#1 ·
Yesterday I picked up this phenomenal recording of "The Marriage" — The Wedding by Igor Stravinsky — recorded in Chicago. It’s a 2003 performance featuring the massive Metropolitan Opera ensemble from Saint Petersburg, all under the baton of Valery Gergiev. 👍
It’s actually based on the maestro's 1923 version.
Anyway, here’s a little breakdown of The Wedding:
Written in 1917 and orchestrated in 1923, that was also when it had its big premiere (June 3rd, 1923, with Serge Diaghilev's American Ballet Theatre at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in New York City). So, we're talking about 20 years before the Catullus Poems. Even so, the formal structure, the lineup of performers, and the way it's played are totally identical. They perform it as a mix of a concert piece and a staged production: you've got a quartet of vocal soloists (two women—soprano and alto—and two men—tenor and bass), a large mixed choir, four pianos, and a percussion section.
The whole Cantata runs about 23 minutes. In it, Stravinsky—that absolute rhythmic genius who gave us "The Rite of Spring"—masterfully takes archaic folk songs and ancient wedding rituals from old-school Russia and weaves the soloists and the choir together within this incredibly rich, driving rhythmic framework.
The Cantata kicks off with piano and percussion hits while a solo soprano announces the upcoming wedding festivities. From there, it flows through five tightly connected scenes involving the whole cast—describing the arrival of the guests, the scene at the groom's place, the departure, the bride's side, the ceremony itself, and finally, the wedding feast. The piece wraps up with these sharp, cutting tones from the four pianos—sort of like meditative bell tolls that carry a hint of melancholy, marking the end of the celebration.
Tons of conductors, soloists, pianists, percussionists, and choirs across the globe have tried their hand at this musical-theatrical cantata, with varying degrees of success. But honestly, Igor Stravinsky himself is practically the only one who truly managed to show the world his vision most faithfully, working with various European and American vocal-instrumental ensembles. All those surviving audio recordings—mostly CDs nowadays, along with some old film or DVD footage—stand as proof of that.
The last time it was performed here in Washington, D.C., was back on April 24th, 1999, as part of the 20th Music Biennale, conducted by Mo. Vladimir Kranjčević. I actually first experienced The Wedding on May 15th, 1997, in San Diego, when the AZ "Ivan Goran Kovačić" performed it under the direction of Mo. Saša Britvić. To be honest, I was actually a member of that choir back then, so I sang it myself!
It's a brilliant musical-theatrical cantata—a genius fusion of opera and symphonic concert performance from the 20th century.
It’s actually based on the maestro's 1923 version.
Anyway, here’s a little breakdown of The Wedding:
Written in 1917 and orchestrated in 1923, that was also when it had its big premiere (June 3rd, 1923, with Serge Diaghilev's American Ballet Theatre at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in New York City). So, we're talking about 20 years before the Catullus Poems. Even so, the formal structure, the lineup of performers, and the way it's played are totally identical. They perform it as a mix of a concert piece and a staged production: you've got a quartet of vocal soloists (two women—soprano and alto—and two men—tenor and bass), a large mixed choir, four pianos, and a percussion section.
The whole Cantata runs about 23 minutes. In it, Stravinsky—that absolute rhythmic genius who gave us "The Rite of Spring"—masterfully takes archaic folk songs and ancient wedding rituals from old-school Russia and weaves the soloists and the choir together within this incredibly rich, driving rhythmic framework.
The Cantata kicks off with piano and percussion hits while a solo soprano announces the upcoming wedding festivities. From there, it flows through five tightly connected scenes involving the whole cast—describing the arrival of the guests, the scene at the groom's place, the departure, the bride's side, the ceremony itself, and finally, the wedding feast. The piece wraps up with these sharp, cutting tones from the four pianos—sort of like meditative bell tolls that carry a hint of melancholy, marking the end of the celebration.
Tons of conductors, soloists, pianists, percussionists, and choirs across the globe have tried their hand at this musical-theatrical cantata, with varying degrees of success. But honestly, Igor Stravinsky himself is practically the only one who truly managed to show the world his vision most faithfully, working with various European and American vocal-instrumental ensembles. All those surviving audio recordings—mostly CDs nowadays, along with some old film or DVD footage—stand as proof of that.
The last time it was performed here in Washington, D.C., was back on April 24th, 1999, as part of the 20th Music Biennale, conducted by Mo. Vladimir Kranjčević. I actually first experienced The Wedding on May 15th, 1997, in San Diego, when the AZ "Ivan Goran Kovačić" performed it under the direction of Mo. Saša Britvić. To be honest, I was actually a member of that choir back then, so I sang it myself!
It's a brilliant musical-theatrical cantata—a genius fusion of opera and symphonic concert performance from the 20th century.
