5.2.3: Primitivism in Music

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    Primitivism and Igor Stravinsky

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Igor_Stravinsky_LOC_32392u.jpg

    The brilliant Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was truly a cosmopolitan figure, having lived and composed in Russia, France, Switzerland, and the United States. His music influenced numerous composers, including the famed French composition teacher Nadia Boulanger.

    Stravinsky caused quite a stir when the ballet entitled The Rite of Spring premiered in Paris in 1913. He composed the music for a ballet that was choreographed by Sergei Diaghilev, and it was so new and different that it nearly caused a riot in the audience. The orchestral version, without the dancing, has become one of the most admired compositions of the twentieth century.

    Stravinsky’s use of “primitive”-sounding rhythms to depict several pagan ritual scenes makes the term primitivism seem appropriate. Use the listening guide below to follow Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

    Focus Composition: Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring — “Sacrificial Dance” [1913]

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Le_Sacre_du_printemps_by_Roerich_01.jpg

    Listening Guide

    Composer: Igor Stravinsky
    Composition: The Rite of Spring, “Sacrificial Dance”
    Date: 1913
    Genre: Ballet music
    Form: Specific passages accompany changes in choreography
    Performing Forces: Full orchestra
    Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring — “Sacrificial Dance”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7pV2cX0qxs
    Timing Text and Form Performing Forces, Melody, and Texture
    0:00   Flute repeated pattern based on scale tones.

    Wind and soft plucked stringed accompaniment.

    Steady slower pulse in accompaniment.
    0:22   Muted trumpets state theme.

    Wind and plucked stringed accompaniment continues.
    0:45   Violins enter softly.

    Wind and plucked stringed accompaniment continues.
    0:56   Loud French horn entrance on fanfare-like part.

    French horn, bass drum, strings.
    1:09   Oboe melody alternates with orchestra. Oboe, strings, brass, bassoons.
    1:40   Restatement of loud French horn entrance. French horn, bass drum, cymbals, strings.
    1:57   Low flute. English horn, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, muted brass, drum.
    2:45   Strings. String section with percussion. Short, hard notes, irregular rhythms.
    3:16   Strings. Winds and soft plucked stringed accompaniment.
    3:28   Trombones. Winds and soft plucked stringed accompaniment. Triplet trombone fanfare over plucked string parts. Muted trumpets and strings answer.
    3:45   Strings.

    Plucked stringed accompaniment becomes immediately loud.
    3:50   Trumpet fanfare.

    Plucked stringed accompaniment remains loud.
    3:59   French horns join fanfare section.

    Plucked stringed accompaniment remains loud.
    4:06   Plucked stringed accompaniment becomes the melody.
    4:17   Winds and soft plucked stringed accompaniment.
    4:31   Violins. Scale patterns become very fast and loud.
    4:40   Silence.
    4:41   Strings and percussion. Restatement of section at 2:50.
    5:09   Brass and percussion. Brass and percussion. Percussion faster and louder.
    5:43   Horn riffs up to high notes.

    Add high clarinet.
    5:49   Silence.
    5:50   Strings and percussion. Restatement of section at 2:50 and 4:41.
    5:55   Full orchestra. Multiple loud fanfare-like parts in many sections. Piece builds.
    6:19   Strings. Similar to 2:50, 4:41, 5:50 but more intense.
    6:59   Brass.

    Full orchestra.

    Rhythmic figure carries intensity of the dance to end.

    This page titled 5.2.3: Primitivism in Music was last modified on Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:30:07 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Clark, Heflin, Kluball, and Kramer (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.