1

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) was one of the most exceptional composers of the

twentieth century. Musically, Stravinsky was innovative for interesting sounds in the

world of music. He had a desire to make his works available to people of all

backgrounds and living conditions, so he composed a lot of his earlier works so that they

did not call for very many performers.1 This was especially true of the work entitled

L’histoire du Soldat, or, The Soldier’s Tale. Composed in Switzerland, near the end of

the first World War, this piece, written for three actors, a female dancer, and seven

instrumentalists, with the libretto by Stravinsky’s friend and colleague, C. F. Ramuz, tells

the story of a soldier who sells his soul to the devil, in return for a book that tells the

future. The artistic depth of this work, the music, and the dance are indeed indicative of

the creativity that inspired the wide variety of works in Stravinsky’s vast musical output.

To understand his music, it is pertinent to know a little bit about Igor Stravinsky’s

life. Stravinsky was born on June 18, 1882 in Oranienbaum, which is on the Gulf of

Finland about 30 miles from St. Petersburg, to father Feodor and mother Anna. He lived

with three brothers, Roman, Youry, and Goury. His father, who was a leading singer at

the opera in St. Petersburg, was highly responsible for the beginning of Stravinsky’s

musical life. 2 When young Stravinsky was nine years old, he began to take piano

lessons, learning to read music, and how to improvise. This, Stravinsky said, turned into

“a pursuit to which I devoted myself, and which for a long time was my favorite

occupation.”3 He also spent a lot of time looking at scores that his father had in his large

library, including works by Wagner and Rimsky-Korsakov. Around the age of sixteen,

1 K. Marie Stolba, The Development of Western Music: A History, second edition (Madison: WCB Brown & Benchmark, 1994), 638. 2 Francis Routh, Stravinsky, (London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd), 1. 3 Igor Stravinsky, An Autobiography (New York: Norton, 1962), 5.

2

Stravinsky frequented the opera productions, often times starring his father. He heard

works by several of the great Russian composers of the day; this included “The Five”:

Cui, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Balakirev, and Rimsky-Korsakov.4 But Stravinsky’s musical

curiosity was especially sparked by Tchaikovsky.5

In 1901, Stravinsky matriculated into the University of St. Petersburg, as advised

by his parents. Despite the musical career of his father, they both thought it was best that

Igor keep up his music, but only as a hobby. So while at the University for four years, he

studied law, and legal philosophy, but also spent a lot of his time studying music,

including counterpoint, which he took on by himself. At this University, he became close

friends with the son of Rimsky-Korsakov. Once, while his friend’s father was visiting,

Stravinsky took the opportunity to “tell him of [his] ambition to become a composer, and

asked his advice”. Rimsky-Korsakov advised to continue his musical studies, but not to

go into the Conservatoire, because he would probably not feel very encouraged with such

a work load, and would probably be discouraged by his professors for having such a

contemporary sound. He also told Stravinsky that he could come to him any other time

he needed advice. 6

This was the beginning of Stravinsky’s composing career. Under Rimsky-

Korsakov’s guidance, Stravinsky composed several works, including a Symphony in E-

flat major (1907), Le Faune et la bergére (for Voice and Orchestra, 1907), and Fireworks

(1908), an orchestral fantasy. Having spent time with Rimsky-Korsakov for orchestration

lessons and other tutoring, Stravinsky also spent a lot of time with The Five, which

4 “The Five”, or “Mighty Handful” as critic Vladmir Stasov called them, were a group of composers who were especially active in Russian music in the early twentieth century. Each of them had many new ideas and concepts to offer, but one that they all promoted was Russian nationalism. Stolba, 561, 607. 5 Routh, 3. 6 Stravinsky, 15.

3

brought forth opportunities for growth, and more importantly, the people that could bring

his music to the world.

One of the more significant works that Stravinsky brought to the world was

L’Histoire du Soldat, or The Soldier’s Tale. The story of this work is based on an old

Russian folk tale by Alexander Afanasyev, called “The Deserter and the Devil.”7 It

begins when a soldier named Joseph is traveling home from the army for a 10-day leave.

He sits down for a rest and takes out his fiddle, when an old man encounters him. This

old man named Nick, who is actually the devil, offers to trade the soldier’s fiddle in

exchange for a magic book. Seeing the bargain in the trade, Joseph agrees. Because the

Devil cannot play this fiddle, he asks the soldier to come to his home with him for three

days to teach him how to play. Again, the soldier agrees.

In the next scene, the soldier has reached his hometown, but when no one,

including his own mother, recognizes him, and he finds out that his fiancé has married

another man, he realizes that he hasn’t been gone for three days, but for three years. The

Devil, who is now disguised as a cattle merchant, reminds Joseph of the magic book, and

explains to him that it can help him rebuild his life, and, his fortune.

