Stravinsky’s Christian spirit appearing in rhetorical technique: Symphony of Psalms

Though Igor Stravinsky grew up in a Christian family in the Russian Orthodox church, it was during his 40s that he became absolutely faithful and committed to the religion. Hence, Stravinsky’s musical output during this time has a “preaching” tendency according to William W. Austin (Copeland 564) , and Robert Copeland asserts in his article “Christian Message of Igor Stravinsky” that Stravinsky’s genuine and deep Christian faith appeared in his music needed to be collected and evaluated (Copeland 564). In my view, Stravinsky’s Christianity concept appears as a rhetorical technique in his religious works. With his Christian faith, he aimed for discipline in his music. Maritain also viewed Stravinsky as a living example of the ideal Christian artist, praising the “discipline,” “Classical rigor,” and “purity” of his more recent music. (Sapio) Sapio also argued that Stravinsky emphasizes the importance of rules and discipline, which paradoxically result in greater freedom for the artist; “The more art is controlled, limited, worked over, the more it is free” (Sapio) 

Symphony of Psalms (1930) among other religious works such as Mass (1944-8), Requiem Canticles (1966), Babel (1944), Anthem 1962), and Introitus (1965) is my focus of the study.  Symphony of Psalms is not only the summit of Stravinsky’s devotional work but also a representative of one of the greatest masterpieces of invention, musical architecture, and religious devotion in the 20th century (Russian Hanning, 840) which manifests Baroqueian rhetoric technique in several aspects. First, Symphony of Psalms is an extremely precise clockwork that illustrates the discipline that we might observe in J.S Bach’s rhetorical works. Second, Symphony of Psalms inherits similar rhetorical and impersonal qualities from the expressive Baroque theatrical arts including the emotion of pathos, grief, triumph, and good cheer. Lastly, the insertion of the Chorale, thus word painting technique can be seen as the inheritance of the expressivity in literary conventions from the Baroque tradition. 

Therefore, through a detailed analysis, I examine and discuss Stravinsky's religious spirit in regard to the rhetorical technique in Symphony of Psalms. 

I: The religious background of Symphony of Psalms 

In order to discuss the rhetorical technique of Symphony of Psalms, it is crucial to discuss Stravinsky’s Christian background during the compositional period of the piece. He wrote the piece in 1930 on a commission from the Boston Symphony, and the score is inscribed “composed to the glory of God.” (Copeland, 567) Cross also mentioned in his book “Igor Stravinsky” that Stravinsky started composing Symphony of Psalms as an act of renewal of faith and personal testimony on the part of someone returning to the body of the Church after a long absence. (Cross, 115)  It was during the time in which Stravinsky experienced a profound spiritual crisis in his forty-second year including several dramatic answers to his prayer, which made him rejoin the Russian Orthodox Church and gave lectures at Harvard about his reflection on the Christian worldview (Copeland, 566). Stravinsky wrote to Diaghilev that 

I can say, however, that for some years before my actual “conversion,” a mood of acceptance had been cultivated in me by a reading of the Gospels and by other religious literature… (Copeland, 565)

Stravinsky prayed daily, prayed before and after composing, and prayed when facing difficulty. He believed that God had created the world; he believed literally in all of the events in the Bible. (Copeland, 565) The biblical text of Symphony of Psalms is taken respectively from Psalms 39:12-13, 40:1-3, and 150 from the Vulgate. They correspond to the prayer modes of supplication, thanksgiving, and praise, and together suggest a trajectory from turmoil and distress on earth to the adoration of God in heaven (Sapio). Stravinsky prefaced the score with the direction that the words should always be sung in Latin (Huang). The Latin language can be seen as the universal language of the West and the language of the Roman Catholic church, yet Latin also appeared to Stravinsky as a “sacred” language. (Copeland, 572)

II. The rhetorical technique in Symphony of Psalms

As briefly discussed above, Symphony of Psalms is written with Stravinsky’s extremely elaborate skills with discipline. This compositional approach can be seen as Baroqueian aesthetic, specifically influenced by J. S. Bach. As Kerman discusses Bach’s music in his article “Rhetoric and Technique in J. S Bach” Bach was not interested in composing music for the general intellectual public. This explains Bach’s basic aesthetic in his music; simplicity. Kerman explains Bach’s characteristics in form as:

