May 6, 2011
Friday-8:00pm | University of North Carolina School of Music Recital Hall
Igor Stravinsky
L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale)
Kelly Burke, clarinet
Carol Bernstorf, bassoon
Anita Cirba, trumpet
John R. Melton, trombone
Wiley Sykes, percussion
John Fadial, violin
John Spuller, bass
A dancer and narration
Dmitry Sitkovetsky, conductor
Part 1
The Soldier’s March
Airs by a Stream
Reprise: The Soldier’s March
Pastorale
Reprise: Airs by a Stream
Part 2
Reprise: The Soldier’s March
The Little Concert
Three Dances: Tango, Waltz, Ragtime
The Devil’s Dance
The Little Chorale
The Devil’s Song
The Great Chorale
The Triumphal March of the Devil
Sponsor
Program
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale)
After his three successful ballets, “The Firebird”, “Petruska”, and “The Rite of Spring”, the economic situation in Europe at the end of World War I prevented Stravinsky from embarking on another large project. It was the Swiss writer C.F. Ramuz who then suggested, “Why not do something quite simple? Why not write together a piece that would need no vast theatre or large public? Something with two or three characters and a handful of instrumentalists.”
In book of old Russian tales by Alexander Afanasiev, Stravinsky found what he needed: a parable about a soldier who trades his violin to the devil for a magical book that tells the future of the economy. Ramuz created a version of this in French, and Stravinsky wrote the music. The instrumentation is just the opposite of his recent “Rite of Spring” which needed an orchestra of nearly one hundred members. He composed the new work for high and low pitched pairs of instruments: woodwinds (clarinet and bassoon), brass (trumpet and trombone), strings (violin and bass), and one percussionist. The story was told by three actors: the soldier, the devil, and the narrator, and one dancer (the princess).
Musically, L’Histoire contains many diverse elements: folk song, elements of American jazz (that the composer gleaned from sheet music), Lutheran chorales, and a Latin Tango; all of which are cast into Stravinsky’s uniquely recognizable sound. But perhaps the most basic aspect of the music are the clashes between the violin (the Soldier’s soul) and the percussion (the Devil). In this story, the percussionist wins in the end.
After Hours with Dima!
Immediately following the Chamber concerts, join us at the Green Valley Grill Bar with Dmitry Sitkovetsky and the Chamber Concert Musicians.
Complimentary appetizers provided by the Green Valley Grill.
Sponsored by the O. Henry Hotel | 622 Green Valley Road
