Stravinsky downplayed the extent to which he incorporated Russian folk material in The Rite of Spring in discussions of the work following its composition. Taruskin atributes this to the composer's desire to dissociate himself from the Russian establishment, specifically the "Russian Five," who used folk materials in many of their works. In spite of Stravinsky's claims, Tarushkin demonstrates through an examination of the sketchbook for The Rite of Spring that much of the melodic material consists of reworkings of Russian folk tunes. In addition, many of the harmonic innovations of the work can be seen as derivative from the folk melodies, with the intervallic content used vertically instead of harmonically.

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nancy Kinsey Totten