Nothing is left to the imagination, and every detail of the elaborate texture falls neatly and inevitably into its assigned place within a scheme that is exactly right and exhaustive to the point of naivete. All the seams show in Bach because he wants them to; the construction itself, the technique, is an essential part of his aesthetic  (Kerman, 109)

In my view, these are the similarities that I found between these characteristics of Bach and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms. Stravinsky sought simplicities, the basic aesthetic psychology in music. Rejecting the extravagance in the 19th century symphonies, Stravinsky used the special symphonic form that he had created for his previous work Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920) in which a single movement shows a number of periodic episodes appearing as interlocked shapes (Huang) . Craft  explains this phenomenon in his book “Chronology of a Friendship”;

Stravinsky decided to create an organic whole without conforming to the  various models adopted by custom, but still retaining the periodic order by which the symphony is distinguished from the suite. (Craft)

The fact that there is no break between the movements explains not only the ‘organic’ treatment of the form but also Stravinsky’s intention of the form in this piece. Stravinsky claimed that “it is not a symphony on which I have included Psalms to be sung. On the contrary, it is the singing of the Psalms that I am symphonizing.”  (Huang)

In addition, Symphony of Psalms is an extensive contrapuntal work, and Stravinsky wanted an equal footing between a choral and instrumental ensemble. This is a crucial aesthetic of the piece regarding the composer’s discipline. The nature of the genre fugue strongly contains rhetorical sense due to the organization between the subjects, countersubject, and episodes, and their repetition with variants. Additionally, I argue that the symmetry aspect in the second movement can be interpreted as a Christian cross. To be specific, the subject in the second movement “C-Eb-B-D” derives from the ostinato bass in four-note cells in the first movement “B-D-A-C#,” and its shape varies in inverted and diminished shapes, creating the symmetry. 

To discuss the introspective aspect of the motif regarding Stravinsky’s inspirations, some scholars such as Jonathan Cross view the four cell motif “C-Eb-B-D”  in the second movement as a direct influence of Bach’s subject in Musical Offering “C, Eb, G, Ab, B”  with the key signature. In fact, Beethoven’s subject in his last piano sonata Op. 111 “C, Eb, B” written in the C minor key also can be viewed as a conscious influence. In my view, it is not a coincidence that Stravinsky’s chosen C minor key for Symphony of Psalms. In Musical Offering, the religious sense is strong although the piece was dedicated to Frederick II as the contrapuntal textural Sonata da Chiesa alludes to the Sermon on the Mount “Seek and ye shall find,” Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9.” (Marissen, 85-106) Scholars such as Marissen and Goncz point out that there are several Biblical citations hidden in Quaerendo invenietis .  In Beethoven’s Op. 111, the last piano sonata which highly suggests Beethoven’s envision of heaven and describes the struggle of his life, also contains the fugal elements. 

Another rhetorical quality in Symphony of Psalms can be found in the expressive Baroque theatrical quality. The piece is more like an oratorio rather than opera in the sense that there is no acting or stage performance. However, several aspects such as the vigorous treatment of the chorus, the manifestation of the great powers of emotional expression deriving from Biblical stories, and the unity between the chorus and instrumental ensemble are supporting theatrical character. Kerman describes:

The expressivity of baroque art in general is derived from the theatre, and of baroque music from the opera of Lully and Scarlatti and Steffani; the opera that was the highest aspiration of every composer of the time…And so all the pathos, grief, triumph and good cheer of baroque music, powerful as it is, has a rhetorical and impersonal quality that separates it quite distinctly from the romantic music to which it has been too facilely compared. (Kerman)

It is significant as the narrative quality in Symphony of Psalms appears as three distinct characters that Copeland described: pathos, grief, and triumph. In Symphony of Psalms, Stravinsky appeals to his pathos and grief by praying “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and with Thine ears consider my calling: hold not Thy peace at my tears” in the first movement. Then he thanked God “He brought me also out of the horrible pit…He hath put a new song in my mouth.” And in the last movement, he praised the God “Alleluja Praise God.” The dramatic, rhetorical aspect of Symphony of Psalms also lies in that the music is more extroverted rather than introspective. 

