L’Histoire du Soldat (The Soldier’s Tale)
Igor Stravinsky
Christopher Voss, Narrator
Zenas Hsu, Violin
Pete Walsh, Bass
Hunter Bennett, Clarinet
Christina Dioguardi, Bassoon
Sarah Jessen, Trumpet
Michael Tybursky, Trombone
Michael Weinfield-Zell, Percussion
About the Composer
Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor, Igor Stravinsky is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century. Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882, in a suburb of St. Petersburg to Ukrainian parents. His mother, Anna Khlodovskaya, was a domestic singer and pianist, and his father, Fyodor Ignat’yevich, studied opera at the Conservatory in St. Petersburg. By the time Stravinsky was born, his father was considered to be one of the finest bass-baritones of his generation. Therefore, Stravinsky grew up in an esteemed musical environment, led by his father, who ran in circles with composers like Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, and Mussorgsky, and music journalists like Nikolay Findeyzen. Stravinsky began studying piano at a young age and immediately immersed himself in his father’s extensive collection of scores. His earliest surviving composition is dated 1898; however, it is likely that he began writing music before then. Despite his musical passions, Stravinsky was expected to study law, and therefore he enrolled at the University of St. Petersburg in 1901 to respect his parents’ wishes. Nevertheless during this time his mind was constantly preoccupied with music, and in 1902 he spent a transformative summer in Heidelberg with Rimsky-Korsakov, who urged him to forgo studies at the Conservatory and rather seek out private lessons.
Stravinsky’s compositional output is known for its stylistic diversity. Between 1910-14 he was commissioned to write multiple ballets by Sergei Diaghilev for the Ballet Russes. From 1914-39 Stravinsky spent extensive time in Switzerland and then France. During this time his works ranged from being distinctly “Russian” to neoclassical. In 1934 he became a French citizen and started to develop key relationships with academics and musicians in the United States. In 1939 he moved to the United States—where he would spend the rest of his life—after agreeing to deliver the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University. It was in the United States that Stravinsky began to experiment with serialism. During his time in the United States, Stravinsky had a rich history with the city of Boston. He married his second wife, Vera de Bosset, just down the road from us in Bedford, MA in 1940, and was close friends with Serge Koussevitzky, legendary composer, and Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
About the Music
Stravinsky began to brainstorm the concept behind L’Histoire du Soldat in early 1918, while exiled in Switzerland. During his time in Switzerland, Stravinsky frequently socialized with the Swiss novelist C.F. Ramuz. Ramuz began to translate Stravinsky’s Russian texts into French, and the idea for the two of them to collaborate on an original theater piece was a natural progression. At this time, Stravinsky was struggling financially—World War I prevented performances of his music and the Russian Revolution cut him off from his homeland—and he wanted to create a work that was cheap to perform and could easily go on tour. The original production was staged in Lausanne in September 1918 with seven musicians, three speakers, two dancers, and a conductor. The premier was a huge success; however, the outbreak of the Spanish flu in 1918 dashed any hopes for an extensive tour.
The story is based on two Russian Faustian folktales about the devil and a solider, and its message is a bitter one, as the devil ultimately triumphs in the end. To maximize tonal range with minimal instruments, Stravinsky picked two instruments from the string (violin and double bass), woodwind (clarinet and bassoon), and brass (trumpet and trombone) families, as well as a percussionist who plays a variety of instruments throughout. The music is highly rhythmic and complex, and in it Stravinsky experiments with several forms, including marches, jazz-inspired dances, and chorales.
The work is split into two parts. The first part opens with a march that introduces a soldier who is traveling home on leave. On his journey the solider encounters the devil, who is disguised as an old man. The devil entices the soldier with riches and a magical book that can predict the future, and eventually tricks the soldier to trade his most prized possession, his violin, for three days away with him; however, upon returning the solider discovers that he was tricked and was in fact gone for three years. During this time the soldier’s family and fiancé presumed him dead and when they see him believe him to be a ghost. The devil appears once again, this time as an old woman, and tries to pedal old wares to the solider, one of which is his violin. The soldier buys the violin back, but to his shock and frustration it no longer plays.
The second half of the drama begins with the soldier discovering that the king is offering a reward to anyone who can wake his sleeping daughter, the princess. The soldier is determined, and after losing all his money to the devil during a card game, regains his ability to create a sound on his violin. The solider makes his way to the castle and plays his violin for the sleeping princess. His beautiful playing wakes her and upon doing so she dances for him. The devil appears once more, this time undisguised, but no longer has power and control over the solider. After two chorales the soldier appears to have triumphed over the devil and decides to bring his new love back to the village to meet his mother. The devil cautions the soldier not to leave the palace; however, the solider—feeling as though he has triumphed over the devil—decides to visit home. He begins his march once again; however, the devil appears on his path, captures the violin, and the march reaches its demonic close as the devil ultimately wins out in the end.
All notes by Christina Dioguardi