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KMB132 Assessment 3
Essay
Stravinskys Rite of Spring


Student Name: Lizzie Brown n9424938
Lecturer: Dr. Chris Perren
Tutor: Nicole Murphy
Group: 1

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3

The Rite describes the terrible beauty of nature renewing

herself, Breaking through the earth! This is what I hear! Igor
Stravinsky

Stravinskys Rite of Spring

In the early 20th Century, several groups of Austrian, German and Russian
artists began to embrace the movement known as Expressionism. The
movement was often characterized by its focus on the inner human
experience and is highly emotionally driven (Perren, 2015). The
Expressionist movement would later extend to composers, such as
Schoenberg, in the form of fragmented rhythms, dissonant harmonies, and
violently graphic musical images (Burkhoulder, 1968, p.819). One of the
pioneering composers of this period was Igor Stravinsky, a Russian
composer, who rather than focusing on the Great Western Tradition, like
his predecessors, drew inspiration from Russian Folk tales and music, and
archaic Pagan rituals. These inspirations were especially prominent in his
1913 work, The Rite of Spring. Although designed as a work for the stage,
with specific passages accompanying characters, few musical works have
displayed the same caliber, or been awarded the same notoriety as The Rite,
and Stravinskys inspirational roots in Pagan and Slavic rituals, as well as
Russian folk music, make for Expressionist music that pushed the limits of
compositional rules, greatly setting it apart from other music of the era.
Innovative in concept, pitch, rhythm and form, while revealing substantial
continuities with the Russian tradition, The Rite brought a myriad of ideas
into the world of music (Gharaibeh, 1996, p.38)
It is said that Stravinskys distinctive style was formed in The Rite of Spring
(Burkhoulder, 1968, p.832). The music was the third in the ballets for
Diaghilevs Ballets Russes Paris seasons. The piece enjoyed an initial
reception, immediately situating itself at the forefront of the new challenging
epoch of Modernism (Cross, Gloag, 2003 p.87). Upon its first performance

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3

in 1913, Riots broke out across the theatre, the music had incited the
audience with its barbaric rhythms and dissonance, as well as the ballets
choreography (Chua, 2007). Its first performance provided one of the most
scandalous premiers in history, due to the context of the story, rooted in
Pagan and Slavic rituals.
The main plot of The Rite is suggested by its subtitle: Pictures of Pagan
Russia. The story behind The Rite, is one taken from a dream Stravinsky had,
in which he envisioned a chosen virgin of an archaic Russian tribe dancing
herself to death as a sacrifice to the Pagan gods of spring at the culmination
of the ritual (Gharaibeh, 1996, p.37). Part 1 of the piece depicts the
springtime rituals of the primitive Slavic Tribes, whereas part 2 depicts the
selection of the virgin to appease the Slavic God of Spring and the sun,
Yarilo (Wright, 2008, p.338). It is also believed that he was also inspired by
the poem entitled Staviat Iarilu, which contains similar images of the
Pagan ritual, wise elders, and the sacrifice of a virgin. The scenario is a
display of primitivism, a deliberate representation of the crude, and
uncultured, casting aside sophistication of modern life (Burkhoulder, 1968,
p.832). The ritual is seen as a vivid description of characters and
choreography; adolescent boys appear with a very old woman, who knows
the secrets of nature. The boys mark their steps and are soon joined by the
group of adolescent virgins (Code, 2007, p.112). The ballet, as well as the
music was conceived as a recreation of this ancient pagan sacrifice, being
divided into 2 parts. Part One, being named The Kiss of the Earth, which
describes the introduction of the tribes, who punch, and hit at the ground, in
order to awaken the Gods of Spring, where the adolescent girls dance the
Khorovod, and become one with the earth. Part 2, named The Sacrifice,
where the Adolescent girls play mysterious games, walking in circles, and
the Chosen one is entrusted into the care of the elders of the Tribe,
eventually partaking in the great sacrificial dance. One of the defining
characteristics of the piece is the root in traditional Russian folk music, as
well as the Russian tradition, which gives the piece a unique aura that
resonates with the images of change.
Russian folk music, as well as Lithuanian folk music and tales played a great
part in the compositional process, and are considered a direct influence in the