Lastly, the insertion of Chorale in Symphony of Psalms that is highly associated with the word painting technique is rhetorical. To begin with, Stravinsky carefully and deliberately chose and placed the text from Psalms 39:12-13, 40:1-3, and 150. As discussed earlier, they correspond to the prayer modes of supplication, thanksgiving, praise, and adoration of God in heaven. The text of each movement is:

Hear my prayer, O Lord, and with Thine ears consider my calling: hold not Thy peace at my tears. For I am a stranger with Thee: and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me a little that I may recover my strength: before I go hence and be no more seen. (first movement)

I waited patiently for the Lord: and He inclined unto me, and heard my calling. He brought me also out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay: and set my feet upon the rock, and ordered my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth: even a thanksgiving unto our God. Many shall see it and fear: and shall put their trust in the Lord.  (second movement)

Alleluja. O praise God in His holiness: praise Him in the firmament of His power. Praise Him in His noble acts: praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Praise Him in the sound of the trumpet: Praise Him upon the lute and harp. Praise Him upon the strings and pipe. Praise Him upon the well-tuned cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Alleluja (third movement) 

Specifically, the text in the first and second movements are Stravinsky’s personal prayer and testimony as he was absent from the church for years. Words such as “He brought me also out of the horrible pit, out of the mire and clay: and set my feet upon the rock, and ordered my goings.” represent his view of himself as the person of the lord, the devil, and the miracles. In the music, the ardent and fervent praying mood is represented with the Fortspinnung technique on the piano, (Ex. 1a, 1b)and the two adjacent notes at the beginning of the choir Exaudi orationem meam domine which develops to the climax with Ne sileas. (Ex. 2) 

(Ex.1a: Fortspinnung technique  )

(Ex. 1b: Choir semitone subject “E-F”)

(Ex. 2: Climax) 

In the second movement, the instrumental, eerie fugal subjects which were first introduced in oboe and flute (Ex. 3) contrast with the more tonal and expressive vocal subject (Ex. 4). After the instrumental transition, the ‘act of hope’ Et immisit in os meum canticum novum is stated by a full choir and orchestra. The consecutive dotted rhythm patterns in rehearsal 14 is reminiscent of the French Overture (Ex.5 ) that we observe in Lully and Rameau’s operas. Et sperabunt in Domino in union leads to a final Alleluia. 

(Ex. 3: Instrumental subject in the second movement)

(Ex. 4: Vocal subject in the second movement)

(Ex.5: French overtual style)

In the third movement, the contrasting musical motifs give rise to the expressiveness of this movement. Unlike final movements in the 18th and 19th centuries, there is less sense of triumph in Alleluia. Rather, Stravinsky creates a calm and relaxing atmosphere in the beginning and revives some of the barbaric energy of The Rite of Spring to suggest the wild joy of divine praise in the Messiaenian sense. The great word painting technique in this movement is the frequent alteration between C minor and C major. To be specific, in the A section, he uses the recurring motif “D-Eb-Bb”, and “Bb- C”  for the word Laudate and C major triad in the word “Dominum.” (Ex. 6a, 6b) In the final section of the work, the excitement dissolves in eternal stillness, with a sense of suspended time as the chorus repeats the words of praise over an orchestral ostinato. 

(Ex. 6a: Laudate motif)

(Ex. 6b: C major triad “Dominum”)

Conclusion

Stravinsky’s neoclassical works are hard to discuss without acknowledging the significant influence of composers in the past. I have discussed Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms in regard to the orthodox fugal compositional technique and his religious belief which is a substantial association with the Baroqueian rhetorical technique. Compared to his other neoclassical works such as Marva (1922) and Renard (1915-6), Stravinsky explicitly reveals his gratefulness and faithfulness to his Christianity in Symphony of Psalms.  As Maureen Carr mentions in her book “After the Rite,” Stravinsky succeeded in absorbing and integrating his models and creating something new , and it is worth deeply examining Stravinsky’s religious idiom appearing in Symphony of Psalms; Stravinsky sought the expressivity in rhetorical and introspective quality. 

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