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Article: The Russian folklorist who filled in Stravinsky's background
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- July 30, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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In 1923, Igor Stravinsky finished "Les Noces," his "Russian
choreographic scenes with singing and instrumental music" -- scenes
that depict an ancient Russian peasant wedding ritual.
When he came to compose his first autobiography, a dozen years
later, Stravinsky was anxious to describe "Les Noces" as entirely his
own creation -- an evocation of pre-Christian ritual, not a literal
re-creation of one. "I borrowed nothing from folk pieces, with the
exception of the theme of one factory song in the last tableau," he
wrote. "All the other themes, motives and melodies are of my own
composition. . . . The re-creation of a country wedding ritual
(which, in any case, I never had the chance either ...