Analysis of Firebird by Stravinsky
Immediately we are introduced to the leitmotif, major and minor
thirds, within a tritone. This returns at bars 15 - 18 and at various
other parts in the suite of which I will later elaborate. Within the
opening few bars the pizzicato and legato combined in the cello and
bass section produces an ominous opening to the work. The base drum
roll and the murky off beat and horn entry at bar 5 makes it clear
that it is evil magic. One of Stravinsky’s traits that often appears
is how he uses tritones to represent evil magic, e.g. f# to C, shown
in bars 11 and 12, and more simple harmony and chord progressions,
e.g. dominant 7ths and 9ths to show good magic which can bee seen in
bar 14, based on D. This could represent a glimpse of the Firebird.
Another one of Stravinsky’s traits is that he works with sound, this
section would be much easier for the string player to play across the
strings, however to achieve the exact magical effect he wants it “Sul
D”. This use of sound is also seen in pantomime 2 where he asks the
violins to play spiccato, also another very specific sound. In bar 16,
beat 8, the mood becomes unearthly once again this could represent the
magic Firebird disappearing. According to the BBC, in bar 8 the
conversation between clarinets, bassoons and trumpets represents
horses marching in time.
As soon as we enter into the prelude and dance of the Firebird the
country motion semi-quavers in the woodwind at figure 7 illustrates
Ivan’s pursuit of the Firebird. This is actually the original
leitmotif returning retrograde and retrograde inverted. Stravinsky
uses many chromatic, arpeggiac augme...
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...strings at figure 39 gives the impression
of many voices talking or shouting at once, which would happen in a
game. The ornamentation is emphasised along with the tonality,
representing humans and possibly giving the impression of dainty feet
running around the trees in Kashchei‘s garden. Chromaticism is another
recurring theme within this work; this seems to represent fast
movements or magic, shown at figure 41, which relates closely to the
story. Figure 55 is much like 39 with the original bass line
transposed. The delicate harmony and simple chord progressions
represents how delicate the princesses are. The peaceful and simple
solo in the clarinet at figure 47 is not at all related to the
leitmotif but is very similar to a Russian folk tune, which
chromatically modifies during the scherzo this may symbolize a dream.
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words so that the sound of the play complements its expression of emotions and ideas. This essay
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Hanan, Partick and Yu Li. Silent Operas. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1990.
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