Score Club - Firebird — OrchestraOne

The Firebird

Welcome back to Score Club! This round, we dive into one of Igor Stravinsky’s most beloved works, The Firebird.

First, what is a Firebird? Originating from ancient Slavic folklore, it is a timeless mythological creature that has been used in countless folk and fairytales as early as the 7th century. Unlike its Ancient Greek counterpart the Phoenix, it does not continually regenerate, but instead is used as an omen of good luck, or of disaster. As depicted in the artwork here, many of the firebird stories involve a “hero” finding one of its glowing feathers and beginning their journey to capture the magical bird. Usually, this does not end well for the hero. Parallels are abound in both Eastern and Western Folklore.

Stravinsky’s Firebird Ballet has its roots in these very fairytales. Adapted by Alexandre Benois, It tells the story of a hero (Prince Ivan) who, after encountering Koschei the Immortal (another figure from Slavic folktale) hunts and captures the firebird with the hopes of using its magical abilities to slay Koschei, whose immortality is kept safe in the form of an egg hidden in a casket. Koschei convinces him otherwise and gives him a feather that will allow him to summon her in a time of need. Upon falling in love with a princess under Koschei’s spell, Ivan summons her and they fight about letting the princess loose of her spell. Koschei unleashes a number of minions also under her spell to attack Ivan, but after, in her sleep, Ivan is able to destroy the egg (and thus Koschei) and all of her minions are set free from her magic. The final scene is all of the now free creatures rejoicing.

This video is that final scene, where Ivan finds the magic egg, destroys it, and all of her un-willing minions are set free. It is some of the most joyous and celebratory music ever written and also contains one of the most famous French horn solos in the classical cannon. This excerpt is taken from Stravinsky’s Suite from the Ballet, which is played with great frequency throughout all major concert halls.

This is the full ballet, with the same music from the ending beginning at 39:15. The choreography is original, and shows the awakening of Koschei’s minions, the reunion of Ivan and the princess he fell in love with, and the return to their home city.

Over the next few weeks, we will dig into the rest of the suite taken from the ballet, travel to enchanted forests, fight in epic battles, and meet our Firebird. Stay tuned!

Week two!

Welcome back to week two with Firebird! This week we focus on two of the main dances from Stravinsky’s Suite from the Firebird.

First, the epic battle between the immortal Koschei and the Firebird. Prince Ivan summons the Firebird to bewitch Koschei, and she forces the mighty Koschei and her minions to dance the “Infernal Dance.” After this passionate and exausting feat, Koschei and her minions fall into a deep sleep, giving Ivan the opportunity to destroy the egg, and with it, Koschei. This clip is from the stand alone (no dancers) version.

And here is the music with the full ballet. The Infernal Dance music beings around 1:23, and it continues a bit after the dance into the lullaby music, where the firebird puts Koschei and her minions to sleep.

For contrast with the bombast of the Infernal Dance, this is the Rondes des Princesses (Princess’s Round). Its simple textures, clear melodies and flowing feel is in stark contrast to the great battle between the Firebird and Koschei.

Here it is in the context of the Ballet. In the story, it is when the princesses come together and dance, but also when Prince Ivan meets and falls in love with his princess. In this video, the choreographer focuses on the later love story.

Next week we dive even further into this fairy tale word and start looking more closely at the music itself!

Week three!

Welcome back Score Clubbers! Let’s venture further into the enchanted forest and spend some time with our Firebird…

Stravinsky sets the stage with an introduction. It’s as if we slowly awaken from a deep sleep into a magical forest filled with mythical creatures both good and evil. Take a listen from the beginning with the video here and practice engaged listening. Here are some pointers:

First, “observe” the world around you. What kind of atmosphere is Stravinsky trying to portray? Is it light or dark? Frightening or welcoming? Next, listen for moments of change. For example, right around 40 seconds, the trombones enter with a distant call - what could that represent? What about at 1:30 when the woodwinds enter? Personally, I envision small fairly like creatures leaping and hiding in the trees. What do you see? Listen all the way to the end of the introduction at 3:20 and try to stay in the moment for the whole time.

In the Suite, after Stravinsky presents us with this wonderful introduction, we meet the Firebird for the first time and see her dance. There is a very short dance number followed by a longer variation. This accounts for 3:20 to 4:50 in the video above. The video here is a shorter clip from the full ballet, of the same material.

Again, this music is full of character, life and extreme contrasts. What can we tell about the firebird from the music alone? What is her dance like and how could that correspond to her personality? Imagine you had to choreograph the dance to this music. What would it look like? Maybe even dance a bit yourself!

That’s it for this week! Spend some time listening to this material in an engaged way this week and see how far into the forest you can go…

Week four!

Even for well-seasoned professional musicians, classical music can be intimidating. The length of pieces, the emotional depth, technical difficulty, new sounds and many other things can prevent us from truly giving ourselves over to the music. This week is all about being fearless.

We know the story, have listened to the suite, seen the dances and have even looked at some of the intricate, musical ways that Stravinsky was able to bring this ballet to life. This music however, is most frequently performed without the dancers, in the form of a suite that contains all of the material we have gone over in the past three weeks, and nothing more. All in all it amounts to about 20 minutes of music, and is represented in the video here.

The beauty of this kind of cinematic music being performed sans dancers, is that we can form our own story. Create our own world, characters, creatures and narrative. Many musicians, as a way to understand a piece of music more deeply and more personally, do just that. It is a wonderful exercise not only in engaged listening, but in exploring our inner selves. We can very quickly learn about ourselves and the music simultaneously through this exercise.

One fantastic part of this endeavor is that there are no wrong answers. Two people writing a story about the same piece of music could have starkly different ideas on what the music represents. It could be real or fantasy - simple or complex - dark or light and anything in-between. The challenge comes in seeing how deeply you can dive into the music and yourself to find the exact, nuanced emotional state and images that the music conjures for you. The more vulnerable we are with ourselves, the more meaning this activity gains.

And so, this week, write a story. Listen to the music slowly and with care, and look inward to pinpoint exactly what you’re feeling. Then, add images to it. They can be images taken from moments in your life or completely imaginary. Finally, add a narrative. You can be your own principal character. Your story can be as short or as long as you want - but it must represent who you are. The role of music is this case is to guide you in an exploration of who you are, but you must engage with it for it to have full effect. Write it down, and keep it as private or as public as you would like.

That’s it for The Firebird! We would love to hear your stories so if you would like to share please send them to info@OrchestraOneNYC.org! Stay tuned for more inspiring music!