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3

creation of The Rite (Gharaibeh, 1996, p.38). Russian writer Nikolai Gogol
wrote, Russian folk songs are a living history of the Russian people, rich,
vivid and truthful, revealing their entire life. Russian folk music can be
divided into traditional, or peasant songs, and can be categorized according
to their purpose, origins, and social function, and context. Traditional songs
that were written are divided into ritual and non-ritual songs. The ritual
groups of songs are known as Calendar songs, which are linked to the
seasonal work of the Pagan people, and included wedding songs, or laments.
Calendar songs are amongst the oldest groups of Russian folklore, the most
ancient being invocation (incantation) songs. It is also largely believed that
dance songs, and traditional Khorovod songs, were emerged from the
Calendar ritual songs (Prokhorov, 2002). Melodies from the Juszkiewics
Anthology of 1,785 folk songs are also used as inspiration. Stravinsky
himself acknowledged that the works opening Bassoon melody was derived
from this anthology. During Stravinskys Russian Period, from The Rite
onwards, he seldom used the closed form of melodies consisting of three or
four measures, but used short motives of two to three measures, and repeats
them in an ostinato fashion. These short, recurring primitive motives are
highly characteristic of traditional Russian music, and also occur in some old
Hungarian music for wind instruments, and also in Arab peasant dances
(Taruskin, 1980, p.343). An example of these patterns can be seen
specifically in the opening of movement 2 of part 1: Augurs of Spring, in
which the patterns within successive blocks are quite different, creating
discontinuity (Burkhoulder, 1968, p.833). The order of motives, if initially
confusing, form a logical cohesion and are highly organized in input and
output creation (Gharaibeh, 1996, p.42). The thematic material of the
Augurs Chord can be interpreted entirely within the Russian tradition as an
intersection between two Modal possibilities, a Dorian Ostinato, and a
Kalindra Fragment (Chua, 2007). His teacher and mentor, Andrei RimskyKorsakov, also inspired Stravinsky, he takes the octatonic characteristics of
Rimskys work, as well as the bitonal clashes (van den Toorn, 1987)
In conclusion, Stravinskys inspiration from Russian folk music, as well as
Pagan rituals, created a visceral and shocking experience for audiences and
listeners alike. The use of unusual, and unconventional melodies eventually
resulted in new dance and music forms that have continued to influence

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3

composers to this day. The Rite of Spring is a piece of mystery due to its
roots in the human condition, and primitivism. It jolts the listeners collective
subconscious with the usage of fragmented melodies, dissonance, and violent
musical images. It is because of these inspirations, that the piece has
continued to elicit shock into audiences even today, and has continued to
rece. Stravinskys intention of the piece was to translate his music into a
language that a choreographer could understand, and through the link to the
strange, new rhythms present, was able to conjure a work that had never
been seen in the Western World to endure for decades to come. When asked
about the work, and its composition, Stravinsky simply stated that The Rite
was What he heard in his head, and that he wasnt the composer, but merely
the vessel through which the music passed through. (1913)

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3

References

Burkhoulder, J.P. Grout, D. Palisca C. V. (1960) A History of
Western Music. pp. 819-832


Chua, Daniel K.L. (2007) Rioting with Stravinsky: A
Particular analysis of The Rite of Spring. Retrieved October
17, 2015 from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-
2249.2007.00250.x/epdf


Code, David J. (2007) The Synthesis of Rhythms: Form,
Ideology, and the Augurs of Spring. The Journal of
Musicology, 24.1, 112- . Retrieved October 17, 2015

Cross, Jonathan, Gload, Kenneth. 2003. The Cambridge
Companion to Stravinsky. University Press, Cambridge. Pp.
87-88


Gharaibeh, Dima (1996) The Compositional Process of Igor
Stravinskys The Rite of Spring. Illinois Wesleyan University
Undergraduate Review. Vol.9: 37-39. Retrieved October 15,
2015, from
http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article
=1080&context=rev

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3

Perren, C. (2015, July 28). KMB132 Week 2. Retrieved

October 15, 2015, from
https://prezi.com/mmnibz1lhjxa/kmb132-week-
2/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Perren, C. (2015, August 4). KMB132 Week 3. Retrieved

October 15 , 2015, from
https://prezi.com/i7zvwfnu9ktz/kmb132-week-
3/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Prokhorov, Vadim. 2002. Russian Folk Songs: Musical
Genres and History Retrieved October 16, 2015.
http://www.vadimprokhorov.com/russian_folk_songs__mus
ical_genres_and_history_25733.htm


Taruskin, Richard. (1980). Russian Folk Melodies in The
Rite of Spring. Journal of the American Musicological Society
33 (3) 343-344 Retrieved October 16, 2015. doi:
10.2307/831304

Van Der Toorn, Pieter C. (1987) Stravinsky and the Rite of
Spring: The Beginnings of a Musical Language University of
California Press Berkeley: University of California Press.
http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft967nb647/

Wright, Craig. (2008) Listening to Western Music. pp.338

Lizzie Brown- n9424938 KMB132: Assessment 3