| Bar |
What happens |
Comment |
| 1-3 |
Alleluia (recurs at bars 102
and 205)
Cadence into c minor |
Note how the voice parts slide around
chromatically, and how Stravinsky prepares for their entry with orchestral c
minor and F major chords. |
| 6 |
C major ostinato in bass, but
c minor (or E-flat major) in treble tune. |
Shock E-natural in bass part (bar 6
beat 4). The contrast and combination of the keys C and E-flat is important in
this piece. |
| 10 |
in sanctis Ejus
Slow, minim movement |
E-flat in voice part clashes with
E-natural in bass. |
| 12-22 |
Laudate Eum in firmamento virtutis
Ejus.
Bass ostinato on C and G in groups of 3 on lower strings, pianos and harp,
doubled by flutes.
Horns fill out texture (bars 14-19). |
Continued restraint:
Quiet
Movement is slow
The 'offensive' bass E-natural is not repeated in bar 20. |
| 23-24 |
Laudate DOMINUM.
Quiet C major chord, almost tutti. |
Flattened 7th (B-flat), played
quietly by 2nd cellos. |
| 24-89 |
Laudate eum in virtutibus ejus.
Laudate DOMINUM in virtutibus Ejus, laudate DOMINUM in sanctis Ejus. |
Notice how often the choir parts move
around the page, as a kaleidoscopic range of mainly woodwind, brass and
percussion instruments is employed. |
| 24-52 |
Orchestral
section/introduction to choir
Speed almost doubles |
| 24-27 |
Laudate DOMINUM rhythm (see
bar 65) and double bass ostinato presented |
Material presented.... |
| 27-30 |
Repeat of 24-27 (with more activity:
horns play Laudate DOMINUM rhythm) |
... repeated, and combined.... |
| 29-31 |
New countermelody on harp and
trumpet |
... so we are ready for yet more new
material... |
| 31 |
Sforzando chord |
... full stop. |
| 32-38 |
More of the same, but Stravinsky
fragments the harp and trumpet call, and there are interjections from the
pianos and woodwind. |
E.T. Cone calls this sort of
compositional technique 'Stratification, Interlock and Synthesis'. |
| 36-40 |
Crescendo to Laudate DOMINUM
rhythm, in E major chords, on horns. |
|
| 40-52 |
Piano and woodwind triplet
arpeggios |
Whirlwind effect, of growing
intensity... |
| 48-50 |
Tutti, loud chords |
... clinched by loud chords... |
| 50-52 |
Oboes, trombones and piano only |
... and now winds down. The sopranos
are specifically marked cant., non f (i.e. smoothly, not loud). |
| 53 |
Choral section: sopranos
and altos enter first |
| 53-64 |
Smooth cantabile style.C major
tonality (with B-flats). |
Material presented… |
| 65-72 |
Angular staccato style.
E minor tonality. |
| 73-99 |
Smooth choral writing accompanied by
angular orchestral sounds. Crescendo to bar 99 (=bar of silence!) |
…and combined. |
| 100-104 |
Alleluia
Gentle woodwind-and-brass gurgling.
Moment of repose. |
…full stop. |
| 105-147 |
Altered recapitulation of angular
music from 65-99.
Tonality:104 E-flat major
115 C major
118 G major
126 E major
131 F major/B-flat major
142 G major
144 A sharps introduced
147 F major chords hint at enharmonic change
148-150 to D major via F sharp major triad. |
Exciting new horn solo (bars 134-138)
and 'clinching' chords of greater dissonance (bar 141).
The tonal manoeuvres this section achieves are somewhat complex. |
| 150-163 |
Laudate eum in cordis
et organo
Link passage with new rhythm (dotted crotchet, quaver).
Crescendos into final section. |
Acerbic counterpoint: note how the D
major tonality is constantly undermined, such as at bar 154 (by an
F-natural). |
| Bar 157-163 includes a chromatic
ascent in the soprano. Compare the complexity of this to the simplicity of the
double-bass ostinato which underpins it: this is why bar 163 does not sound
jarring: the bass has been emphasising B-flats, so E-flat is not too far
away. |
| 163-205 |
Laudate eum in cymbalis,
benesonantibus
Laudate eum in cymbalis, jubilationibus
Laudate DOMINUM, laudate Eum
Omnis spiritus laudet DOMINUM. |
Stephen Walsh writes: "The limpid
setting of 'Laudate Eum in cymbalis', with its almost mystical ecstasy, gets
its richness every bit as much from the balancing of tension between E-flat and
C as from the harmonic blend of threes and fours in the rhythmic ostinato."
[Music of Stravinsky, London 1988, p.154]
Part of the work's status as a masterpiece derives from its distanced treatment
of these joyous words. |
| 205-213 |
Alleluia |
Shock E-natural in bass part
(again).The last chord has an attractive 'growl' made by the bottom C of both
pianos. |
