, screaming
“sixteen, seventeen, eighteen”—they (the dancers) had
their own method of counting to keep time.” (Stravinsky.
1962. 47)
All of this while the audience was expressing its displeasure by cat calling and
erupting into loud, unruly outbursts of laughter; this was not the kind of ballet the
audience at Champs-Elysées was used to, Le Sacre remains to this day one of the
illustrious works of the 20th century.