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Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
The long historical continuities of concert music and theatre music feed on the longer continuity of church music, as unfortunate as this may often be. Stravinsky wished for a renewal of this great continuity although he knew that it was unlikely. He wanted his Mass to function in liturgy in order to help believers. Many of his earlier works reflected this wish as they and other works depended on their religious texts to help shape and define the music. Yet each work is unique. His Mass has not found as many liturgical uses as has Bachs, Beethovens, Haydn, Mozart, Bortinainsky, Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff. In all of the loose institutional continuities found in churches, theatres, concerts, and schools Stravinskys participation has been almost an accident. Stravinsky was fortunate to have the opportunities that he had and to have had as many. The world is unlucky that he did not have as many as he imagined. This frequently drove him to indignation and he often became spiteful of his wit and learning. He became increasingly frustrated by a culture that seemed to be losing its continuity. His disappointments led to a search within his music to regain what he felt society was losing. Thus the distinctive qualities of Stravinskys music emerged. His distinctiveness unites technique with purpose. His peculiar rhythms embody extraordinary energy, not in an easy continuous momentum, but instead in some sort of wonderful conflict. His piece, the Rite of Spring, perhaps embodies this as much as any of his music. (Haimo and Johnson, 1987, p.11).
