Stravinsky - AGON Part-3, (Form and Structure)

Movement 3 - Triple Pas-de-Quatre for 8 Female and 4 Male Dancers (1:4 Long)

Beginning with the woodwinds in 4/8 the pizzicato string provide tension as the piece continues the fury left by movement 2. As more dancers enter the stage Stravinsky adds additional instrumentation while decreasing note vales to 32nd note chromatic passages adding tone color. This playful ascending and descending chromaticism continues throughout the movement. You can also find a playful harmony of tritones in measures 118-120 in the clarinets in Sib.

There is almost a Mozartian playfulness during the entire piece. In fact, Stravinsky eluded to Mozart in an interview and said that it was ok to steal from composers, referring to Mozart, and that Mozart would have wanted us to use his material.(1) The 17 movements make up the whole ballet and is similar in nature to Webern's Op. 21 with the tonality of Berg's Wozzeck.

Modeled after 17th century mathematician Mersenne, the piece lasts about 30 minutes when all 17 movements are complete. One of the best videos to watch is in a biography of Balanchine ballets titled Balanchine by Kultur DVD D2448.

Movement 4 - Prelude - (52 seconds)

Beginning with the timpani imitating the melodic lines, this movement quickly moves to an ascending hexachord, C,D,F,G,B,C, in cannon. The movement is used as the introduction to the first Pas-de-Trios ending with material taken from the first movement which nicely sets up the next movement.

Stravinsky's choice of orchestration can be compared to that of the 16th century French composer de Lasus' from his Apologie de la danse.(2) Like de Lasus', Stravinsky uses 3 Flaute (Fl. lll anche Piccolo), 2 Oboi, Corno Inglese, 2 Clarinette in Sib, Clarinetto basso in Sib, 2 Fagotti, Contrafagotto, 4 Corni in Fa, 4 Trombe in Do, 2 Tromboni tenori, Trombone basso, Arpa, Mandolino, Pianoforte, Batteria, Timpani, 3 Tom-toms or high timpani in Mib, Sob, and Sib, Silofono, and Castagnette.

The hardship Stravinsky faced between losing his family and leaving his homeland would have possibly affected his composing style. It was not until his later life that he was allowed to return to his Russian homeland still bearing the burden of never becoming recognized as a Russian composer.

More to come...


(1) Kulter. Balanchine. New Jersey: American Masters. Teledec DVD, D2448, 2005.
(2) Stravinsky, Agon.