Discussion about "The Rite of Spring", the music a

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mightyzebra
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06 Jul 2010, 7:29 am

My latest "Aspie" obsession is The Rite of Spring. I've always loved the music on Fantasia, but I recently fancied watching the ballet and now I am more into this piece than EVER!! If you have enjoyed/been obsessed with/hated/sort-of liked "The Rite of Spring" music and/ballet, I would love to hear your opinion on this classical piece. Thanks. :D


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persian85033
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06 Jul 2010, 1:30 pm

I love Fantasia. Well, in the rite of spring the music is nice, but it's not really my favorite part of the Fantasia film. I suppose it must be because I'm not that into dinosaurs. I've always wanted to see the ballet, though. The one I like best is the one with the centaurs. The pastoral symphony, is it?


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mightyzebra
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06 Jul 2010, 1:39 pm

persian85033 wrote:
I love Fantasia. Well, in the rite of spring the music is nice, but it's not really my favorite part of the Fantasia film. I suppose it must be because I'm not that into dinosaurs. I've always wanted to see the ballet, though. The one I like best is the one with the centaurs. The pastoral symphony, is it?


Oh OK, yes, I think that is the Pastoral Symphony, I love that piece of music too. :D If you do want to watch the Rite of Spring ballet, I have a few guidelines for you:

1. It isn't about dinosaurs, it's about human beings.
2. It is not conventional ballet, in fact it's very strange (partly because of my Aspieness that's why I love it so much :)). It was so unlike ballet that the first people to see it in 1913 created one of the biggest classical music riots ever in the theatre.

P.S Is there any other music you like from Fantasia?


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persian85033
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06 Jul 2010, 2:00 pm

Believe it or not, I've never actually seen a ballet. Not even on tv. I've always wanted to see one, but when I'm not too old for something, I'm too young. :roll: I can never like or want anything according to my age.

That's interesting. Now I so want to see it.

I like the music with the fairies turning everything to autumn and winter. I love the one with the goldfish, too, and most especially the flowers, both the ones dancing on the water, but especially the other ones. You know the ones dancing together, both the girls and guys.


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06 Jul 2010, 7:28 pm

Well, I like stravinski`s fire bird suite, too. As for fantasia, I listen to beethoven`s 6th symphony every day. My birds like it a lot, too.

When I was a child, even mozart was too dissonant for my ears. I played it with out any of the dissonances. My piano teacher made me put them all back in, and I finally got used to it. I+ve come a long way to actually enjoy the dissonances of stravinsky. But I would rather listen to beethoven`s 6th symphony. It is glorious and sweet.
Mary Newport. [quote]



SoSayWeAll
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06 Jul 2010, 11:32 pm

In all seriousness, I find certain passages in The Rite of Spring to be the kind of passage whose power is only met in any other art form by the kind of aural assault you get from a prog rock band like Opeth, once they get into full thrust. Where both Stravinsky and prog metal artists share a commonality is that they don't just go at one volume the entire time--they know how to use dynamic extremes and everything in the middle to run the listener through the emotional gamut, whereas other types of music are much more restrictive--either ALL loud, ALL soft, or ALL bland and in the middle.

Not sure that's the kind of discussion you wanted, but it's always the first thing that comes into my head when anyone mentions The Rite of Spring.


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BrandonSP
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06 Jul 2010, 11:45 pm

The Rite of Spring sequence is probably the only Fantasia sequence I actually liked, if only because of the dinosaurs.



SoSayWeAll
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06 Jul 2010, 11:53 pm

As far as Fantasia goes, when I was little, it was a toss-up between "Toccata and Fugue" (because that was the closest I ever saw to the synesthetic images I experience when I listen to music) and "Rite of Spring."

As an adult, I now find I appreciate "Night on Bald Mountain"/"Ave Maria," for the imagery and the feeling that the ending part brings after watching all of the horrors in the earlier section. That ending is a very spiritual experience.


