The Broken Peace of 1914

The Rite of spring and WWI Have you ever listened to the ballet “The Rite of spring” by Igor Stravinsky? The Rite of spring was performed in Paris on the eve of WWI. It starts off in low melodic tones of the oboe and flute. Perhaps you heard the piece it is featured in Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”. Remember the part where there are single celled organisms evolving into dinosaurs? That was Stravinsky’s ballet. Of course Stravinsky had no plans to include cartoon dinosaurs and sea monsters into his dance and music.



Unfortunately, I believe the thought disgusted him when the movie was produced in 1940. Stravinsky said that the music just came to him when he composed the piece in 1912 and 13. After the initial slow melodic beginning the ballet erupts into a violent crescendo where a young girl becomes a human sacrifice. When the ballet was originally performed in Paris cat calls howled from the audience as the ballet progressed into a fertility ritual. The music becomes dissonant, violent and syncopated as the human sacrifice ritual begins. The audience became violent also as the performance continued. One man was found to be drumming his fingers on the head of the person in front of him and another two men got out of their seats and begin to fight with their fists in the aisle. Eventually the performance was stopped by the police as the ballet has erupted into a riot.

So what does a ballet have to do with WWI? It is believed by the historian Modris Eksteins that the reason that this play came so easily to Stravinsky is because the performance shadowed the mood of the masses in this time period. It was a very turbulent time. The shot by Gavrilo Princip that killed Arch Duke Ferdinand may have been the match that set off a powder keg of discontent but I believe that both Stravinsky and Erskins would say that conditions were ripe for the powder keg to explode. Countries had formed alliances and ententes. An entente means an understanding in French. The French, British, and Russia had a secret entente "understanding" that they would defend one another if the other was attacked. In 1882 Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple Alliance if one was attacked they would all defend one another. At the same time as Stravinsky was composing his violent Ballet other young men were writing violent and passionate literature.

The start of WWI was not from an isolated terrorist shot or from even from unhealthy national agreements. There was a desire for the young people of the day to make their mark, chart a new course, and buck the system. Does this sound familiar to you? Things have not really changed that much with young people today. Young people still have the desire to establish an identity apart from their parents. My students want to impress me with new ideas. Even some of our swashbuckling leaders may want to make a name for themselves in a future conflict. Unfortunately there is nothing new about war and revolution. It has been going on for centuries. Peace on the other hand does not always get a fair hearing. Perhaps we can learn from the lessons of the past and avert a future war from the wisdom of the past. John Lenin was a young person with revolutionary ideas in the 1960s. He sang “All that I’m saying is give peace a chance.” He was a young person establishing an identity as a peace activist and musician. World War I was to be the war to end all wars and just 10 years later WWII began. Peace is a noun in the language of virtue.

Listen to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring"

Leopold Stokowski-Fantasia Disc 1-09-Rite of Spring.mp3