Maureen A. Carr
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199742936
- eISBN:
- 9780199367993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199742936.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western, Theory, Analysis, Composition
As a lesser-known work, Renard is significant in the evolution of Stravinsky’s compositional process. One of the reasons why Renard might not be taken seriously in analytical circles could be related ...
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As a lesser-known work, Renard is significant in the evolution of Stravinsky’s compositional process. One of the reasons why Renard might not be taken seriously in analytical circles could be related to the monolithic nature of the dynamics that tend to “mask” the intriguing stylistic nuances. In addition, the instrumentation favors extreme registers, resulting in a strident soundscape. Furthermore, it is difficult to listen to this ballet-burlesque in isolation without seeing the interaction of the acrobats and clowns that Stravinsky intended for this dramatic work. A performance in Russian by the London Sinfonietta epitomizes these goals. Renard is related to Histoire du soldat not only because both works represent collaborations between Stravinsky and Ramuz but also because the compositional process between the two works represent an evolution in Stravinsky’s style.Less
As a lesser-known work, Renard is significant in the evolution of Stravinsky’s compositional process. One of the reasons why Renard might not be taken seriously in analytical circles could be related to the monolithic nature of the dynamics that tend to “mask” the intriguing stylistic nuances. In addition, the instrumentation favors extreme registers, resulting in a strident soundscape. Furthermore, it is difficult to listen to this ballet-burlesque in isolation without seeing the interaction of the acrobats and clowns that Stravinsky intended for this dramatic work. A performance in Russian by the London Sinfonietta epitomizes these goals. Renard is related to Histoire du soldat not only because both works represent collaborations between Stravinsky and Ramuz but also because the compositional process between the two works represent an evolution in Stravinsky’s style.
Maureen A. Carr
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199742936
- eISBN:
- 9780199367993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199742936.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western, Theory, Analysis, Composition
After the Rite: Stravinsky’s Path to Neoclassicism (1914–25) traces the evolution of Stravinsky’s compositional process with excerpts from Rossignol, Three Pieces for String Quartet, Renard, Histoire ...
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After the Rite: Stravinsky’s Path to Neoclassicism (1914–25) traces the evolution of Stravinsky’s compositional process with excerpts from Rossignol, Three Pieces for String Quartet, Renard, Histoire du soldat, Étude for Pianola, Ragtime, Piano-Rag-Music, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Concertino, Pulcinella, Mavra, Octet, Cinq pièces monométriques, Concerto for Piano and Winds, Piano Sonata, the Serenade in A. One of the goals of this monograph is to illustrate how musical sketches help to inform music analysis. The use of original sources, diplomatic transcriptions, and diagrams illustrate: (1) the presence of melodic motives, such as anticipatory gestures that have a bearing on subsequent works, (2) the layering of imitative techniques that sometimes participate in the emergence of block form before transitioning into Stravinsky’s Neoclassical style, and (3) the incorporation of materials borrowed from the eighteenth century to create musical narrative, and so on. In addition to these visual representations of musical ideas, another goal is to consider the cultural complexities that established the framework for Stravinsky’s evolution as a composer, such as: (1) the cross-currents in literary circles around 1914 that were concerned with Shklovsky’s “Resurrection of the Word” and the notion of defamiliarization, (2) the swirling designs in artworks by painters who espoused the ideals of futurism and cubo-futurism, and (3) Fokine’s outline of the “New Ballet” that appeared in the Times (London) on July 6, 1914, just before the declaration of war on July 28, 1914, and that in a way paralleled the emergence of Stravinsky’s Neoclassicism.Less
After the Rite: Stravinsky’s Path to Neoclassicism (1914–25) traces the evolution of Stravinsky’s compositional process with excerpts from Rossignol, Three Pieces for String Quartet, Renard, Histoire du soldat, Étude for Pianola, Ragtime, Piano-Rag-Music, Symphonies of Wind Instruments, Concertino, Pulcinella, Mavra, Octet, Cinq pièces monométriques, Concerto for Piano and Winds, Piano Sonata, the Serenade in A. One of the goals of this monograph is to illustrate how musical sketches help to inform music analysis. The use of original sources, diplomatic transcriptions, and diagrams illustrate: (1) the presence of melodic motives, such as anticipatory gestures that have a bearing on subsequent works, (2) the layering of imitative techniques that sometimes participate in the emergence of block form before transitioning into Stravinsky’s Neoclassical style, and (3) the incorporation of materials borrowed from the eighteenth century to create musical narrative, and so on. In addition to these visual representations of musical ideas, another goal is to consider the cultural complexities that established the framework for Stravinsky’s evolution as a composer, such as: (1) the cross-currents in literary circles around 1914 that were concerned with Shklovsky’s “Resurrection of the Word” and the notion of defamiliarization, (2) the swirling designs in artworks by painters who espoused the ideals of futurism and cubo-futurism, and (3) Fokine’s outline of the “New Ballet” that appeared in the Times (London) on July 6, 1914, just before the declaration of war on July 28, 1914, and that in a way paralleled the emergence of Stravinsky’s Neoclassicism.