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mightyzebra
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08 Jul 2010, 12:43 pm

persian85033 wrote:
Believe it or not, I've never actually seen a ballet. Not even on tv. I've always wanted to see one, but when I'm not too old for something, I'm too young. :roll: I can never like or want anything according to my age.

That's interesting. Now I so want to see it.

I like the music with the fairies turning everything to autumn and winter. I love the one with the goldfish, too, and most especially the flowers, both the ones dancing on the water, but especially the other ones. You know the ones dancing together, both the girls and guys.


Yes, I agree, I think all of the Fantasia music and animation is good, apart from "Night on Bald Mountain". Even though I am over 15 that part still REALLY creeps me out. 8O


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mightyzebra
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08 Jul 2010, 12:45 pm

marynewport wrote:
Well, I like stravinski`s fire bird suite, too. As for fantasia, I listen to beethoven`s 6th symphony every day. My birds like it a lot, too.

When I was a child, even mozart was too dissonant for my ears. I played it with out any of the dissonances. My piano teacher made me put them all back in, and I finally got used to it. I+ve come a long way to actually enjoy the dissonances of stravinsky. But I would rather listen to beethoven`s 6th symphony. It is glorious and sweet.
Mary Newport.
Quote:


Haha I love how you say your birds like it. They must be very used to it if you play it every day. :) Yes, that's an absolutely brilliant piece of music as well and I can totally understand why one would prefer that to Stravinsky. Personally though, I still prefer "The Rite of Spring."


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mightyzebra
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08 Jul 2010, 1:15 pm

SoSayWeAll wrote:
In all seriousness, I find certain passages in The Rite of Spring to be the kind of passage whose power is only met in any other art form by the kind of aural assault you get from a prog rock band like Opeth, once they get into full thrust. Where both Stravinsky and prog metal artists share a commonality is that they don't just go at one volume the entire time--they know how to use dynamic extremes and everything in the middle to run the listener through the emotional gamut, whereas other types of music are much more restrictive--either ALL loud, ALL soft, or ALL bland and in the middle.

Not sure that's the kind of discussion you wanted, but it's always the first thing that comes into my head when anyone mentions The Rite of Spring.


WOW- really getting deep in there!! I haven't heard any of Opeth, but I do understand what you mean, parts of the music are really bold in "The Rite of Spring", contrasting against the slower parts of the piece. It's not all just one rhythym or beat, it's just different pretty much the whole way through. :)


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SoSayWeAll
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08 Jul 2010, 8:34 pm

Here's an example that might show what I'm talking about...

Just try to stick it out through the whole song. If you're not sure how loud you're going to be able to tolerate, start soft--the beginning will give you an idea what the volume should be.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6Q4FpW-sY[/youtube]


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mightyzebra
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31 Aug 2010, 3:02 pm

SoSayWeAll wrote:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk6Q4FpW-sY[/youtube]


AAGH that was wild! Rage Against the Machine and the Rite of Spring are calming compared to this!! I enjoyed the instrumental, but when they were "singing-shouting" I did not enjoy it. While I was listening I thought that my reaction to the music must be similar to the reaction of people in the Le Sacre Du Printemps premiere.

Sorry I haven't been able to look at that video link for so long, other things on the internet have been distracting me (such as Rage Against the Machine, heard of them?). Thanks for the link. :D


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Philologos
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01 Sep 2010, 4:40 pm

By me:

Fantasia - which I hit impossibly young - is very mixed, ranguing from the sublime to the ridiculous in animation alone.

Rite of Spring / Sacre du Printemps: SERIOUS problems for me. What I demand of music is totally different, and throwing in animated dinosaurs cannot help.

Stravinsky - Given the above, given that I have a mind that straddles Bach and Quechua music, it may be redundant to say I cannot like him.



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02 Sep 2010, 3:28 am

SoSayWeAll wrote:
As an adult, I now find I appreciate "Night on Bald Mountain"/"Ave Maria," for the imagery and the feeling that the ending part brings after watching all of the horrors in the earlier section. That ending is a very spiritual experience.


YES :!: QFT+1