The Russian folk dance, Khorovod, and how it impacted Stravinsky's formal structure in Spring Rounds

11/5/2013

I wrote a paper for an analysis class about the fourth movement of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring: Spring Rounds. While it is no secret that Rite of Spring is full of melodic material derived from Russian folk songs, it surprised me to learn about the extent how Russian folk dance influenced Stravinsky's crafting of formal structure. One of the things that really gets me about musical analysis is how that you aren't learning music theory alone: cultural, personal, artistic, and historical backgrounds all come into play. While intending to do a straightforward analysis of the movement, it ended with me learning about the intricacies and history of the Russian folk dance, the Khorovod.

The analysis is in the pdf below, and under that are links to the movement and a performance of a more lyrical styled Khorovod.

Cheers
Tony