I decided to listen to the piece and write down my thoughts and assumptions before watching the ballet and before reading other analyses…This is what I came up with (a very rough analysis, movement by movement):
1. Pas de quarte
· West Side Story mixed with Asian Essence
· Even the first movement is not completely tonal
· The strings build anticipation; a feeling of urgency also a fanfare like tendency in the brass
2. Double Pas de quarte
· Reminds me of flight of the bumblebee
· I see someone searching for someone—the hunt is on
· Lower instruments such as brass appear to have a fixed function of a pedal or steady/long pattern
3. Triple Pas de quarte
· All three Pas de quarte seem to start out with similar rhythmic patterns/structures—ascending instruments that build tension—all feeling like some sort of hunt or search
4. Prelude
· Conversation between percussion and brass
· Large crescendo leading to a calmer tonal progression
· This is a fairly tonal movement
5. Saraband-Step
· Xylophone—crucial part
· Still pretty tonal towards beginning
· Gradually weaves in and out of tonality
6. Gaillarde
· Very cluttered sound at beginning—doesn’t exactly read as “tonal” to me
· Final falls into a more “traditional; western classical sound”
· Contrast between timbres of instruments is somewhat overwhelming
7. Coda
· The search is back on
· Serial
· Image of a staircase
· Large use of register
· Great sense of conversation between instruments—yet still embodies individuality
· First movement where I was able to hear the crowd—this is a live performance
8. Interlude
· Starts out with percussion similar to previous movements
· Much like the Prelude—revisiting some of those ideas?
9. Bransle Simple
· Sounds like confusion or argument
· Serial?
· Ends with a leading cadence into the next movement
10. Bransle gay
· Ostinato
· Variations on the same rhythmic pattern until the woodwinds enter with their own ideas
· Somewhat tonal but not quite
11. Bransle Double
· Starts very loud and alarming
· “Search” is back on
· Not Tonal
· Old Horror movie feel (brass especially)
· Somewhat Twilight Zone music
12. Interlude
· Begins with booming percussion
· Again, revisits material in first Interlude/Prelude
· Direct quotation from earlier movements
· Peaceful at end
13. Pas de deux
· Eerie
· Longest movement
· Primarily Strings
· Serial
· Definite Motives
· Tension/dissonance
· Sense of Rise and Fall
· 3:45 brass and piano enter—changes feel of motives and of rise and fall
· Pulsing Strings
· Feels unfinished
14. Coda
· Rushing/Confused feeling
· Serial
· Quotations from earlier movements
15. 4 Duos
· Climbing feeling
· Mimicking
16. 4 Trios
· Hunt is on
· Big Crescendo—much like previous movements
17. Coda
· Feels much like an encompassment of Coda and Interludes
· Barely any “new” material
· Search/Hunt is still on
· Conversation still moving throughout instruments
Overall, I feel like there is a large emphasis on spatial relationships, timbre, and register. Conversation and organized chaos are also big factors within this piece. I am interested to see what choreographer George Balanchine did to compliment Stravinsky’s score and tell the story of the “ballet without a story”