Following the Devil’s advice, the soldier becomes very wealthy, but also becomes

“thoroughly disillusioned by his wealth.”8 The Devil, who is once again in disguise, this

time as an old woman, brings out the soldier’s fiddle. He recognizes it at once and buys

it back. After failing several attempts to play it, he becomes frustrated and throws it

away from him.

7 Stephen Walsh, Stravinsky: A Creative Spring: Russia and France 1882-1934 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999), 286. 8 Robert Bridge, L’Historie Du Soldat. (The Soldier’s Tale) A Brief Historical Overview. 17 May 1994. http://myhome.sunyocc.edu/~bridger/papers/lhistpaper.htm. Accessed 5 March 2006, 3.

4

In the second part of the drama, Joseph has lost his fortune, and begins to wander.

He comes upon a town where the King is offering his daughter’s hand in marriage to the

one who can cure her of her illness. The Devil shows up, disguised as a violinist, with

the soldier’s fiddle. After a card game, where the Devil loses because he becomes

intoxicated and passes out, he is able to retrieve his fiddle once again.

Going to the Princess’s room, Joseph takes his fiddle and begins to play, causing

the princess, who has been asleep on her bed, to rise; she “dances a tango, a waltz and a

ragtime”.9 At the end of the dance, the princess falls into Joseph’s arms, when the Devil

comes in, ironically costumed as a devil. Being well aware that this is the same man who

has brought him much misfortune, Joseph plays his fiddle, which seems to be connected

to the Devil, causing him to dance in uncoordinated and painful ways. Being rid of the

Devil, the princess and soldier wed.

When the newlywed couple decides to visit Joseph’s hometown, a strange

sensation comes over him once he is within the boundaries. The Devil, who has the

soldier’s fiddle once again, now has complete control of Joseph. He follows the Devil off

of the stage,10 where the story ends.

There is much to be said about the music of The Soldier’s Tale. The initial

process began after Stravinsky and Charles F. Ramuz met to work on other projects with

conductor Ernest Ansermet. Living in Switzerland towards the end of the first World

War, both in the need of money, they decided to work on a project of their own. Wanting

to have something relatively simple, both for stylistic and monetary reasons, they decided

to go with a work that is to be read, played, and danced. Because of this, the libretto and 9 Ibid, 4. 10 It is said that, because the only sound that is left is the decrescendo of the percussion, Stravinsky meant for this to depict the dissention into Hell. Ibid, 7.

5

the music were written separately, to emphasize the importance and equality each one

held in the work. Another idea they kept in mind during the initial stages of the piece,

was the desire that it could be performed without the action, as a suite.

The instrumentation of The Soldier’s Tale, being such a small work, was quite

sparse. It included seven instruments, including violin, clarinet in A, cornet, bassoon,

trombone, double bass and percussion (which was comprised of snare drums (used with

both snare and with the snare turned off), bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, and

triangle).11 Because of the limited number of players, Stravinsky said in his

autobiography that, “all [would be] playing as soloists.”

In the music, there are many noteworthy examples for various reasons. One of

the main aspects that makes this piece unique is its dedication to rhythm, inspired by the

ragtime and jazz emerging at that time. Although Stravinsky had yet to hear any

American jazz or ragtime, he had seen several scores and thus was able to have an idea in

his head how it would sound. Enhancing the rhythmic complexity of this piece are many

sections in mixed meter. This rhythmic originality starts in the very beginning with “The

Soldier’s March.” Especially effective about this section of music is that while the

meters are changing, there is still a constant overriding duple rhythm kept in the double

bass part, going between the I and V chords; this is meant to depict the soldier’s footsteps

as he is walking along the path. (Example 1) There are also many examples of

syncopation, which was something that was beginning to arise because of the ragtime and

jazz influences as well. (Example 2)

11 Igor Stravinsky and C. F. Ramuz., Histoire du soldat (The Soldier's Tale) (New York: Edwin F. Kalmus, n. d.).

6

Another technique that Stravinsky incorporated in The Soldier’s Tale is the use of

a common theme. There are a few different examples of this. One theme is used in each

of the dances (“Tango,” “Waltz,” and “Ragtime”), using the theme that Stravinsky used

in “Ragtime” (which he actually composed before The Soldier’s Tale). Another theme is

used in both “The Soldier’s March” of part II, and in “The Little Concert.” (Example 3)

Along with these techniques is the element of imagery and symbolism, which is

probably not surprising, since The Soldier’s Tale was written as a story. One such

example of this is the Tango, when the instructions in the score say specifically in the

music right when the clarinet comes in, that the princess is to begin dancing. The melody

of the clarinet is very dance-like, which easily represents the dancing Princess. (Example

