Rite of Spring

• Notation and musical

  • notated as a full score with traditional markings
  • many transposing instruments are employed
• Sonority

  • Instrumentation ranges from use of limited number of instrumentals through to tutti, though in the prescribed sections full tutti is only rarely used
  • The introductory 'dudki' section is scored mainly for wind instruments
  • The work opens with a very high unaccompanied solo for bassoon
  • Other Woodwind effects include: tremolandi in flutes and flutter tonguing flutes, oboes and clarinets
  • Strings play a minor role: pizz. violin and viola; violin trill; pizz. solo cello; single sustained bass note on solo double bass; division double bass; glass. harmonics viola effects
• Sonority 2

  • 'The Augurs of Spring' contains the celebrated stamping chords with eight-part string chords formed from four sets of double stopping
  • Each chord is heavily accented and reinforced by intermittent doubling by eight horns
  • the passage at Fig.14 is lightly scored for angles, bassoons and pizzicato cellos
• Other Sonority Effects include:

  • Muted trumpet chords followed by flutter tonguing in flutes and clarinets
  • Col legno at Fig.24 combined with tremolandi in bassoons and violins
  • The background texture at Figs.28-29, involving trills in clarinets and bassoons, ostinato in trombone, flute melody, string scales, triangle and antique cymbals overlaid by the trumpets In parallel chords
  • Tremolandi harmonics in violin I
  • Horn Glissandi at Fig 36 and bouche accented notes in Ritual of Abduction
• Texture: Introduction

  • monophonic opening, followed by a passage for two parts at bars 2-3
  • three parts forming a sort of melody and accompaniment at Fig.1
  • The 'layered' texture at Fig.4
  • Four Part legato homorhythms at the fifth bar after Fig.6.
• Texture: Augurs of Spring

  • homorhythmic chords (Fig.13)
  • Ostinato with broken chord support (Fig.14)
  • Melody dominated homophony with melodic fragments heard over repeated chords (Fig.15)
  • Cross-rhythmic layers (fig.16) of ostinato in straight quavers with triplet quavers in violas, overlaid with chordal blasts and brief melodic snatches
  • Brief canonic entries (Figs 20-21)
  • Melody-dom-homophony with multi-layered accompaniment (Fig.25)
• Dynamics:

  • The dynamics range of the first three sections of the Rite covers the full range pp-ff
  • no dynamic level is given for the bassoon solo, either at the opening or on its return at Fig.12 evidently this aspect was left to the discretion of the instrumentalist and the composer
• Tempo, Metre and Rhythm:

  • Celebrated for its rhythmic complexity, especially in the final dance with constantly shifting metres
  • The introduction contrasts with the remaining prescribed passages because of its slow rubato tempo at the start
  • Notice the frequent changes of time signature and tempo
• Tempo, Metre and Rhythm 2:

  The Augurs of Spring (Fig 13.) is:

  • tempo guisto - strict time
  • Duple time
  • With frequent asymmetric stresses which occur at irregular intervals
  • Pulse is relentless apart from two pause bars before Fig.22
  • There are also two triple time bars before Fig.28
• Tempo, metre and Rhythm 3:

  'Ritual of Abduction' is presto with frequent metrical irregularities:

  • the opening in 9/8 is sometimes divided into 4/8+5/8
  • Time signatures change rapidly from Fig.42 (6/8, 7/8, 5/8)
  • Melody at Fig.47 is variously stressed in either 6/8 or 3/4
• Harmony:

  • non functional
  • dissonant
  • drones
  • ostinati
  • Harmonic stasis
  • Parallelism: 4ths and parallel 4ths and 7ths
• Harmony 2:

  • Whole tone structures
  • Bitonal structures
  • Polytonal structures
  • Superimposed 5th chords
  • Superimposed 4th chords
  • Parallel second inversion 7th chord, embedded in the middle of an opulent orchestral texture
  • Parallel 7th chords
  • Dissonances involving 9th chords
• Structures and tonality:

  • music is organised in blocks of sound, sometimes internally organised as a sort of mosaic made up of short contrasting fragments
  • There are vestigial tonal references but avoidance of functional tonality