4) There is also the instance of the use of the violin and percussion to represent the

Devil. Since the Devil was always using the violin to manipulate and cheat the soldier, it

seems very appropriate to have the last section, “Triumphal March of the Devil,” include

many instances when only the violin and percussion play. (Example 5)

Listening to this work, one may realize that Stravinsky was also at a time in his

composing career when he was experimenting with jazz. Although the “rhythms of this

work allude more to jazz than the harmonies or melodies,”12 an analysis of the during the

two chorals, specifically “The Grand Choral”, shows that he had indeed been considering

jazz harmonies. In the very first line, almost every chord is built that would suggest

Stravinsky’s knowledge and application of jazz theory. Included in the harmonies are

several chords with added sevenths, and even more with added ninths. (Example 6)

These sort of chords are seen throughout the piece.

12 Bridge, 2.

7

A discussion of The Soldier’s Tale would not be complete if the production itself

was not included. Originally, it was intended to be a moving showcase, intended to go on

a tour of sorts. The stage would be relatively small, but would include all people

involved in the work. The narrator, who told the majority of the story, would stand on

the left, the main action would happen in the middle, and the orchestra and conductor

would be towards the back on the right (Example 7).

The first performance of The Soldier’s Tale was on September 28, 1918 at the

Lausanne Theatre at Lausanne University. The performance went very well, and to

Stravinsky’s liking, and was definitely intended to tour to other villages and cities

throughout Switzerland. However, an epidemic of the Spanish influenza broke out. This

alone would have kept them from touring, out of fear that they might catch it from

someone else, but in fact, Stravinsky himself was one of the people who had come down

with it.13

Fortunately for the rest of the world, Stravinsky’s work lived on, and there have

been many performances of the The Soldier’s Tale since the early 1900’s. A couple of

note include the first production in America, which took place in New York for the

League of Composers, and a production at the Théater des Champs-Elysées in Paris, in

1946.14

There have also been many adaptations, including translations into German and

English (from the original French version). Composer Kurt Vonnegut was asked by

Robert Johnson, the director of the New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble, to

“provide a completely new accompaniment to Stravinsky’s music”; Johnson had already 13 Routh, 21. 14 Minna Lederman, “Stage Productions” in Stravinsky in the Theatre (New York: Pellegrini & Cudahy, 1949), 183.

8

written a new text that would be more fitting for the current times. His cast includes

several similar characters, such as the Major General (narrator), the soldier, the Military

Police Sergeant (Devil) and the Red Cross Girl (the dancing princess), along with Two

Ordinary Infantry Privates. The first production of this adaptation was in Alice Tully

Hall, on May 6, 1993, and there have been several productions since.15

Another modern adaptation is the RO Blechman production that put the work into

an animated video. There were also some changes in the story line, again to make it

more applicable to a younger generation. Produced in 1984, it was presented on the show

Great Performances on PBS, and won an “Emmy for Outstanding Individual

Achievement, Animated Programming” the same year.16 The success of this and other

adaptations of The Soldier’s Tale give high amounts of praise to the original work.

Although, his financial situation and lifestyle towards the end of the first World

War were not ideal, these factors had a definite impact on the genesis of one of his most

critical works in determining his own style. L’Histoire du Soldat, or The Soldier’s Tale,

to be read, played, and danced, clearly was influenced by the tonalities, harmonies, and,

most of all, rhythms of ragtime and jazz, even though he had never heard either one at the

time of composing the piece. Clearly, Igor Stravinsky assimilated all the musics of his

time to become an innovative pioneer in contemporary music, providing an interesting

bridge between the romantic and twentieth century eras of music.

15 Kurt Vonnegut, “L'histoire du soldat” in Paris Review (40, no. 148, Fall 1998), 188. 16 Charles H. Parsons, “Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale” in American Record Guide (68, no. 3, May/June 2005): 266.

9

Example 1 – Steady duple beat kept in the double bass while in mixed meter in “The

Soldier’s March”

Example 2 – Syncopation.

10

Example 3 – Themes in “The Soldier’s March” and “The Little Concert.”

11

Example 4 – Clarinet theme representing the start of “The Princess’s Dance.”

Example 5 – Violin and percussion representing the Devil in “Triumphal March of the

Devil.”

12

Example 6 – Jazz-inspired harmonies in “The Grand Choral.”

Example 7 – Arrangement of the orchestra, in the back of the right side of the stage.

G G D6 C7 A7 G9 F9 C D C9 f#°7 e9 C9 A4/3 E